Washington State Envirothon

If you have 1 hour to study, we recommend focusing on:

Soil Basics:

–Clear and concise explanation of major topics in soil science- Soil and Soil Dynamics (video)

–The Soil Texture Triangle (video)

– Practice reading soil profiles
Understand soil profiles, and soil horizons and sub-horizon designations

– Soil Profile and Soil Horizons (video)

If you have 2 hours to study, we recommend focusing on:

– Soil characteristics- organic matter, aggregate stability, water infiltration and compaction.
Soil Health: Soil Physical Properties (video)

– Soil texture and structure. Read pages 4-8

– Soil Erosion and soil conservation methods
Soil Erosion – Processes (video)
Slowing down erosion with Soil Conservation (video)

– Parent material
How Parent Material Affects Soil Profile

– Parent soils of Washington State– Read pages 4-11

If you have 3 hours to study, we recommend focusing on:

– Wetlands and hydric soils

– Understand soil drainage classes and how wetlands are defined- Soil Drainage (video)

– Redoximorphic features

– Available water capacity
Soil Water Dynamics
Fact Sheet- Water Availability

– Water table- Where is the Water Table? (video)

– Nutrients in fertilizer

Online Activities 

The ABCs of Soil Health Story Map— USDA

PLANTS Database— NRCS

Web Soil Survey— USDA

Soil Texture Calculator— USDA NRCS

The Color of Soil–4-H

Literature

Soil Science Terms–Soil Science Society of America

From the Surface Down– NRCS

Field Indicators for Hydric Soil— NRCS

Soil Food Web Glossary— NRCS

Universal Soil Loss Equation— EGU

Plant Nutrients in the Soil–NSW Wollongbar Agricultural Institute

Soil Texture–Soil Science Society of America

Why is Soil Important?–Soil Science Society of America

Soil Health Key Points–NRCS

Introduction to Soils— Oregon State University