Coarse fragments in soil refer primarily to particles such as gravel, rock, concretions and all others that are more than 2mm in diameter and are not included in chemical, mineralogical, and some physical analysis; although some definitions exclude rock and boulders which are larger than 250mm or 10 inches.
The knowledge of the type and amount of coarse fragments present, as well as the depth to and thickness of a particular layer in which they occur is very important for soil productivity, crop selection, land use planning, and management because: 1) The water holding capacity of a soil and water supply is reduced in proportion to the volume of root zone occupied by concretions or rock fragments. 2) The amount and size of the coarse fragments may restrict the use of cultivation, interfere with ripping, excavation, trellising, dam site constructions, traffic, harvesting and processing equipment, and installation of irrigation systems. 3) The amount and the size of coarse fraction dictate the design of the irrigation system and choices of crops that can or cannot be grown within the given environment without or without irrigation. Accordingly, the presence of coarse fragments in the soil can be used as a single factor to determine land use productivity and management. However, coarse fraction CANNOT be measured by remote sensing devices and shown on soil maps, which can be a very costly mistake as documented in this video clip. On the contrary, SOIL PROFILING is the only internationally recognized system that stood the test of time with all others being only of a secondary nature or less as the soil profiling is based on observations and measurements, but not on guesswork and speculations.
The phrase "terra vadis" is Latin for "Earth - where are you going? . It is a question that has been asked by people for centuries, as they have seen the Earth change. In recent years, the question has taken on a new urgency, as we have seen the effects of climate change become more and more pronounced.
There are many possible futures for the Earth, and it is up to us to decide which one we want. We choose to continue on our current path to Enable, Engage, Empower , align to
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Terra vadis will be a ecosystem that combines ecological expertise, advanced technology, data science to tackle the pressing challenges.
6 сен 2024
