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Northwest Missouri State University celebrated its spring bachelor's degree recipients during commencement ceremonies May 4, 2019. The University awarded a record 1,062 degrees during the weekend.
(Photo by Brandon Bland/Northwest Missouri State University)
Northwest Missouri State University celebrated its spring bachelor's degree recipients during commencement ceremonies May 4, 2019. The University awarded a record 1,062 degrees during the weekend.
(Photo by Brandon Bland/Northwest Missouri State University)
Zohia Arif. BIOL 394 Photo 2. This photo was taken on April 8, 2019 at Waterfall Glenn Forest Preserve in Lisle, IL. The Earth consists of 4 major spheres, the lithosphere/ geosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. The Lithosphere is one of the Earth’s important reservoirs. A reservoir is an open system that stores nutrients and compounds with fluxes, or inputs and outputs. Soil is a large carbon reservoir, aging from thousands/millions of years. Soils perform vital functions such as sustaining plant and animal life before and above the surface; regulating and partitioning water and solute flow; filtering, buffering, degrading, immobilizing, and detoxifying; storing and cycling nutrients; and providing support to structures, not limited to natural spaces. There are several components to soil, such as air, water, minerals and organic solids. Organic matter is an important component that makes up only 5% of the soil component. Organic matter is material from anything that was once living. This includes plants, animals, and microbes. This important component of soil provides nutrients for plants and microbes, and it also provides structure and stability to the plant’s growth. The soil’s parent material, which consists of Earthy mineral and organic materials, is broken down by weathering. Weathering is one of two important processes that occur in soil. It is the breakdown and decomposition of rocks and minerals by factors including air, water, sun, and frost. Nitrogen fixation is the second important process occurring in soil, where chemical transformation of Nitrogen in its unusable gaseous form is converted to usable forms for plants by mycorrhizae and other fungi and bacteria. Soil can degrade over time due to multiple factors such as erosion, leaching or nutrient depletion, loss of structure due to tillage, water scarcity, salinization, contamination, and compaction. The factor being highlighted in this picture is erosion. Erosion is the physical wearing away of the Earth’s surface, and the surface soil material is removed in the process. Soils with faster infiltration rates, higher levels of soil organic matter, and improved soil structure that creates well drained soil have a greater resistance to erosion. Texture is the principal characteristic that affects erodibility. Less erodible soils consist of sand, sandy loam and loam-textured soils. Silt, very fine sand and certain clay-textured soils are prone to be more erosion due to the increased compaction and structure of the soil. High compaction of soil can lead to leaching, which is a natural phenomenon, however it has negative impacts to the soil due to nutrient loss. Having high soil organic matter content allows for air permeability, and water infiltration and water retention, which decreases leaching. Rainfall and surface water runoff water are also major contributors to soil erosion. The erosion depicted in the picture has a very steep and long slope, therefore increasing the risk for erosion. As the slope increases, soil erosion by water will increase also due to the greater accumulation of the runoff water. Bank erosion can be accelerated by sediments that reach streams or waterways, which can damage fish habitats and degrade the water quality downstream. Pesticides or fertilizers transported along with the eroding soil can contaminate and pollute downstream water sources. Awareness of soil erosion generally occurs after the soil has been degraded and damaged, and productive areas of the soil have been lost. The predicted increase in the global surface temperatures and climate poses new areas of concern for soil erosion.