Environmental Science - Identify the predominant soil type(s) in your area

Environmental Science Question

To prepare for your assignment,

Try to find information as close to where you live as possible. If you cannot find information within a 50-mile radius of where you live, then try searching the closest large city, or within your county.

Identify the predominant soil type(s) in your area. You can reference the ecoregion information from the Week 1 lab follow-up assignment.

• Identify the weather and climate conditions of your area.
• Research what types of agriculture, if any, are currently being practiced in your area.
• Now, you are ready to draft a paper about soil and sustainable agriculture where you live, and your own plan for a 500-acre sustainable food production operation. In your essay,
• Describe the general area where you live (local community, county, etc.) by addressing the following:

What are the characteristics of the soil?

What is the composition (sand, silt, clay)?

• How well does it retain water?

How fertile is the soil generally?

• What are the seasons like?
• How much precipitation (rain and snow) do you get annually, and how is it distributed throughout the year?
• Discuss agricultural production in your community:
• What crops are being grown?
• What production methods are being used?
• Is irrigation necessary?
• Are there any greenhouses or other indoor food production operations in your area?

Are there any organic or other sustainable agriculture operations within 50 or 100 miles of your location?

• Create a plan, based on the conditions in your area, for a sustainable food production operation that addresses the following questions:
• How will you divide up the 500 acres between at least four different sustainable food production methods?
• Why is each method suitable to your local area and conditions?
• Which foods will you produce and what methods will you utilize for each one? You should conduct research on sustainable food production systems, and you can also use information from the Week 2 Properties of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture Laboratory.