Tedfloyd's Blog

GARDEN SOILS by Ted Floyd

tedfloyd — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:09:54 +0000

GARDEN SOILS

soils, carbon cycle, global warming, greenhouse, carbon sinks,
carbon sequestration, soil organic matter

The soil is a very important part of our plannets environment. For many years I have studied and worked with soils in several jobs. The environmental significance of soils is always a major issue in my studies of soils.

This blog is prepared by an interested volunteer, giving information on soils and the environment. Many school children have used this blog to help them do their projects. The information will also be of help especially to backyard gardners.

Water cycle in urban gardens, soil organic matter, carbon cycle and greenhouse issues are the main topics disscused on this blog.

web page http://www.ramin.com.au/creekcare
Ceekcare

What is “Creekcare” about?
Scientific and environmental information on soils and water needed to maintain sustainable cities.

Water cycle, catchments, creeks, wetlands all interact with soils. Encouraging water absorption by soils, soil organic matter, soil structure and transpiration will help to reduce flood damage and water pollution.

Global warming is the major threat to the worlds environment and carbon sinks created in soils and wetlands will reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Soils are disappearing in cities and we need to nurture the remaining soils to help create a sustainable ecology.

SOIL HEALTH

tedfloyd — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:32:02 +0000

SOIL HEALTH
Chemical fertility of soils describes the availability of plant nutrients, soil pH and presence of toxic chemicals.
Physical fertility of soils depends on soil structure, texture, water properties, aeration and many soil properties helping to make a sustainable soil where plants can grow and no excesive degradation occurs.
Life in soils where small soil animals and microbes feed on organic matter is an important component of healthy soils.

The following blog provides information on soil health and physical fertility.
http://tedspeds

WATER CYCLE Diagrams 1

tedfloyd — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:43:50 +0000

1 The urban water cycle in your garden

INTRODUCTORY ARTICLES

tedfloyd — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:07:00 +0000

SOIL WATER INFILTRATION

Ted Floyd Paper presented

Stormwater Industry Association,

4th Annual Conference, Sydney Sept. 1996

INTRODUCTION

It is well known that urban development increases flooding. In urban areas the coefficient of runoff increases, and the time of concentration decreases. The coefficient of runoff in undisturbed areas can be as low as 0.1, while in inner city suburbs, coefficient of runoff can be as high as 0.9.

Roads, roofs and paving are impervious with a coefficient or runoff approaching 1, while garden soils can be highly permeable with a coefficient of runoff approaching 0 during low intensity rainfall.

Flood control in urban areas traditionally involved the construction of pipes and channels designed to drain water away as quickly as possible. Several problems have been encountered with this approach.

Recent methods of flood control utilise many technologies to store water during rainfall, then to slowly release the water.

This paper aims to present some ideas on the capacity of soils to act as a reservoir of water. Methods to increase water infiltration into soils will be reviewed. Emphasis will be placed on soils in parks and gardens. Special devices such as rubble drains will only be briefly mentioned.

The author strongly believes catchment management should begin as high up in the catchment as possible. The principle of Upper Catchment Management should be followed in all Total Catchment Management schemes.

Improving the water absorption capacity of soils is the first step in Upper Catchment Management. The author does not claim the improvement of soils will solve all flooding problems, though soils should be considered in all Total Catchment Management plans. It should be recognized, a flood is a flood, and a good question would be, how big a detention basin would have been required to save Noah’s compatriots.

see full article « SOIL WATER

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WATER MANAGEMENT IN PARKS AND GARDENS

By Ted Floyd

Prepared for Friends of the Earth

1998

Summary

The management of urban runoff is an important issue in all cities. The traditional management approach is to construct stormwater drainage systems with concrete pipes, channels and gutters. This heavy engineering approach is now not accepted by many urban designers.

The role of soils and plants in the water cycle is described in this report. Water management, taking advantage of the useful properties of plants and soils can be a useful tool for reducing stormwater problems in urban areas.

Several park management features are proposed in this report including: sunken gardens, wetlands and contour layout. Soil management can help to improve water infiltration into soils. These management features can reduce flood peaks and water pollution.

Public expectations are changing. In the past flooding was the primary concerne, but now pollution and provision of habitat are considered to be important issues.

Many stormwater problems can be reduced by mimicking nature. The natural water cycle should be studied and relevant information gained from nature incorporated into stormwater management schemes. Soil management can help to improve water infiltration into soils, reduce surface runoff and decrease flooding.

see full article

SOIL WATER

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WHITES CREEK

tedfloyd — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:26:33 +0000

Whites Creek Wetland

The constructed wetlands beside Whites Creek are designed to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from polluted stormwater.

Biodiversity is increased by the creation of a dynamic aquatic ecosystem and the aesthetic features of a popular park are improved. The wetlands are now an excellent field centre for the demonstration of water sensitive urban design.

Water is continually pumped from the creek into a settling pond where sand, silt and lead fall to the bottom. Water then flows over a small waterfall into the first pond. The waterfall agitates and aerates water adding life giving oxygen.

Native plants growing in the ponds absorb nitrogen and phosphorous from water. Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential nutrients for plant growth but encourage toxic blooms of blue-green algae in Sydney Harbour.

Water flows through 5 ponds and is aerated by small weirs between ponds. The depth of each pond is differnt, from one third to one half a metre allowing a variety of plant species to survive.

Frogs and native fish are now breeding successfully. Striped Marsh Frog, Common Eastern Froglet and Perons Tree Frog all add to a loud cacophony of croaking frogs on warm spring nights.

Lilyfield 3 km from Sydney CBD, Australia
Whites Creek flows into Rozelle Bay, Sydney Harbour
Parking, Wisdom Street; Buses on Booth Street, Walking path Whites Creek
Initial concept by Friends of the Earth, 1996, built by council Aug 2002
Owned by Leichhardt Council, Funding $244,500 Stormwater Trust grant
Area 1,000 sq m, depth 0.3-0.5m, estimated volume, 300kl
Catchment area for wetlands, 161ha, Whites Creek catchment 262 ha
Flow rate, 6 litres/sec, 200 Ml/year. Floodwater bypasses wetland
Rainfall (Observatory Hill) 1,200mm/yr

http://ramin.com.au/creekcare

URBAN CREEKS

tedfloyd — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:20:13 +0000

http://creeksbyted.wordpress.com

SOIL ORGANIC MATTER

tedfloyd — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:20:46 +0000

Soil Organic Matter

Soil Carbon, Carbon Cycle & Carbon Sinks

Soil organic matter is the decaying remains of plants and animals and consists of carbon compounds.

Organic matter is important in forming healthy fertile soils. Plant nutrition and soil physical properties are improved in soils containing an adequate supply of organic matter.

Soils are a very good carbon sink and have the potential to reduce the adverse effects of global warming. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere from decomposing organic matter and is absorbed during photosynthesis and added to the soil by growing plants. In well managed soils organic matter can be increased, creating a soil carbon sink.

See Carbonbyted

LIFE IN SOILS

tedfloyd — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:09:53 +0000

Life in Soils

More living matter and diversity grow below ground level. Fertile soils provide an ideal medium for the healthy growth of many lifeforms. Most plants obtain water and esential nutrients from soils. Many small animals including worms, mites and ants live in the leaf litter and surface soils. A small number of large animals including wombats and rabbits burrow into the soil to make their family home.

Fertile soils are teaming with invisible microrganisms. Soils are an ideal home for, bacteria, actinomycetes, algae, protozoa and fungi. Many plant roots and microrganisms form special interactive relationships. In the rhizosphere surrounding plant roots, exudates containing food for microrganism are exuded by the roots encouraging prolific microbial growth. The microbes help the roots to absorb nutrients.

Organic matter

Soil organic matter is the decaying remains of plants and animals and consists of carbon compounds.

Small soil animals and microrganisms continually break down soil organic matter into gaseous CO2, water and minerals. The decomposition of organic matter releases essential mineral elements into compounds available to growing plants. Nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur are important plant nutrients continually added to the soil by the decomposition of organic matter.

Fertile soils are dynamic ecosystems with growing plants continually adding organic matter to soils and lifeforms continually eating and converting the dead plant remains into compounds available to new growing plants. There is a continual cycle of elements without the build up of large amounts of dead plant material. The accumulation of peat in swamps and the ancient formation of coal and oil are excemptions to the rules of decaying carbon cycles.

Soil organic matter

Organic matter is made up of partly decomposed plants and humus. On the soil surface is a layer of leaf litter. Many small animals, especially insects and worms eat the fallen plant material and deposit faeces deeper in the soil. Many microorganisms feed on organic matter. Bacteria live in the film of water surrounding clay particles and preffer to eat soluble compounds, especially sugars. Fungi preffer to live in large pore spaces and feed on hard to decompose organic compounds including cellulose, lignin and plant fibres.

\soils a healthy, fertile feeling.

A healthy soil contains 10% or more organic matter in the top soil and the sub soil may only contain 0.5% .

Microbes

Soils are an ideal medium for microbes to grow in. Bacteria prefer to grow in the thin layer of moisture surrounding clay particles and fungi grow better in large soil pores and can survive in dry conditions. Bacteria have a diameter of approximately 0.001 mm and fungi filaments about 0.005 mm. In comparison clay particles are less than 0.002 mm.

Microbes need a continual supply of organic food to grow and growing plants provide leaf litter to the soil surface. Different microbes eat different plant materials. Bacteria generally prefer smaller and more soluble molecules and fungi feed on tougher woody material containing cellulose and lignin.

A gram of healthy soil contains up to 3,000 million bacteria and 500,000 fungi plus actinomycetes, algae and protozoa.

Microbes generally grow faster in fertile soils similar to the ideal conditions for plant growth. The soil needs to have adequate moisture, aeration and good drainage. Most microbes need similar inorganic nutrients to plants. Nearly all microbes differ from plants and cannot manufacture organic material by photosynthesis and need a supply of organic matter to grow on.

Healthy soils with dynamic microbial ecosystems are able to break down many organic pollutants at a faster rate than in sterile mediums. Organic pollutants may be broken down by chemical or microbial actions.

SMALL SOIL ANIMALS

MESOFAUNA INVERTEBRATES

Most small soil animals are found in the leaf litter and top 10cm of soil. Good soil aeration is needed for optinum growth and waterlogging greatly reduces the survival of animals.

Phylum Annelidia,

Class Oligochaeta, Order Lumbricus

Earthworms, Segmented roundworms

European earthworms – Oligochaeta

Australian earthworms – Lumbricidae ?

Phylum Nematoda, Nematodes, Eelworms, hookworms, , Non segmented roundworms

Phylum Mollusca, Class Gasteropods, Slugs and Snails

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Arachnida

Order Pseudoscorpianes, small and nonpoisonous, eight legs

Acari, Soil mites, 0.1 to 1mm, ticks

Araneae, Spiders

Class Crustacia,Slater Pillbug Sowbug – Isopods

Class Myriapods

Diplopoda, Millepedes, 2 pairs legs a segment, eat decaying plant litter

Chilopoda, Centipedes – 1 pair legs segment, are carnivorous, eat small soil animals and have poison fangs.

Class Insecta, three pairs of legs

Springtails – Collembola, Wingless insects, 0.5 to 2mm

Beetles – Coleoptera, Eggs, Grub (larva) & pupa (chrysalis)

Fly larvae – Diptera

Cutworms – Lepidoptera moths and buterflies

Wireworms – Elateridae larvae

Ants

Termites, Common in tropical soils

Cockroach

Thrips – Thysanoptera

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diagram Raindrop Splash

tedfloyd — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:51:09 +0000

Raindrop Splash

info web page “creekcare”, “urban soils”, ” soilcare”

http://ramin.com.au/creekcare

diagrams Water Cycle

tedfloyd — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:33:56 +0000

DIAGRAMS 1

Water Absorbtion Zones in Streets