First Lab Report : Kacang Tanah

COURSE: SS11403 ENVIRONMENTAL SOIL SCIENCE

TITLE: Soil Colour Analysis & Soil Texture Analysis

LECTURER: Mdm. Diana Demiyah Mohd Hamdan

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 20^th March 2018

NAME	MATRICS NO.
AIDA IZZATI BINTI MD. HUSIM	BS17110523
AKHMARUL IMAN BIN RAHMAN	BS17110521
EMMELDAH JOSEPH	BS17110310
HEW JET XIONG	BS17110443
IVY IMELDA MOENTEN	BS17110049
NUR FAIQAH BINTI ZULKIPLI	BS17160701

Introduction 

In the field of soil science, soil colour is an important soil property that can be used soil scientists to identify and classify soil. For an example, soil colour helps in soil classification which is very important in soil management and sustainable land utilization (Hartemink and Bockheim, 2013). Besides that, it is also an indicator of the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil.

Different soils have different compositions and different environmental and physical properties (Viscarra Rossel et al., 2006). Thus, it can be said that soil colour is a comprehensive indicator of the chemical compositions and physical characteristics of soils and we can obtain a large number of soil information just by the interpretation of soil colour. Properties such as soil organic matter content, iron content, soil water content, and texture have been shown to have good correlations with soil colour. For an example, soils with dark surface horizons are generally associated with high organic matter contents and it is categorized them as fertile and suitable medium for plant growth (Schulze et al,. 1993). Next, soil colour also can be used to describe the moisture level in the soil as the changes in refractive index of dry soil is lighter than wet soil.

Therefore, it is very important to identify the soil colour first. One of the populated method of determining the soil colour is by using a Munsell Soil Colour Chart. It is intuitively designed to reflect our perception of soil colour and its variations. It is a very efficient system of categorizing qualification of soil colour although it does not lend itself for numerical and statistical analysis as the Munsell Colour Space is divided into a series of non-contiguous slices presented as each page of the colour book (Viscarra Rossel et al., 2006).

SOIL COLOUR ANALYSIS 

I) Objective

• To identify the soil colour of soil sample used to plant ground nut based on Munsell colour Chart

II) Apparatus

• Munsell colour Chart

• Water Spray Bottle

III) Material

• Soil Sample (taken from nearby lake in FSSA)

IV) Procedures

1. Take the soil sample and put on the hand palm.

2. Break it down to show the uniform colour of the soil on the hand.

3. Use water spray bottle to get the soil sample wet but not soaking wet, until its colour does not change.

4. Hold it up against the colour sheet and record what colour matches with the soil sample.

V) Result

• The observed soil colour based on Munsell colour Chart is Olive Brown (2.5Y 4/3)

VI) Discussion

• As the observed colour is olive brown, we can determine that the soil sample has average content of organic matter. Therefore, it is a suitable soil for plant growth

VII) Conclusion

In conclusion, soil color able to indicate the condition of the soil whether it is very sustainable for plant growth. From the experiment, we can see the soil color is varied according to the degree of oxidation of minerals in the soil and organic matter content. Therefore, by determining the soil color before the growth of crops give us a better understanding on the condition of the soil.

References

1) R.A. Viscarra Rossel, B. Minasny, P. Roudier, A.B. McBratney. (2006). Colour space models for soil science. Geoderma. 133, 320 - 337.

2) A.E. Hartemink, J.G. Bockheim. (2013). Soil genesis and classification. Catena. 104, 251 - 256.

3) D.G. Schulze, J.L. Nagel, G.E. Van Scoyoc, T.L. Henderson, M.F. Baumgardner, D.E. Scott. (1993). Significance of organic matter in determining soil colors. 

INTRODUCTION

Generally, soil texture is determined via the relative proportion of the three kinds of soil mineral particles, called soil separates which is classified as sand, silt and clay. There are various properties of soil to be examined and these properties vary through the depth of a soil profile, which is the soil horizon. Soil horizon is the layer parallel to the soil surface, in which every layers, above and beneath displays different physical properties.

Throughout the experiment, the physical properties of soil in terms of its texture is determined by “feel method”. As mentioned before, the mineral components of soil are sand, silt and clay, and these are the aspects or relative proportions which will determine a soil’s particular structure. This structure mainly influenced the porosity, permeability, infiltration, shrink-well rate, water-holding capacity, and susceptibility to erosion. Commonly, from the perspective of conventional agriculture, a loam soil with a small amount of organic material is considered “ideal”, as much as fertilizer are currently used to mitigate nutrient losses due to crop yields in the long term. (Hayness et al ,1998). Typically, soil texture analysis is a prevalent classification instrument used both in the field and laboratory to determine the soil classes based on their physical texture. It is either by qualitative methods such as texture by feel, and quantitative methods such as the hydrometer method. Soil texture particularly focuses on types of particles that are less than two millimeters in diameter, which is the sand, silt, and clay.

Determining the soil texture by “feel method”, hand analysis is a simple and effective technique to assess and classify a soil’s physical condition. This method is an extremely useful tool as it requires little equipment in identifying spatial variation both within and between fields apart from identifying progressive changes and boundaries between soil map units, soil series. “Feel method” is an example of qualitative method because it does not provide an exact values of sand, silt, and clay. Despite being qualitative, the texture by feel flowchart is also an accurate way for interested individuals to analyze the relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay. Brief explanation on how this method is conducted, it involves taking a small sample of soil and making a ribbon out of it. The ribbon was made by taking a ball of soil and pushing the soil between our thumb and forefinger, squeezing it upward into a ribbon. The length of the ribbon is then measured. Soils with high percentage of sand, for instance sandy loam or sandy clay typically have a gritty texture while soil with high percentage of silt, such as silty loam or silty clay feel smooth. (Ditzler C. et al, 2017). As for soil with high percentage of clay, for example clay loam, possess a sticky feel.
Besides that, the method can be used to determine soil texture is through Mason Jar Test. It is a test where the soil layers is formed in a glass jar after vigorous shaking. This helps to identify which type of soil particle is abundance in a soil and identify the soil texture from the soil textural triangle.

Soil behavior are particularly affected by their soil texture itself, specifically in terms of their retention capacity for nutrients and water. (Whendee S.L et al, 2000). Study shows that the clumping of these soil textural components, sand silt, and clay, causes aggregates into larger units which then will create a soil structure called peds. These peds are further divided into few classes whose ranges depends on the type of soil.  Therefore, it is very important to determine the soil texture before any planning on growing for crops or any plants.

SOIL TEXTURE ANALYSIS

I) Objective

• To determine the type of soil used for in each pots planted with peanut seedlings.
• To classify in particular, the classes of soils used throughout the experiment.
• To identify what are the factors that determine the properties of soil in terms of its physical structure. 

• To study the affiliation of types of soil and their respective nutrient content to the growth of seedlings. 

II) Apparatus

• Soil Texture Flow Chart Appendix
• Ruler

III) Material

      • Soil sample (taken from nearby lake in FSSA)
       • Distilled water
      • Glass jar with lid
IV) Procedures By Feel

     1. The soil is moistened by adding a small amount of distilled to the soil till it reached a putty-like consistency.

2. The soil is moved between our thumb and forefinger to determine if the soils feels gritty, sticky, or smooth. The result is recorded.

3. The soil is then pushed between our thumb and forefinger to make a ribbon.

4. The length of the ribbon is measured using the ruler.

5. The ribbon classification of the soil is noted as follows:

Table 1 Classification of ribbon according to its length.

Types of ribbon	Description
Good ribbon	A soil containing more than 40% clay is sticky enough to form a ribbon 2 inches long or longer.
Fair ribbon	A soil containing 27-40% clay is sticky enough to form a ribbon at least 1 inch long but not longer than 2 inches.
No ribbon	The ribbon formed by a soil containing less than 27% clay will be less than 1 inch long.

V) Result By Feel
     • Conducting the soil texture by feel method according to the flowchart, the soil used in the experiment is peaty which gives it a sticky characteristic when thoroughly feels on our hand Moving on, the soil formed a 5 cm of ribbon which is more than 2 inch, this indicates that it can form a good type of ribbon classification which is neither smooth or gritty. Attached below is the image of soil in determining the length of ribbon for its’ classification. From the ribbon method, we can assume the soil sample has high percentage of clay which is most likely a sandy clay loam .

Figure 1. Obtained 5cm length of Ribbon

VI) Procedures By Mason Jar Test

1. Prepare a glass jar with lid.

2. Fill the glass jar with 60% of soil sample.

3. Add water to the remaining space and then close the jar tightly with lid.

4. Shake the glass jar vigorously for about 10 minutes and then settle down.

5. Left the glass jar on a steady surface undisturbed for about 24 hours.

6. After 24 hours, observe the separate layers of soil texture and mark the layers.

VII) Result By Mason Jar Test

Location	Height (Cm)				Soil Texture
	Sand	Silt	Clay	Total
Lakeside Soil (FSSA)	8.3	0.7	0.2	9.2	Sand

Figure 2. 9.2cm of soil texture is measured

VIII) DISCUSSION
     •  The soil sample we used for our ground nut growth is more likely to consider as a sandy clay soil. There are several factors that support our statement, it has a sticky feel when touched and not forming a ball-liked structure when it is rolled. Using Mason Jar Test, the result we got based on the Soil Textural Triangle, the proportion of sand, silt and clay are 90.22%, 7.60% and 2.17 respectively show that the soil texture of soil sample we collected from the lake nearby in FSSA is sand. However from the observation above, the soil texture analysis by feel method is more accurate than mason jar test as the layers in glass jar is very hard to identify. Thus, the height of each soil layer is not measured correctly and altered the result for its soil texture.
     

IX) CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the soil sample from lakeside in FSSA is considered as sandy clay loam soil. Though sandy loam soil, tends to be heavily saturated with water, once it drained, it turns into a good growing medium. It has several desirable qualities, and the most common one is its ability to retain water during the dry months and its capacity to protect the roots from damage during very wet months. This particular quality is highly vital in the survival of the plants living in this type of soil.  The organic matter that has accumulated is significant as it improves the water holding if the soil itself. By this water holding effect, it will help the soil to stick together. This explains why some types of soil form a slightly longer bind of ribbons, as it contains more organic matter in it, and thus we can deduce its fertility rate is slightly higher and it is a very good medium for plant growth.

Figure 2. An example of sandy clay loam

References

1) Ditzler C., Scheffe K., Monger H.C. (2017). Soil Survey manual. USDA Handbook 18. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.

2) Whendee S.L., Jason N., Megan M., Ed V., Michael K., Raimundo C. (2000). “Effects of soil texture on belowground carbon and nutrient storage in a lowland Amazonian forest ecosystem”. Ecosystems. 3(2). pp 193-209.