Agriculture · Mastery
Master a soil protection plan
Test how surface cover protects soil.
Read the instructions without joining. A signed-in profile lets you save private observations and learning progress.
Before you begin
Gather your supplies
- Two identical shallow soil trays
- Dry leaves or plant residue for one tray
- Equal measured water and two runoff containers
Use what you have. Purchases are optional and do not affect learning rewards.
Care and safety
Keep trays stable, use clean soil and prevent slippery spills. Never collect soil from contaminated or protected land.
Prerequisite
This activity builds on Soil under cover. Read it first and use your earlier observations when working through this activity.
The experiment
Surface cover can absorb raindrop impact, slow runoff and protect soil while also changing evaporation. A protection plan must consider all three.
- Use equal amounts of the same soil in two slightly tilted trays. Leave A bare and cover B with an even layer of dry plant material.
- Pour the same measured water from the same height and rate onto each tray. Collect runoff separately.
- Repeat at least three equal trials. Measure runoff volume and describe sediment color or amount after each trial.
- Combine drainage, moisture-loss and runoff evidence into a soil protection plan. State where your small model may differ from a real field.
Background reference: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
These instructions are a suggested learning experiment from Seth The Evil. The reference explains the background; it does not certify this experiment or guarantee a result.
Opening the workspace does not start an activity or save a record. You choose when to start and what observations to save.