cloakedartichoke
Soil Texture: Silty Clay
Silty clay has a high percentage of clay (40-60%), around 40-60% silt and very low sand if any (0-20%). Feeling the clay, it was very smooth and easy to manipulate. But having clay and silt together means a majority of the soil is very small particles that have very little space to let water filter through. This means that nutrients and water may settle and take a lot longer to get into the groundwater supply. In fact, the area I was surveying had a lot of standing puddles near high grasses.
I didn't see any earthworms, which I normally associate with rich soils but I did see snails on top of the soil. I would imagine earthworms don't like clay/silt soil as much because it's harder to move through with little space and high compaction. The earthworms help move air into the soil so I think they would be prevalent in sandy soil. The snails would seem more accustomed to wetter environments and stay on top of the soil so silty clay is more appropriate.
Like I mentioned before, lack of earthworms mean the soil isn't being turned over as much and there is less aeration. The snails probably like the wet soil but I don't know if they would contribute anything to its qualities. Lack of certain creatures probably attribute to the qualities.
The soil would not likely be eroded, especially in the area I was looking at. Most of it is moist and compacted so it has a hard time losening up. Any major rain events would make it more compact and saturated and other events, like pulling up the roots of plants that keep the soil in place, probably wouldn't do much. There also wouldn't be much erosion in this area because most of the ground is covered in tall grasses or trees, keeping the soil firmly in place. There aren't large areas of exposed soil that might make it more prone to erosion. If anything, it might erode around the stream banks into the river, affecting the turbidity and cleanliness of the water.
Soil texture is a very important variable to think about when considering abiotic conditions that affect organisms. It impacts what sort of small organisms live in the soil, which may affect herbivores and thus carnivores in the area (so the life cycle). And the tendency for water to collect or filter through may influence standing bodies of water that draw in animals. Also, soil texture would dictate which plants are growing in that area. And the plants that grow would also affect the other organisms living around them.
Soil Texture: Silty Clay
Silty clay has a high percentage of clay (40-60%), around 40-60% silt and very low sand if any (0-20%). Feeling the clay, it was very smooth and easy to manipulate. But having clay and silt together means a majority of the soil is very small particles that have very little space to let water filter through. This means that nutrients and water may settle and take a lot longer to get into the groundwater supply. In fact, the area I was surveying had a lot of standing puddles near high grasses.
I didn't see any earthworms, which I normally associate with rich soils but I did see snails on top of the soil. I would imagine earthworms don't like clay/silt soil as much because it's harder to move through with little space and high compaction. The earthworms help move air into the soil so I think they would be prevalent in sandy soil. The snails would seem more accustomed to wetter environments and stay on top of the soil so silty clay is more appropriate.
Like I mentioned before, lack of earthworms mean the soil isn't being turned over as much and there is less aeration. The snails probably like the wet soil but I don't know if they would contribute anything to its qualities. Lack of certain creatures probably attribute to the qualities.
The soil would not likely be eroded, especially in the area I was looking at. Most of it is moist and compacted so it has a hard time losening up. Any major rain events would make it more compact and saturated and other events, like pulling up the roots of plants that keep the soil in place, probably wouldn't do much. There also wouldn't be much erosion in this area because most of the ground is covered in tall grasses or trees, keeping the soil firmly in place. There aren't large areas of exposed soil that might make it more prone to erosion. If anything, it might erode around the stream banks into the river, affecting the turbidity and cleanliness of the water.
Soil texture is a very important variable to think about when considering abiotic conditions that affect organisms. It impacts what sort of small organisms live in the soil, which may affect herbivores and thus carnivores in the area (so the life cycle). And the tendency for water to collect or filter through may influence standing bodies of water that draw in animals. Also, soil texture would dictate which plants are growing in that area. And the plants that grow would also affect the other organisms living around them.