NRES 201 Lecture 1 Outline of Current Lecture II Definitions III Soil Exploitation a Dust Bowl b Black Blizzard IV Erosion in Illinois Current Lecture The wealth of Illinois is in her soil and her strength lies in its intelligent development A S Draper President of the University of Illinois 1899 I Definitions a Soil The surface layer of earth supporting plant life b Dirt soil that is out of place II Soil originates from rock by a natural process which is very slow It takes 500 to thousands of years to form 1 inch of topsoil III Importance of soil management a To control soil erosion and maintain productivity by i Conservation practices ii Crop rotations iii Avoiding organic matter depletion iv Proper nutrient and water management b The price of soil exploitation i The Dust Bowl 1 The 1930s a A time of economic depression b And drought first in Eastern and Midwestern states and then in the Southern plains 2 The push for production a Caused by greed b World War I triggered higher wheat prices and a shift toward mechanized farming with the disk plow and the combined harvester thresher c Dry farming widely practiced Surface soil pulverized after rainfall for moisture conservation 3 The black blizzards These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute a First appeared in 1935 from early March to April 14th Black Sunday b Severe through 1938 4 The consequences a Serious loss of valuable topsoil to the East Coast and Atlantic Ocean b Drastic decline in wheat and cattle output c Health hazard d Abandoned farms and refugees i Okies and exodusters headed west ii Shift in thinking from thinking that soils are indestructible iii Erosion has been less obvious in Illinois 1 The damage has been done by water not wind 2 Years of intensive tillage for row cropping converted soils to sediments
View Full Document
Unlocking...