Virtual Field Trip

1. Describe at least 3 effects that soil has on the lives of humans.

2. What are the 5 components of soil, and how does each of these components influence soil function?

3. What is a soil profile, and how can it be determined?

4. Who might be interested in knowing a soil profile? For what purposes?

5. Soil and the Environment describes eight “ecosystem services” of the soil. What is another name for that term, and what are these ecosystem services?

6. Describe the role of soil in the processes of carbon and nutrient cycling.

7. How does traditional farming cause large amounts of carbon to be released into the atmosphere? What are some potential problems that might arise from this?

8. Iowa Farmers Look to Trap Carbon identifies two strategies farmers can use to recapture carbon in their fields. Describe the strategies, and explain why they could also be called “carbon farming.”

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Synthesis Questions:

1. Do you think there should be a limit on how much plowing is done as means to prevent large amounts of carbon from being released into the atmosphere? Why? Do you think farmers would agree or disagree with your assessment?

2. How does agricultural soil compare to the soil in a grassy ecosystem, such as a Prairie? How do soil characteristics affect what grows in each ecosystem?