P6100643

When I bounced the ball it broke, suggesting a loamy sand.

 

Because the soil is a loamy sand, it allows water to flow through relatively freely, and thus the movement of nutrients is greater than say in a clay soil. There are many large trees, especially oaks and maples and black cherry trees in the area, and relatively little understory growth. The trees hold the soil together with their large roots, however, the lack of understory growth probably means the top soil is washed away more easily than if there were many shrubs holding down the soil. Likewise, the soil is definitely an easily eroded type, because it is not very dense and has little understory holding on to the surface layer. If there was a massive flood (would have to be HUGE as this location is on a hill) and the soil were washed away, none of the trees would stay standing, and the soil would erode down hill and down to the surrounding lowlands. It would cause a negative effect if it were to be relocated to the lower areas, as the places surrounding my location are all human occupied.

 

Soil texture is important because soil is the basis upon which a huge part of the worlds organisms resides, and without all of those organisms there would be a much less diverse biosphere.

Done