SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION 1 Do the following

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION

1. Do the following: A. Tell what soil is. Tell how it is formed. B. Describe three kinds of soil. Tell how they are different. C. Name three main plant nutrients in fertile soil. Tell how they can be put back when used up.

1. Do the following: A. Tell what soil is. Tell how it is formed. Soil is a mixture of mineral and organic materials plus air and water. The contents of soil varies in different locations and is constantly changing. There are many different kinds and types of soils. Each has certain characteristics including a specific color and composition. Different kinds of soils support the growth of different types of plants and also determine how well that plant life grows. Soil is formed slowly, but can be easily destroyed. Therefore, soil conservation is important for continued support of life.

1. Do the following: B. Describe three kinds of soil. Tell how they are different. Sand - Coarse and gritty and you can just barely see individual particles. Silt - Feels smooth like flour. You cannot see the individual particles without using a strong magnifying glass. Clay - Fine granules bond together.

1. Do the following: C. Name three main plant nutrients in fertile soil. Tell how they can be put back when used up. Nitrogen (N)- Main nutrient that contributes to the growth of the above ground plant. Makes grass greener. Returned to soil by: Mowing grass & leaving clippings in lawn. Phosphorus (P) - Helps plants germinate. Also helps plants absorb nutrients to produce more. Provides overall plant health and disease resistance. Returned to soil by: Decomposed plants back into the soil. Potash (K): Mainly for strong roots. Returned to soil by: Decomposed plants back into the soil.

In general, most plants grow by absorbing nutrients from the soil. Their ability to do this depends on the nature of the soil. Depending on its location, a soil contains some combination of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter. The makeup of a soil (soil texture) and its acidity (p. H) determine the extent to which nutrients are available to plants.

2. Do the following: A. Define soil erosion. B. Tell why soil conservation is important. Tell how it affects you. C. Name three kinds of soil erosion. Describe each. D. Take pictures of or draw two kinds of soil erosion.

2. Do the following: A. Define soil erosion. Erosion is the removal of solids (sediment, soil, rock, and other particles) in the natural environment. It usually occurs due to transport by wind, water, or ice; by down-slope creep of soil and other material under the force of gravity; or by living organisms, such as burrowing animals, in the case of bioerosion.

2. Do the following: B. Tell why soil conservation is important. Tell how it affects you. It's important because it helps prevent soil from being eroded and becoming chemically altered by overuse. Soil Conservation helps keep the environment in good working order, which helps provide clean air, food, shelter, clothing and living space which we all need and use.

2. Do the following: C. Name three kinds of soil erosion. Describe each. Water Erosion: Beating rain & moving water loosen up & carry soil particles, organic material and plant nutrients to a new location. Wind_Erosion: A problem in windy areas when the soil is not protected by residue cover. Geologic: In dry regions where there is little vegetation and infrequent but intense rains that carves hills and scour valleys

2. Do the following: D. Take pictures of or draw two kinds of soil erosion.

3. Do the following: A. Tell what is meant by "conservation practices". B. Describe the effect of three kinds of erosioncontrol practices. C. Take pictures of or draw three kinds of erosioncontrol practices.

3. Do the following: A. Tell what is meant by "conservation practices". With the help of the local Soil and Water Conservation District, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, and Cooperative Extension, farmers are employing a variety of conservation practices on their farms. The purpose of these practices is to slow or control water runoff, and to trap sediment and nutrients. Here are some conservation practices. 1 of 3

3. Buffers— There are many different types of buffers depending on the site. They usually involve incorporating vegetative plantings, which act as a filtration strip to slow water movement, and to trap nutrients and sediment. Conservation tillage— A combination of soil and crop management techniques including managing crop residue and tillage practices in order to aid in soil and organic matter conservation in the field. Crop rotation— A common practice of rotating certain crops planted in a particular field from one season to the next in order to break the cycle of weeds, insects, and diseases. Grassed waterways— Strips of grass planted where water tends to move across a field, planted to prevent gully erosion. 2 of 3

3. Nutrient management— Managing nutrients entering (feed, fertilizer, legume nitrogen) and leaving (crops, milk, meat) the farm system so that crops needs are closely matched with proper inputs of manure and other nutrients as needed. Filter strips— A type of buffer, grass is planted in strips between crops. Riparian buffers— Planted along a stream bank, usually consisting of trees, shrubs, and grasses. 3 of 3

3. Do the following: B. Describe the effect of three kinds of erosion-control practices. Grassland strip rotation system Grassland strips in rotation with crops can effectively control soil erosion, intercept runoff, increase infiltration of soil, improve water quality, and increase crop yield on the sloping lands. The nitrogen fixing grassland rotated with crops will improve soil fertility BUFFER STRIPCROPPING Contour strip cropping is the growing of a soilexposing and erosionpermitting crop in strips of suitable widths across the slopes on contour, alternating with strip of soil-protecting and erosion-resisting crop. Contour ridge tillage: In this type of tillage a ditch or ridge along sloping land contour is constructed to shorten the slope length and change the direction of runoff flow for the purpose of storing water, preventing scouring and combating drought and soil erosion.

3. Do the following: C. Take pictures of or draw three kinds of erosion-control practices.

4. Do the following: A. Explain what a watershed is. B. Outline the smallest watershed that you can find on a contour map. C. Outline, as far as the map will allow, the next larger watershed which also has the smaller one in it. D. Explain what a river basin is. Tell why all people living in a river basin should be concerned about land water use in the basin.

4. A. Explain what a watershed is. The term watershed describes an area of land that drains downslope to the lowest point. The water moves through a network of drainage pathways, both underground and on the surface. Generally, these pathways converge into streams and rivers, which become progressively larger as the water moves on downstream, eventually reaching an esturay and the ocean. Other terms used interchangeably with watershed include drainage basin or catchment basin.

4. B. Outline the smallest watershed that you can find on a contour map.

4. C. Outline, as far as the map will allow, the next larger watershed which also has the smaller one in it.

4. D. Explain what a river basin is. Tell why all people living in a river basin should be concerned about land water use in the basin. A River basin is the portion of land drained by a river and its tributaries. It encompasses all of the land surface dissected and drained by many streams and creeks that flow downhill into one another, and eventually into one river.

4. D. Explain what a river basin is. Tell why all people living in a river basin should be concerned about land water use in the basin. An area of land drained by a river and all its large and small tributaries. All river basins are large watersheds. The way that land water are used and managed affects the quality and quantity of water people in cities downstream will have.

5. Do the following: A. Make a drawing to show the hydrologic cycle. B. Demonstrate at least two of the following actions of water in relation to the soil: percolation, capillary action, precipitation, evaporation, transpiration. C. Explain how removal of vegetation will affect the way water runs off a watershed. D. Tell how uses of forest, range, and farmland affect usable water supply. E. Explain how industrial use affects water supply.

5. Do the following: A. Make a drawing to show the hydrologic cycle. 1 of 2

5. Do the following: A. Make a drawing to show the hydrologic cycle. 2 of 2

5. Do the following: B. Demonstrate at least two of the following actions of water in relation to the soil: percolation, capillary action, precipitation, evaporation, transpiration. Percolation capillary action the slow passage of a liquid through a filtering medium; "the percolation of rainwater through the soil" The flow of liquids through porous media, such as the flow of water through soil Precipitation When cloud particles become too heavy to remain suspended in the air, they fall to the earth as precipitation. Precipitation occurs in a variety of forms; hail, rain, freezing rain, sleet or snow. 1 of 2

5. Do the following: B. Demonstrate at least two of the following actions of water in relation to the soil: percolation, capillary action, precipitation, evaporation, transpiration. Evaporation is the process by which water is converted from its liquid form to its vapor form and thus transferred from land water masses to the atmosphere. Evaporation from the oceans accounts for 80% of the water delivered as precipitation, with the balance occurring on land, inland waters and plant surfaces. Transpiration is the evaporation of water from plants. It occurs chiefly at the leaves while their stomata are open for the passage of CO 2 and O 2 during photosynthesis. 2 of 2

5. Do the following: C. Explain how removal of vegetation will affect the way water runs off a watershed. It will make the water run off faster, because nothing is holding it back.

5. Do the following: D. Tell how uses of forest, range, and farmland affect usable water supply. It helps slow down the run-off into the watershed and prevents flooding in other areas

5. Do the following: E. Explain how industrial use affects water supply. It can cause water pollution by dumping chemicals into the rivers and also the ground which gets into our well water

6. Do the following: A. Tell what is meant by "water pollution". B. Describe common sources of water pollution and explain the effects of each. C. Tell what is meant by "primary water treatment, " "secondary waste treatment, " and "biochemical oxygen demand. " D. Make a drawing showing the principles of complete waste treatment.

6. Do the following: A. Tell what is meant by "water pollution". Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities, which can be harmful to organisms and plants that live in these water bodies. It occurs when pollutants are discharged directly into water bodies without treating it first.

6. Do the following: B. Describe common sources of water pollution and explain the effects of each. Direct sources include effluent outfalls from factories, refineries, waste treatment plants etc. . Indirect sources include contaminants that enter the water supply from soils/groundwater systems and from the atmosphere via rain water. Soils and groundwaters contain the residue of human agricultural practices (fertilizers, pesticides, etc. . ) and improperly disposed of industrial wastes. Atmospheric contaminants are also derived from human practices (such as gaseous emissions from automobiles, factories and even bakeries).

6. Do the following: B. Describe common sources of water pollution and explain the effects of each. Human infectious diseases are among the most serious effects of water pollution, especially in developing countries, where sanitation may be inadequate or non-existent. Waterborne diseases occur when parasites or other disease-causing microorganisms are transmitted via contaminated water, particularly water contaminated by pathogens originating from excreta. These include typhoid, intestinal parasites, and most of the enteric and diarrheal diseases caused by bacteria, parasites, and viruses. Among the most serious parasitic diseases are amoebiasis, giardiasis, ascariasis, and hookworm.

6. Do the following: B. Describe common sources of water pollution and explain the effects of each. Sources of water pollution are people, factories, septic tanks, road salt, fertilizer. The effects of water pollution are weed Infested lakes, dead fish, sick birds.

6. Do the following: C. Tell what is meant by "primary water treatment, " "secondary waste treatment, " and "biochemical oxygen demand. " Primary Treatment Primary treatment is the second step in treatment and separates suspended solids and greases from wastewater. Waste-water is held in a quiet tank for several hours allowing the particles to settle to the bottom and the greases to float to the top. The solids drawn off the bottom and skimmed off the top receive further treatment as sludge. The clarified wastewater flows on to the next stage of wastewater treatment. Clarifiers and septic tanks are usually used to provide primary treatment. Secondary Treatment Secondary treatment is a biological treatment process to remove dissolved organic matter from wastewater. Sewage microorganisms are cultivated and added to the wastewater. The microorganisms absorb organic matter from sewage as their food supply. Three approaches are used to accomplish secondary treatment; fixed film, suspended film and lagoon systems.

6. Do the following: C. Tell what is meant by "primary water treatment, " "secondary waste treatment, " and "biochemical oxygen demand. " Biochemical oxygen demand or biological oxygen demand (BOD) is a chemical procedure for determining how fast biological organisms use up oxygen in a body of water. It is used in water quality management and assessment, ecology and environmental science. BOD is not an accurate quantitative test, although it could be considered as an indication of the quality of a water source. BOD can be used as a gauge of the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants. It is listed as a conventional pollutant in the U. S. Clean Water Act.

6. Do the following: D. Make a drawing showing the principles of complete waste treatment. 1 of 2

6. Do the following: D. Make a drawing showing the principles of complete waste treatment. 2 of 2

7. Do TWO of the following: A. Make a trip to two of the following places. Write a report of more than 500 words about the soil and water and energy conservation practices you saw. 1. An agricultural experiment. 2. A managed forest or a woodlot, range, or pasture. 3. A wildlife refuge or a fish or game management area. 4. A conservation-managed farm or ranch. 5. A managed watershed. 6. A waste-treatment plant. 7. A public drinking water treatment plant. 8. An industry water-use installation. 9. A desalinization plant. B. Plant 100 trees, bushes and/or vines for a good purpose. C. Seed an area of at least one-fifth acre for some worthwhile conservation purposes, using suitable grasses or legumes 1 of 2 alone or in a mixture.

7. Do TWO of the following: D. Study a soil survey report. Describe things in it. Using tracing paper and pen, trace over any of the soil maps, and outline an area with three or more different kinds of soil. List each kind of soil by full name and map symbol. E. Make a list of places in your neighborhood, camps, school ground, or park having erosion, sedimentation, or pollution problems. Describe how these could be corrected through individual or group action. F. Carry out any other soil and water conservation project approved by your merit badge counselor. 2 of 2

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Credit www. wikibooks. org/wiki/Scouting/BSA/Soil_and_Water_Conservation_Merit_Badge www. innersource. com www. wikipedia. org www. ohioline. osu. edu Wayne Ellis bsagptx@yahoo. com