The six main landscape profiles of The Netherlands
The landscape near Comenius College
Pedological map of The Netherlands
Activities in school around December 5 2019: World Soil Day.
What Dutch students shoulD learn for the activitity: Saving Soil, saving pollution.
10 Ways to Conserve Soil
Practice No-Till farming
With no-till farming, crops are allowed to remain rather than being plowed under at the end of the season. This practice keeps soils anchored in place rather than having bare ground exposed to wind and water.
Use Terrace Farming
This type of farming uses the topography of the land to slow water flow through a series of terraces. This manipulation of the water flow prevents it from gathering speed and washing soil away from farmlands.
Practice Contour FarmingContour farming replicates the effects of terrace farming, but on a smaller scale. Rather than planting crops in straight vertical rows, crops are planted following the contour of the landscape. Crops planted up and down hillsides create pathways for water to flow. Crops planted parallel to the land slow the flow of water that prevents soil erosion.
Home Methods
If you're not a farmer, try these methods at home.
Reduce Impervious SurfacesImpervious surfaces, such as driveways and patios, allow precipitation to flow freely over them. Water flow gains momentum when moving over such surfaces and can then erode stream banks and lakeshores. A good compromise is to use paving stones rather than a concrete slab for your patio to allow the water to percolate down into the soil.
Plant a Rain GardenA rain garden is a shallow depression in your yard which will collect precipitation washing over impervious surfaces. It prevents soil erosion and gives you an opportunity to grow wetland plants.
Use a Rain BarrelYou can place a rain barrel underneath a downspout to collect the water that runs off of your roof. Your roof, after all, is another impervious surface. You can use the water you collect for your lawn and garden. In this way, you can conserve water and soil.
Resource PlanningThink ahead and plan to conserve soil.
Plant WindbreaksWindbreaks prevent soil erosion by slowing the force of the wind over open ground. You can plant trees or shrubs in your windbreak. In addition to preventing erosion, these plantings will prevent snow from drifting onto your driveway or into the road. They can also protect your home from wind damage.
Restore WetlandsWetlands are one of the most effective ways to prevent soil erosion. Wetlands act as natural sponges, absorbing rainwater and preventing it from carrying the soil away. They also provide a habitat for birds and other wildlife and help prevent water pollution.
Plant Buffer Strips Along Stream BanksBuffer strips help hold stream banks intact during times of flooding. They also prevent runoff from entering waterways. Buffer strips can include a mixture of grasses, shrubs, and trees.
Preserve Your Dirt
Any of these 10 ways to conserve soil will help protect this important natural resource and provide a solution for one of the most important environmental issues. Once you begin using soil conservation methods, you'll no longer look at soil as mere dirt.
Conservation OverviewThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) finds soil and water conservation (SWC) go hand-in-hand and describes and defines it as activities "which maintain or enhance the productive capacity of the land in areas affected by or prone to degradation."
Soil degradation is the process in which soil loses the functions that deliver services and goods that plants, animals and people depend on. Degradation can result from depletion of nutrients and organic matter, soil compaction, loss of soil structure, lack of proper drainage, and an increase in salinity or acidity.
Soil conservation should address these problems as they can have local and global consequences.
Improve Soil ProductivityFAO says one important reason to conserve soil is to maintain and improve local farm production of food and guarantee livelihoods. Current practices in farming and livestock management unfortunately are themselves the main causes of soil erosion and must be addressed to make soil productive again.
Conventional cultivation methods involving tillage destroys the structure of the soil. For example, Brazil losses 55 million tons of topsoil each year due to agriculture,
Conventional cultivation methods involving tillage destroys the structure of the soil. For example, Brazil losses 55 million tons of topsoil each year due to agriculture, according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
In addition, industrial farming which relies on heavy application of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides destroys many beneficial soil microbes, and insects responsible for fertility. Continuous use of chemical fertilizers renders soil barren, and 10 million hectares of farm per year get abandoned due to degradation according to WWF.
Pastoralism is an important source of income in all parts of the world. However, overstocking and overgrazing lead to trampling and removal of vegetation cover that destroys the structure of soil degrading and exposing it to erosion, so these areas can no longer support livestock.
Ecosystem ServicesBesides food, soils provide many other regulating services such as carbon sequestration, waste treatment by soil microbes, and moderating extreme events like floods, according to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). "Fertile soils are a non-renewable resource" in human lifespans as they take thousands of years to be formed points out a 2015 scientific assessment. Globally 30% of the land surface is affected by soil erosion, and costs 300 billion US dollars each year. 46% of this cost is borne by the owners or managers locally, however 54% is a loss to the global community in terms of public goods such as carbon sequestration.
Aims of Soil ConservationSoil conservation seeks to restore the lost services that land provides under natural conditions. On-site, which is where erosion occurs, conservation brings about beneficial changes to soil fertility, purifies water and air, prevents floods and fights climate change. Conservation is important to address disturbances caused in places where the soil is deposited off-site, like reduction of polluted runoff and eutrophication.
Soil FertilityBuilding topsoil lost in sheet, rill and gully erosion can lead to improved soil fertility, as nutrients are present in topsoils. This is the zone where microbes living in the soil recycle important elements in humus and release them for plant growth, claims the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).
Purify Water and AirThese microbes would also help in breaking down toxic wastes and are an important method of natural soil remediation. Thus they keep pollutant levels down and water and air clean, according to TEEB.
Prevent FloodsBy improving structure of the soil, its capacity to absorb and retain water is restored. Areas with compact or little soil would otherwise lead to increased runoff of rainwater, and therefore floods leading to stream and river bank erosion or flood plain erosion according to CEH.
Fight Climate ChangeConservation contributes to combating climate change by increasing soil carbon stock. Besides leaves and stems, roots under ground also store carbon that is fixed by plants during photosynthesis. When the plant dies carbon in the roots is added to the soil and can remain in there for centuries. The amount of carbon increases each year, but with no vegetation cover the store of soil carbon gets reduced as some of it is gradually decomposed and carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Soils and the surface litter of dead leaves and twigs can store two to three times the carbon, according to a study in Carbon Management (pg. 2), as in the atmosphere globally, and is a major carbon sink.
Soils of some ecosystems are more effective than the rest in this function and their rehabilitation and/or protection is crucial to fight climate change. For example:
Prevent EutrophicationWhen soil erosion is tackled, it removes one of the major causes of eutrophication of surface water-bodies. This results when agricultural runoff rich in fertilizers accumulate in them. Because of which there is an increase in growth of bacteria, which deplete dissolved oxygen in the water-bodies, killing aquatic wildlife.
Types of Soil ConservationThere are several large scale and individual steps that can conserve soil, depending on the site and cause of the problem. Many soil conservation measures relate to agriculture since it continues to be the major cause of soil degradation.
Ways to conserve soil in conventional farming and individually at home include:
In the U.S., extensive soil erosion from tilled farms left dry by droughts resulted in the Dust Bowl in early 1930s. After this, in 1935, Congress stated that "the wastage of soil and moisture resources on farm, grazing, and forest lands . . . is a menace to the national welfare," and formed the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), which was later renamed to Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to reflect its broader responsibilities. The service started by helping farms, then included watershed protection, flood control, planting in National Parks, wetland preservation and urban areas.
Soil Sustains LifeNext to air and water, most living beings, including people, are dependent on soil for their survival. It provides people with nearly all their food needs, is important for the economy, and supports forests and all land animals, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. It is in everybody's interest to conserve it and help it healthy.
Practice No-Till farming
With no-till farming, crops are allowed to remain rather than being plowed under at the end of the season. This practice keeps soils anchored in place rather than having bare ground exposed to wind and water.
Use Terrace Farming
This type of farming uses the topography of the land to slow water flow through a series of terraces. This manipulation of the water flow prevents it from gathering speed and washing soil away from farmlands.
Practice Contour FarmingContour farming replicates the effects of terrace farming, but on a smaller scale. Rather than planting crops in straight vertical rows, crops are planted following the contour of the landscape. Crops planted up and down hillsides create pathways for water to flow. Crops planted parallel to the land slow the flow of water that prevents soil erosion.
Home Methods
If you're not a farmer, try these methods at home.
Reduce Impervious SurfacesImpervious surfaces, such as driveways and patios, allow precipitation to flow freely over them. Water flow gains momentum when moving over such surfaces and can then erode stream banks and lakeshores. A good compromise is to use paving stones rather than a concrete slab for your patio to allow the water to percolate down into the soil.
Plant a Rain GardenA rain garden is a shallow depression in your yard which will collect precipitation washing over impervious surfaces. It prevents soil erosion and gives you an opportunity to grow wetland plants.
Use a Rain BarrelYou can place a rain barrel underneath a downspout to collect the water that runs off of your roof. Your roof, after all, is another impervious surface. You can use the water you collect for your lawn and garden. In this way, you can conserve water and soil.
Resource PlanningThink ahead and plan to conserve soil.
Plant WindbreaksWindbreaks prevent soil erosion by slowing the force of the wind over open ground. You can plant trees or shrubs in your windbreak. In addition to preventing erosion, these plantings will prevent snow from drifting onto your driveway or into the road. They can also protect your home from wind damage.
Restore WetlandsWetlands are one of the most effective ways to prevent soil erosion. Wetlands act as natural sponges, absorbing rainwater and preventing it from carrying the soil away. They also provide a habitat for birds and other wildlife and help prevent water pollution.
Plant Buffer Strips Along Stream BanksBuffer strips help hold stream banks intact during times of flooding. They also prevent runoff from entering waterways. Buffer strips can include a mixture of grasses, shrubs, and trees.
Preserve Your Dirt
Any of these 10 ways to conserve soil will help protect this important natural resource and provide a solution for one of the most important environmental issues. Once you begin using soil conservation methods, you'll no longer look at soil as mere dirt.
Conservation OverviewThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) finds soil and water conservation (SWC) go hand-in-hand and describes and defines it as activities "which maintain or enhance the productive capacity of the land in areas affected by or prone to degradation."
Soil degradation is the process in which soil loses the functions that deliver services and goods that plants, animals and people depend on. Degradation can result from depletion of nutrients and organic matter, soil compaction, loss of soil structure, lack of proper drainage, and an increase in salinity or acidity.
Soil conservation should address these problems as they can have local and global consequences.
Improve Soil ProductivityFAO says one important reason to conserve soil is to maintain and improve local farm production of food and guarantee livelihoods. Current practices in farming and livestock management unfortunately are themselves the main causes of soil erosion and must be addressed to make soil productive again.
Conventional cultivation methods involving tillage destroys the structure of the soil. For example, Brazil losses 55 million tons of topsoil each year due to agriculture,
Conventional cultivation methods involving tillage destroys the structure of the soil. For example, Brazil losses 55 million tons of topsoil each year due to agriculture, according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
In addition, industrial farming which relies on heavy application of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides destroys many beneficial soil microbes, and insects responsible for fertility. Continuous use of chemical fertilizers renders soil barren, and 10 million hectares of farm per year get abandoned due to degradation according to WWF.
Pastoralism is an important source of income in all parts of the world. However, overstocking and overgrazing lead to trampling and removal of vegetation cover that destroys the structure of soil degrading and exposing it to erosion, so these areas can no longer support livestock.
Ecosystem ServicesBesides food, soils provide many other regulating services such as carbon sequestration, waste treatment by soil microbes, and moderating extreme events like floods, according to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). "Fertile soils are a non-renewable resource" in human lifespans as they take thousands of years to be formed points out a 2015 scientific assessment. Globally 30% of the land surface is affected by soil erosion, and costs 300 billion US dollars each year. 46% of this cost is borne by the owners or managers locally, however 54% is a loss to the global community in terms of public goods such as carbon sequestration.
Aims of Soil ConservationSoil conservation seeks to restore the lost services that land provides under natural conditions. On-site, which is where erosion occurs, conservation brings about beneficial changes to soil fertility, purifies water and air, prevents floods and fights climate change. Conservation is important to address disturbances caused in places where the soil is deposited off-site, like reduction of polluted runoff and eutrophication.
Soil FertilityBuilding topsoil lost in sheet, rill and gully erosion can lead to improved soil fertility, as nutrients are present in topsoils. This is the zone where microbes living in the soil recycle important elements in humus and release them for plant growth, claims the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH).
Purify Water and AirThese microbes would also help in breaking down toxic wastes and are an important method of natural soil remediation. Thus they keep pollutant levels down and water and air clean, according to TEEB.
Prevent FloodsBy improving structure of the soil, its capacity to absorb and retain water is restored. Areas with compact or little soil would otherwise lead to increased runoff of rainwater, and therefore floods leading to stream and river bank erosion or flood plain erosion according to CEH.
Fight Climate ChangeConservation contributes to combating climate change by increasing soil carbon stock. Besides leaves and stems, roots under ground also store carbon that is fixed by plants during photosynthesis. When the plant dies carbon in the roots is added to the soil and can remain in there for centuries. The amount of carbon increases each year, but with no vegetation cover the store of soil carbon gets reduced as some of it is gradually decomposed and carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Soils and the surface litter of dead leaves and twigs can store two to three times the carbon, according to a study in Carbon Management (pg. 2), as in the atmosphere globally, and is a major carbon sink.
Soils of some ecosystems are more effective than the rest in this function and their rehabilitation and/or protection is crucial to fight climate change. For example:
- Wetlands are particularly adept at storing carbon. This happens because when soils are waterlogged as in these regions, oxygen in soil is less, so the roots and other decaying material takes longer to decompose, and remains as humus for longer than in other dry soils.
- Prairie grasslands have 200 native species, many that are perennial with roots reaching 10 feet and more into the ground. Prairie soils produce Gomalin, a soil glue that binds soil and holds more carbon producing a type of soil called Mollisol found only in these ecosystems.
Prevent EutrophicationWhen soil erosion is tackled, it removes one of the major causes of eutrophication of surface water-bodies. This results when agricultural runoff rich in fertilizers accumulate in them. Because of which there is an increase in growth of bacteria, which deplete dissolved oxygen in the water-bodies, killing aquatic wildlife.
Types of Soil ConservationThere are several large scale and individual steps that can conserve soil, depending on the site and cause of the problem. Many soil conservation measures relate to agriculture since it continues to be the major cause of soil degradation.
Ways to conserve soil in conventional farming and individually at home include:
Terrace farming for hilly areas, to prevent water from gathering force on its way downhill and eroding soil. The terraces also hold water and can be absorbed by the soil.- Contour planting also slows water by creating paths across the slope and not along the slope.
- Biological means like no-till farming keep soil surface intact and reduce risk of erosion.
- Restoration of wetlands because they absorb rainwater and eroded soil.
- Watershed measures such as restoration of forest cover to prevent soil erosion by wind and water and also improve rainwater absorption by the soil by breaking the impact of rain and providing ideal humus rich soil conditions.
- Plant buffer strips of grass, shrubs and trees to prevent or reduce runoff into water-bodies.
- Reduce impervious surfaces like pathways where water cannot be absorbed.
- Harvest rainwater from the impervious surfaces with a ditch in the garden or from the roof in a barrel.
- Plant wind breaks in gardens or farms to prevent wind erosion.
- Adopt organic farming to prevent the deleterious effect of chemicals on the soil microbes.
- Rotate crops, practice mixed and intercropping, and choose crops suited for the climate and soil so that heavy applications of chemicals are unnecessary according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
- Decrease frequency or duration of summer fallows, so that soil is not bare during the dry period when it is susceptible to wind erosion, according to FAO.
- Reduce density of livestock, or rotate pastures to prevent destruction of vegetation according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
- Buy organic products to support the spread of organic farms.
- Use only natural manure and pest control in the garden.
- FAO advises the use of mulch in garden and farms to prevent soil loss. This also helps in absorbing more rainwater and retaining it longer by preventing its evaporation.
In the U.S., extensive soil erosion from tilled farms left dry by droughts resulted in the Dust Bowl in early 1930s. After this, in 1935, Congress stated that "the wastage of soil and moisture resources on farm, grazing, and forest lands . . . is a menace to the national welfare," and formed the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), which was later renamed to Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to reflect its broader responsibilities. The service started by helping farms, then included watershed protection, flood control, planting in National Parks, wetland preservation and urban areas.
Soil Sustains LifeNext to air and water, most living beings, including people, are dependent on soil for their survival. It provides people with nearly all their food needs, is important for the economy, and supports forests and all land animals, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. It is in everybody's interest to conserve it and help it healthy.
Pedological work shop in Capelle aan den IJssel, The Netherlands
Dutch geography teachers testing before starting a pedological workshop.
ltastenerifepresentatie.pptx | |
File Size: | 3241 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
An afternoon with Spain
A Spanish Day 20-05-2019
The students also picked out the best Spanish song ever performed at the Eurovision Songcontest:
The picked out: Eres Tu by Mocedades:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQnlXsISvg
The students also picked out the best Spanish song ever performed at the Eurovision Songcontest:
The picked out: Eres Tu by Mocedades:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQnlXsISvg
Second pedological workshop June 4-2019
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Presentations in Capelle aan den IJssel, The Netherlands
https://letstalkaboutsoil.weebly.com/the-netherlands1.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPPG98yw7-k (food)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys-KP8oPdvg (weather)
https://letstalkaboutsoil.weebly.com/the-netherlands1.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S_KQCmEzKg
https://letstalkaboutsoil.weebly.com/the-netherlands1.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPPG98yw7-k (food)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys-KP8oPdvg (weather)
https://letstalkaboutsoil.weebly.com/the-netherlands1.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S_KQCmEzKg
Sign post Comenius College
signpostcomenius_college.vsd | |
File Size: | 667 kb |
File Type: | vsd |
Erasmus Corner at Comenius College, Capelle aan den IJssel, The Netherlands
myths_and_legends_from_the_netherlands.pdf | |
File Size: | 556 kb |
File Type: |
https://www.bitterballen.net/homemade-bitterballen-recipe-dutch-meatballs/
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