2011 SOILS STUDY GUIDE
The study references listed are not an exhaustive
list of sources from which test questions are drawn. Students are expected
to research other sources for more information according to the learning
objectives for this topic.
The 2011 Area IV Envirothon Committee has decided to utilize the most up
to date soil survey information, and by doing so will NOT be supplying each
school with a copy of the Miami County Soil Survey. Starting around 2002,
the National Cooperative Soil Survey decided that the booklet format soil
survey was no longer a practical way to deliver soil survey information
in a timely manner. Instead, soil surveys are now updated each year, and
are provided in digital formats throughout the nation. Each school should
utilize the websites listed below to obtain the information that will be
part of this years contest. The Web Soil Survey, and USDA Soil Data Mart
are the formats that contain the most up to date soils information, and
in utilizing these formats, students will become accustomed to todays soil
survey. A packet containing selected information from the web soil survey,
and soil data mart will be supplied at the soil station of the event for
you to use.
The following list of topics is a summary of key terms, soil interpretive
tables, narrative sections and soil map unit and series descriptions from
the Soil Survey of Miami County which participants in the 2011 Envirothon
Competition should concentrate their study time to prepare for the soils
questions on the test.
Soil Survey Maps
http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/
Today's soil survey maps are delivered through Web Soil Survey. In Web Soil
Survey, students should be familiar in navigating to a location via the
quick navigation tool. There are basic directions provided below, but if
you would prefer a more detailed explanation on using all of the features
provided in Web Soil Survey please refer to the following site;
http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/Help/WSS_HomePage_HowTo.pdf
-On the website, select the large green "START WSS" button.
-To access the 2011 Envirothon location, use the address tool.
- Enter the address "2645 E. St. Rt.41, Troy, OH 45373"
- Hit view
- Once you get an address choice list, choose the first choice. without
any other information and that will take you to the location of the Envirothon.
-Once you have navigated to the location, you will need to set the area
of interest (AOI), to obtain soil survey information.
- To do this, on the map select the button that says AOI under a red rectangle.
-Use the tool to highlight the area.
-After setting the area of interest, students should become familiar with
the Shopping Cart (free) function. This is one of the tabs near the top
of the page. This feature creates a customized soil survey report for the
area indicated in the AOI. It will generate a custom soil resource report
for you when you select the check out button at the top right.
You can navigate to almost any area in the United States by simply using
the quick navigation tools, and the soil survey of that area will be available
to you.
Soil Interpretations
http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Survey.aspx?State=OH
The easiest way to access soil survey interpretations is through the Soil
Data Mart. The soil data mart allows users to download spatial and tabular
data, in a couple of different formats. For the Envirothon students should
focus on generating reports from the Miami County survey area. Once you
have highlighted the "Miami County Survey Area", and clicked on
the "Generate Reports" button, you will be directed to a new page
which allows you to select mapunits, and then you will need to select the
report which you would like to generate. Students will be provided with
the appropriate tables for the contest, but should be familiar with the
following reports.
-Acreage and Proportionate Extent of the Soils
- Component Legend
-Engineering Properties
-Map Unit Decriptions (brief) - SOI
- Non Irrigated Yields by Map Unit - Corn, Soybeans, and Winter Wheat.
- Physical Soil Properties
- Selected Soil Interpretations
- ENG - Constructions Materials; Topsoil (OH)
- ENG - Septic Tank Absorption Fields (OH)
- Hydric Soils
Narrative Sections
You can still access the narrative sections of the current "Booklet
Soil Survey" by accessing the following link:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/12/soils/pdf/survey_pdfs/miami_supplement.pdf
The Table of Contents lists all the narrative sections in the report. For
example, the section entitled, "Formation of Soils" begins on
page 201. The narrative sections and the page numbers in the report on which
they begin which will be most useful on this event are listed below:
- Use and management of soils…p. 151
- Crops and pasture p. 154
- Engineering uses of the soils p. 164-169
- Engineering properties pp. 171
- Descriptions of soils p. 176-200
- Factors of soil formation p. 201
- Glossary p. 208
General Information on Soils
Ohiosoils.com has links to several different soil websites. The "IntroductionTo
Soils" link gives a brief overview of soils, and would be a good source
of information for the soils section of the Envirothon. From Ohiosoils.com
you can also find links to the websites mentioned
Good luck on your preparations for the 2011 Area IV Envirothon!
Steve Hamilton, Certified Professional Soil Scientist, Private Consultant