What is the Vadose Zone?

Scientists call the region between the soil surface and the groundwater table the vadose zone. It also is often called the unsaturated zone. This zone comprises soil and underlying sediments or bedrock that lie above the groundwater table. The vadose zone contains “the living skin” of our planet, that is, the outermost layer of Earth …

Does the soil on a baseball field influence the players?

In a word, yes, the type of soil on the baseball field greatly affects how players perform! Professional baseball fields are built from many types of soil. You might never guess that beneath the athletes’ feet is a precisely-engineered mixture made of multiple components. We call these materials “engineered soils.” Engineered soils are designed and …

What is the current research about soil additions to help soil biology?

Improving soil health on farm fields integrates the three types of soil management: physical, chemical, and biological. Physical management includes how farmers use their equipment on fields – tilling, harvesting, etc. Chemical management involves the timing and choice of fertilizers, manure, and other additions. Soil biology is the next frontier being researched for optimizing soil …

How does soil moisture impact our lives?

Soil moisture is key to understanding the land's surface and all the activities that occur there, both seen and unseen. These include agriculture, hydrology, weather, and human health, to name just a few. But first it is important to understand what soil moisture is. Soil moisture is the available water contained within the matrix of …

Soil formation of the Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage site. They are an archipelago of nineteen islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean and are part of Ecuador. The Galápagos are known for theie extreme isolation and unusual animal life, with rare species inhabiting the islands. The soils of the remote Galápagos Islands were not well studied, …

What is the Wisconsin state soil?

As you know, many states have a designated state bird, flower, fish, tree, rock, etc. And, many states also have a state soil – one that has significance or is important to the state. We’ve previously written about New Jersey’s state soil, Downer as well as California’s state soil, San Joaquin. Wisconsin’s state soil is …

What is soil made of?

Soils can look like they are a homogeneous material. But in reality, soil contains solid particles of different sizes and different types. Some of the particles are minerals, and others are organic matter. There are spaces between the particles called pores. These pores may be filled with air or water. Soil is a mixture of …

What is “soil carbon”?

You may have heard a lot about soil carbon, “storing” carbon in soil, or “carbon markets.” So, let’s look at the relationship between soil and carbon in basic terms. First, carbon. It’s the sixth element on the periodic chart. In nature, only two things are pure carbon: diamonds and graphite. However, carbon can interact with …

What has been discovered about the Mars surface? How does that relate to human missions?

Scientists have been studying the Martian surface with spacecraft since 1965 when the Mariner 4 spacecraft collected the first images. Since then, there have been additional flyby missions, as well as orbiting and landed missions. You might recall the movie, The Martian, and the attempt by the character Mark Watney to grow crops to survive …

Why use grass on tennis courts? Grass is fast!

With the availability of hard, rough surfaces for tennis courts, why do champions play on natural grass at Wimbledon? That grass is no regular “yard grass” – and it’s not even the same as what is on golf courses. The grasses at Wimbledon are not only bred for tennis but maintained at professional levels. Let’s …