Related topics: plants · climate change · nitrogen · atmosphere · carbon

Chinese lunar probe finds water in moon samples

A Chinese lunar probe found traces of water in samples of the moon's soil, scientists have said, as the country pushes its ambitious space program into high gear.

Better dams offer major benefits to farmers and livestock

Managing the water quality of farm dams is critical to the health of livestock as well as boosting crop production, according to new research from the Sustainable Farms group at The Australian National University (ANU).

Study highlights the benefits of mixing cover crops

A University of Kentucky study titled "Productivity benefits of cereal-legume cover crop mixtures under variable soil nitrogen and termination times" suggests that mixing cover crops is a beneficial strategy for modern agriculture.

Smart soil can water and feed itself

A newly engineered type of soil can capture water out of thin air to keep plants hydrated and manage controlled release of fertilizer for a constant supply of nutrients.

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Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes that include weathering and erosion. Soil differs from its parent rock due to interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and the biosphere. It is a mixture of mineral and organic constituents that are in solid, gaseous and aqueous states. Soil particles pack loosely, forming a soil structure filled with pore spaces. These pores contain sol solution (liquid) and air (gas). Accordingly, soils are often treated as a three state system. Most soils have a density between 1 and 2 g/cm³. Soil is also known as earth: it is the substance from which our planet takes its name. Little of the soil composition of planet Earth is older than Tertiary and most no older than Pleistocene. In engineering, soil is referred to as regolith, or loose rock material.

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