Soil – The basis of our lives
An exercise for primary, secondary and university classes.
Learning Objective:
For a good and living soil we need an active soil life through flora and fauna. Different indicators that show good soil quality can be searched and studied at different sophisticated levels.
As a start, a small section of the soil can be defined, on which all observations are recorded. These can be insect and small animal excretions, erosion features, plant debris (organic layer) and other findings. A magnifying glass can be used to distinguish between the different insects and also to examine roots more closely. In the next step, a small piece of soil can be excavated from the ground to look for other creatures under the soil, the amount and depth of roots, and perhaps color changes in the soil. All the different indicators offer the possibility to deepen what has been seen afterwards. For example, a piece of soil in a large jar can be the occasion for many more lessons, as from day to day the changes (growth of plants, decomposition of biomass, movement of small animals) in the jar can be observed and explained. A closed jar terrarium is ideal for this purpose.
If a more comprehensive investigation of the soil is wished, the „Trier Soil Quality Test“ offers a good possibility to carry out a number of different experiments with older schoolchildren, which in the end evaluate the soil in its quality.
