Autumn 2002 Newsletters
Massachusetts Cranberry Facts 2002
Did you know that:
- 500 of the 1,000 cranberry growers in North America, are in Massachusetts? The cranberry crop contributed more than $200 million in payroll to Massachusetts’ workers and employs about 5,500 people. There were 12,200 acres of cranberries harvested in Massachusetts in 2001, and the average yield per acre was approximately 126.8 barrels for a total crop of 1.547 million barrels. This represents 32% of the U.S. production.
The Massachusetts cranberry industry is currently in economic distress. The cranberry price has dropped from an average of $66 per barrel in 1997 to $19.90 per barrel in 2000. The five year average cost of production in MA is $35.90 per barrel. Labor costs, land value and regulatory restrictions all make Massachusetts an expensive place to grow cranberries. Massachusetts’ cranberry growers collectively lost about $50 million in 1998 and 1999. Real estate is the grower’s single biggest asset, making this land vulnerable for sale and development.
- For more information about Massachusetts cranberries, visit the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association Web site at www.cranberries.org.
Soils
Soil is one of our most important natural resources. It covers much of the earth’s surface and supports plant life by providing nutrients and a medium for root growth. Animals in turn get their nutrients from eating these plants. The soil provides a home for many organisms. It also acts as a filter, removing pollutants that could contaminate water. Humans rely on the soil for food, as support for roads and buildings and for the many elements it provides. The soil is a mixture of living and non-living components, organic and mineral. It is formed through the action of parent material, climate, plant and animal life, in different topographical locations over time. The relative influence of each of these factors differs in different locations. Parent Material is the mineral that breaks down to form the soil. Much of the mineral matter in which soils form is derived from hard rocks, such as granite. The parent materials may be derived from the bedrock that is directly below it, or it may be an entirely different mineral transported from another location. Glaciers may have moved rock fragments and earthy materials, or they may have been deposited by water as sediment along rivers and streams or in the flooded bottomland of existing streams. Some material settled out of the still water of lakes or was deposited by tides from the sea. Wind and gravity also move soil.
The kind of climate under which a soil forms largely determines the nature and the rate of physical and chemical weathering of parent materials. Wind or rain may weather rock surfaces, breaking down the rock and adding minerals to the soils. Cold wet winter temperatures cause frost action, which also breaks apart rock fragments. Glaciation grinds and moves even large rocks. Rainfall can leach water-soluble minerals down through the soil. Climate also affects the type of vegetation in an area, which affects those soil-forming processes related to plant life. Organic matter is all the things, living and once-living, that are found in the soil. Living things influence the soil forming process. Billions of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria and algae, along with fungi, earthworms, and other soil creatures play an important role in the decomposition of organic material. They recycling organic materials and minerals, which in turn are used by plants. The darker color of the surface layer in most soils is attributable to the activities of these organisms.
Decomposers, are just part of the soil ecosystem. Also living in the soil are animals as large as woodchucks and as small as protozoa. Moles, voles, termites, millipedes and insect larvae are a few of the soil’s inhabitants. Algae and plant roots also crowd this underground world. Some of these larger animals, mix the soil and change its physical characteristics. As these animals burrow and tunnel, they mix the soil, allowing air and water to penetrate beneath the ground’s surface. Their waste products help to aggregate soil particles, improve soil structure, and conserve nutrients in a less mobile state.The topography or shape of the land surface, slope and the position of the soil on the landscape are dominant factors in soil formation. Soils that formed in identical parent materials and under the same conditions vary because of position on the landscape. This is largely the result of drainage conditions caused by differences in surface runoff or depth to the seasonal high water table.
Soils formed at higher elevations and in sloping areas generally are well drained, with six feet or more depth to ground water. Surface runoff is rapid. In these areas, soil colors are bright strong brown to yellowish brown in the subsoil grading to a lighter, grayer unweathered substratum.On soils at lower elevations, such as those in swales, adjacent to drainage ways and water bodies, and in depressions, surface runoff typically flows down from higher elevations. The seasonal high water table is often at a shallow depth. In these areas the soils are somewhat poorly drained and generally have a yellowish brown color with gray subsoil. In poorly and very poorly drained soils, the seasonal high water table is at or near the surface for pro-longed periods. The soil profile typically has a dark colored organic or organic rich layer and a strongly mottled or gray subsoil and substratum.
The last element in soil formation is time. It can take as long as five hundred years to make one inch of soil. The soils of Massachusetts are relatively young and have weathered little compared to soils in non-glaciated areas.
Soil has three layers. Topsoil, subsoil and bedrock. Topsoil (also known as the A horizon) is composed of organic matter and mineral matter that formed at the surface. Most nutrients, organisms and plant roots are located in this layer. A typical topsoil may contain forty-five percent minerals, twenty five percent air, twenty five percent water and five percent organic matter. The Subsoil layer (also known as the B horizon) contains minerals that are usually weathered from the original parent material. It is found about one foot below the surface. Deeper tree roots and earthworms live here. The Parent Material is the bottom layer, as much as three feet below the surface in the Northeast. It is more compact and often has stones and rocks in it. No two soils are exactly the same. Over 18,000 types have been classified so far in the U.S. These are divided into twelve major orders with suborders, great groups and families, similar to the taxonomic system used for plants and animals. Soil properties include texture, color, density, organic matter content, pH., structure, drainage class, permeability, depth to bedrock or other impermeable layers, surface stoniness, rock fragment content, slope and flooding. Because soils are highly variable, their relative suitability for land use and ability to support plant communities and wildlife can differ greatly. Human activities have significantly altered soil in many areas. Our fertile soil has played an important role in America’s history and contributed much to or prosperity. But in agriculture and many other ways that land is used, we often have not treated soil resources with the care needed to make sure the soil stays productive.
Erosion is the wearing away of soil by wind and water. Erosion is a major cause of deteriorating soil quality. Although soil erosion is a natural process, it can be accelerated by cultivation. Excessive erosion results in exposed subsoil which is more difficult to cultivate and less productive for plant growth. And at least 40 percent of U.S. erosion losses result from non-agricultural activities such as logging, urban/ suburban expansion, construction, off-road vehicles, floods, droughts and fires. Erosion causes us to lose 6.43 billion tons of soil per year in the U.S. The best way to prevent erosion is to protect the soil with healthy vegetation. Farmers today work hard to protect their soils through planting cover crops in winter, crop rotation, mulches and no-till agriculture.
Soil Characteristics
Texture - Soil texture refers to the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay in the soil. Sands are the largest particles and clays the smallest. Sand particles can be seen with the naked eye and feel gritty. They can be easily wiped clean from one’s hands leaving no materials in the pores and fingerprints. They can be subdivided into size fractions. Silt particles can be seen with a hand lens or light microscope. They have a smooth powdery feel when dry, and a slick creamy feel when moist or wet. Some liken the feel to that of talcum powder. Silt is not sticky or plastic. After handling silty soil, a coating will be left on the hand, which for the most part, can be brushed off when dry, leaving silt particles in the pores and grooves of your fingerprints.
Clay particles can be seen only with an electron microscope. Clay is sticky and plastic when wet. It is hard when dry. After handling clayey soils a film will be left on the hands, the removal of which requires vigorous washing. Imagine a piece of sand as the size of a basketball. That would make silt the size of a baseball and clay smaller than the size of a marble. Soil separates are the individual size group of mineral particles as designated by the following:
Very coarse sand 2.0 - 1.0 mm Coarse sand 1.0 - 0.5 mm Medium sand 0.5 - 0.25 mm Fine sand 0.25 - 0.10 mm Very fine sand 0.10 - 0.05 mm Silt 0.05-00.002 mm
Clay Less than 0.002 mm
Rock fragments are larger than sand size. They are classified by size as follows.
Gravel 2 mm to 3 inches Cobbles 3 to 10 inches Stones 10 inches to 2.5 feet
Boulders greater than 2.5 feet
Few soils consist wholly of particles of one size class. Soils are comprised of combinations of different size particles, referred to as textural classes. There are many different textural classes. The basic textures in order of generally increasing proportions of finer particles are sand, loamy sand, loam, silt, silt loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay and clay. The classes of sand are coarse sand, sand fine sand, and very fine sand. No modifier is used for medium sand.
Soil color has little known direct influence on the functioning of the soil, but important soil characteristics can be inferred from color. The two major coloring agents are organic matter and iron. Organic matter darkens the soil (as little as 2 to 5 percent can give soil a dark brown to black color). Soil color is classified by hue (variation or red, yellow, green, blue and purple), value (degree of lightness or darkness) and chroma (strength of color). The darker the soil (dark gray, dark brown and black as opposed to pale brown and yellow), the higher the soil quality. Soil color charts offer 245 different color chips systematically arranged according to hue, value and chroma.
Soil Nutrients
The bulk of the materials used by the plant to build its own food are hydrogen and oxygen from water and carbon from carbon dioxide. It also needs in small amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and sulfur and in minute amounts boron, manganese, zinc, copper and molybdenum. Commercial fertilizers are labeled by the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, because these three nutrients are most needed by plants for healthy growth. A soil test will let you know if your soil needs additional trace elements.
Nitrogen keeps the leaves green and helps stems grow. Too little nitrogen causes stunted growth and yellow leaves. Too much nitrogen will cause the plant to grow too fast and have weak, soft stems. Nitrogen is found in the air and soil. Many crops use nitrogen so fast that farmers and gardeners add more to the soil. One way farmers add nitrogen, is to plant different crops, at different times, in the same field. A farmer may grow corn in the field one year and plant alfalfa in that field the next year. The corn takes nitrogen out of the soil, but growing alfalfa put nitrogen back. Phosphorus helps plants store and use energy from the sun to make food for themselves. Phosphorus is important for beautiful flowers, seed development and general good growth. A phosphorous deficiency causes small, thin immature plants. Plants need large amounts of phosphorus as they begin to grow and when the weather turns cold. Phosphorus is made from rock phosphate. Rock phosphate cannot be absorbed by plants, so it is processed to a form that can be applied to soil.
Potassium makes plants stronger, fruit stay fresher and grass greener. Potassium keeps the cells of the plant strong, forming strong stems and roots. It permits free flow of food through the plant and produces starches, controls root growth and open and closes pores for water. Potassium help plants survive droughts, diseases, and very hot and cold temperatures. Potassium is found in the soil but only a small amount is available to plants. That’s why farmers add potassium fertilizer to soil.
Earth’s Water Supply
To understand how much of the earth’s water supply is available for our use, try this activity. 1. Fill a one-gallon container (such as an ice cream bucket) with water. 2. Pour a half-cup of water out of the one-gallon container and into a clear bowl. The water in the bowl represents all of the fresh water on earth, which is less than three percent of the total water on earth. Fresh water is found in lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice and living things. The 15 ½ cups that are still in the one-gallon container represent salt water. We cannot use salt water. 3. With an eyedropper, drop one drop of water from the half-cup onto a small plate. This one dropper represents the freshwater that is available for our use. This water is found in rivers and lakes. The rest of the water in the half-cup is deep groundwater, bound up as soil moisture, biomass water, or water in the atmosphere.
Oceans 97.3%; Ice 2.19%; Groundwater .5%; Soil Moisture .005%; Atmosphere .001; Inland Lakes .018% and Rivers .000096%.
Look Closer at Soil
Create a soil mural by projecting the transparency onto a large sheet of white paper, using an overhead projector. Trace the image and add other plants and animals that live in the soil.
Massachusetts Soils
Massachusetts was covered with glacial ice 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. The parent material of the most extensive soils is comprised of various types of glacial deposits. These soils have weathered little compared to soils in non-glaciated areas and have developed relatively weak soil profiles. Some Massachusetts soils were deposited beneath advancing or retreating glaciers. These are dense, firm sandy loams. Other soil were deposited by melting ice. These tend to be coarsely textured, sand, gravel and stones. Post glacial winds deposited 1 to 2.5 feet of silt or very fine sand over glacial sediment in many areas of Northern Massachusetts. Along major stream valleys, glacial outwash deposits consisting of layered sand and gravel overlain by a more weathered, loamy or sandy surface layer and subsoil may be found. Low plains were formed along parts of the present coast of Massachusetts when ocean levels receded following glaciation and marine sediments were left exposed. The sediments generally are at elevations as high as 50 feet above sea level and grade gently to sea level. Moderate temperatures in Massachusetts allow the accumulation of organic matter in the surface layer of most soils. Rainfall leaches water-soluble minerals down through the soil, resulting in acid soil throughout most of the state. In winter, cold temperatures and high moisture cause frost action, which is especially active in loamy soils not under forest vegetation. Frost action breaks apart rock fragments, and in some soils influences soil structure.
Human activities have significantly altered soil in some areas. Many soils have a distinct plow layer formed by mechanical cultivation and additions of organic matter, lime, fertilizer. Some naturally wet soils have been altered by artificial drainage and filing. Throughout the state, especially in urban areas, there are many areas where the natural soil has been covered, removed or replaced by homes, businesses, recreation and other human activity.
Soil Crayons
Materials: Soil (air dried); hammer or mallet; sharp knife or razor blade; plastic ziplock bag; mortar and pestle (rubber tipped); paper cups (8 ounce); knee high nylon hose (white preferred); hot plate; sauce pan; 15 ml. pointed centrifuge tube (hard plastic); small beaker/rack to hold centrifuge tubes; small glass funnel; wood stir sticks (popsicle sticks); teaspoon; ice bath; metal spatula/scraper (thin blade pocket knife). 1. Prepare the soil. Place dried soil on a piece of brown paper and crush into pieces with a hammer or mallet. Place some of the crushed soil into a mortar. Use a rubber tipped pestle to crush the soil into a fine powder. Repeat to crush all soil. Place ½ cup of powdered soil in a paper cup. Wrap a knee high nylon hose over the top three times. Turn the cup upside down over a piece of paper and gently shake to sprinkle out the finest powder. Use this soil powder to make the soil crayons. Prepare each of the soils in this manner
2. Prepare the wax. Cut the wax into small (1mm.) pieces with knife or razor blade or place block of wax into a heavy duty ziplock bag and crush with mallet.
3. Make the crayon. Heat approximately two inches of water in a sauce pan on a hot plate. Place rack or small beaker with water in the pan. When the water starts to boil, turn the hot plate to a simmer. While the water is heating, place enough small pieces of wax into a 15 ml. centrifuge tube (packed slightly) to about 12 ml. Place the centrifuge tube with the rack or beaker in the sauce pan and wait for the wax to melt. When the wax is completely melted, place the glass funnel into the top of the centrifuge tube and spoon in approximately one teaspoon of prepared soil. Remove funnel. Stir melted wax and soil mixture with a wooden stir stick. Continue stirring while removing the tube with the wax and soil mixture to an ice bath and remove stick. Let the centrifuge tube sit in the ice bath about 15 minutes. Take the tube out of the bath and scrape the inside of the tube to remove any excess soil or wax along the rim edge of the crayon to help release it. Turn the centrifuge tube upside down and gently tap on counter to release crayon. Color and have fun.
Edible Dirt
You can make a "Dirt Cake" to eat... and learn about soil at the same time! Materials: eight-inch plastic or clay flower pot; aluminum foil; one package Oreo cookies; ¾ pound package gummy worms; one package miniature chocolate chips; coconut - colored green; four tablespoons butter or margarine; 1 eight-ounce package cream cheese; one cup powdered sugar; 3 ½ cups milk; 2 three- ounce packages vanilla instant pudding and twelve-ounces whipped topping. 1. Line an eight-inch plastic or clay flower pot with foil. 2. Crush one large package of Oreo cookies and set aside. 3. Put aside for later gummy worms, miniature chocolate chips, and green-colored coconut.
4. Cream together four tablespoons butter or margarine, 1 eight-ounce package cream cheese, and one cup powdered sugar. 5. Mix together 3 ½ cups milk, two 3-ounce packages vanilla instant pudding and twelve ounces whipped topping. 6. Add the creamed mixture and the pudding mixture together. Mix well. 7. Place the whipped topping lid in the bottom of the flower pot. 8. Bottom Layer (Parent material) - begin with a layer of crushed cookies. Then mix chocolate chips with half of the creamed pudding mixture and smooth it over the cookies. 9. Second Layer (Subsoil) - Add more crushed cookies, then a creamed pudding layer and the gummy worms. (Save one worm for the top layer!).
10. Top Layer (Topsoil) - Finish with a layer of crushed cookies. Sprinkle with green coconut for "grass" and poke a gummy worm through the top to peek out of the "soil". Refrigerate overnight.
Soil Collage
Materials: Soil; glue; markers and heavy paper or cardboard.
Let your children use real soil to make their pictures. Begin by talking about soil’s importance to plants. Name some plants you see everyday (trees in the school yard, house plants, wildflowers, grass and plants that give us food).
How is soil important to these plants?
Let each child sketch a plant showing the roots beneath the ground’s surface. Trace over the roots with a brightly colored marker. Spread glue over the soil are (omitting the roots) and sprinkle soil over the glue. Wait for the glue to dry and shake off the excess.
A Slice of Soil
| |
On planet earth all living things depend on the soil. Plants, people animals... even fish... rely on the soil for food. Only a small portion of our land is capable of producing food. Try this demonstration. |
| |
1. Imagine the earth as an apple.
2. Cut the apple into four equal parts. Three parts represent the oceans of the world. The fourth part represents the land area.
3. Cut the land section in half lengthwise. Now you have two 1/8 pieces. One section represents land such as deserts, swamp, Antarctic, arctic and mountain regions. The other 1/8 section of apple represents land where humans can live and may or may not be able to grow food. Cut the land section in half.
4. Slice this 1/8 section crosswise into four equal parts. Three of these 1/32 sections represent the areas of the world that are too rocky, too wet, too hot or where soils are too poor to grow food. Plus, we can’t grow food on some land because cities and other human-made structures are built on it. Cut the other livable area into fourths.
5. Carefully peel the last 1/32 section. The peel on this small piece represents the amount of soils available to grow food for all the people on earth. This amount of soil will never get any bigger.
With so little soil and so many people on earth, how are we able to grow enough food to feed everybody? |
Soil Resources
USDA Natural Resources Cons. Service
State Office 451 West Street
Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 253-4350Web Site: www.nrcs.usda.gov
* Free list of educational materials. |
Local USDA NRCS Offices:
Barnstable: (508) 771-6476
Greenfield: (413) 772-0384
Holden: (508) 829-4477
Northampton: (413) 586-1000
West Wareham: (508) 295_5151
Westford: (978) 692-1904 |
National Assn. of Conservation Districts
P. O. Box 855
League City, Texas 77574-0855
(800) 825_5547 Fax (713) 332 5259
Web Site: www.nacd.net
* Free list of educational materials. |
Soil Society of America
www.soils.org |
Soil & Water Cons. Society of America
7515 Northwest Ankeny Road
Ankeny, IA 50021-9764
(800) THE Soil Fax: (515) 289-1227
Web Site: www.swcs.org
* Free list of educational materials. |
National Wildlife Federation
www.nwf.org |
USDA Agricultural Research Service
Kids Science Projects
www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/fair/story.htm |
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Soil Activities for Kids
http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/index.htm |
Project Soil
http://projectsoil.org/project_soil |
Soils and Conservation Website
with Soil Zoo
www.waite.adelaide.edu.au/school/Soil/index.html |
| The University of Massachusetts Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory provides soil testing for a fee. For information, (413) 545-2311 or e-mail to soil testing@hotmail.com. The service is available to all. Visit the web site at http://umass.edu/plsoils/soiltest/ |
|
Information for this newsletter was taken from: USDA NRCS Resources; The Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom Ag Mag Issue 22; The National Wildlife Federation’s Educators Guide and information supplied by Al Averill, Greenfield MA Office, USDA NRCS.
Click here to send us a message or add a name to our mailing list