Soil in Barbados

From MYP unit – factors affecting the physical Environment of

Barbados – Codrington SchoolPiers Tainsh

What is soil?

• Watch the two animations at

• http://whs.moodledo.co.uk/file.php/1365/Ecosytems%20and%20Soil/What%20is%20Soil.swf

• http://www.montereyinstitute.org/courses/AP%20Environmental%20Science/course%20files/multimedia/lesson51/animations/4c_soil_profile.html

Task: Describe what soil is made from?

What is soil made of

• made up of a mixture of • organic material and minerals. • organic matter comes from • dead plants • the minerals come from the rocks underground. • These rocks are called bedrock. • Because the plants grow on top of the soil and the

rocks are found underground, soil is made up of layers.

The Soil Profile• There are different sections• O and A – the organic layers

made from broken up dead material to make humus

• B – the topsoil a mix of humus and minerals broken down by weathering of rock

• C – weathered parent rock• Below this is the rock.

Task: Draw a labeled diagram of a Soil Profile

How are soils different?

• Their texture depends on the mix of clay, silt and sand in them.

The structure of the soil

Other differences

• pH – acid or alkali• Water content – • Nutrient level• Organisms in it

Is there a pattern of world Soils?

Can you see any link to this?

Or to this map of climate zones?

Longer Answer Task

• From looking at the maps of climate, vegetation and soils, describe any patterns that you see and try and explain them

• I notice that places with tropical soil have rainforest biomes this is because of the tropical-wet temperature levels

So What Should the Soil of Barbados be like if it was a Zonal Soil?

• What do you notice about this soil (a tropical latasol)

• Annotate a copy of this photo to show the A, B and C horizons

Soil in Barbados is Intrazonal

• In this case it is not climate or vegetation that is so important in creating the type of soil it is the rock - LIMESTONE

Task: Take a picture of a profile of Barbados soil. Import it onto a graphics package and annotate it with explanations. Upload it onto your Google map.