Local Knowledge - Stacey Smith, Soil Scientist at USDA - NRCS
What is a typical day for a soil scientist? Do you ever get to say "I play in the "dirt"?
I work with a federal agency that covers 22 counties here in southeast Michigan. I spend most of my time in the “growing season” out in the field. The growing season is the time when the soil is warm enough for the farmers to be out growing food in the ground. Right now, I mostly go to farms to map where their wetlands are, or used to be, on the farm. Wet soils are special in that the iron gets moved around, if the ground is wet long enough. I can see if that has happened by looking for iron concentrations (red spots) and depletions (light/grey soil color) in the soil and how close those things are to the surface. Yes, I guess you can say I play in the dirt…all day long!
We've noticed that our friends use "dirt" and "soil" interchangeably. Is there a difference?
Soil is the proper term…the other is a “dirty” word to us…haha!
Is soil a living thing?
Absolutely! There are millions of creatures in a spoonful of soil! Bacteria, nematodes, worms, ants…all working together to break down the organic matter and make those nutrients available to plants.
What type of soil do we have in southeast Michigan and does it ever prove challenging for our agricultural industry?
We have a lot of different types of soils…from sandy ones to heavy clay soils. Here in Michigan, much of the land was wetland a long, long time ago. We see evidence of that in our soils today. Many farmers drain their soils to make them farmable, otherwise they stay too wet, too long for them to produce crops.
Lately we've experienced some wet weather. Does too much rain affect the soil in any way?
Too much rain can damper crop production by saturating the soil, which sort-of suffocates the plants. Soil is made of pores, which the plants need for oxygen and water.
We know soil can be negatively impacted in many ways, including erosion and contamination. Can it be recovered or cleaned?
The environment is a magnificent thing! Allowing our soil, plants and animals (including microscopic ones) to work together, pollutants can be cleaned from a system sometimes…but not always. For some harmful pollutants, they need to be removed and disposed of so that they do not reach our water supplies.
As lovers of nature, what can we do to help our soil?
Keep it covered with plants! This improves the health of the soil by providing stability so that it doesn’t erode away…and provides nutrients through plants for organisms to live...both above and below ground!
Do you have anything additional you'd Iike to share with us? This can include fun facts!
Don’t be afraid to go out and get your hands dirty! I grew up digging holes and making mud pies. I loved being out there so much I knew that one day, I wanted to work outside. I make mud pies every day now…looking for soil structure and composition. You never know where your interests will lead you!