Soils and drainage

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A description of a soil which is based on its soil texture. However, other features such as soil pH, organic matter content, lime content, nutrient status may also be included within a description.

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A method, using a table of columns and rows, of monitoring the estimated available water within a soil, taking into account losses from evapo-transpiration and additions from rainfall and irrigation. A soil water balance sheet can help to manage irrigation requirements during the main growing season, especially over the drier growth periods.

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An agricultural term, often used in turfculture prior to the mid-20th Century and still sometimes in gardening, meaning an acid soil which would most likely be less than pH 6.0.

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The closeness of an object to a perfect ball shape. This is a term that is used in describing sand particles: see sand sphericity.

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A concrete, or similar, block which is located beneath a major outfall pipe. Water discharged from the pipe will drop onto the splash plate without causing soil erosion. Without a splash plate soil erosion can occur at a significant rate.

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Hard material which has been produced by the crushing of rock by machinery. It is commonly termed crushed stone and is used in landscaping work and the construction of sports pitches, being of an angular size to aid stability the structure. Stones between 4mm and 64mm diameter (using the Udden-Wentworth scale for grain size) are often termed pebbles and these are commonly found within natural soil profiles for sports pitches or landscaping work. The terms gravel and stone are often used interchangeably. For sports turf construction the use of the term stone is sometimes used to distingu

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See Mesopore

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A soil grading technique which involves the following: a) Remove the topsoil, stockpile it by stacking in a heap, and then replace it after levelling of the subsoil has taken place. There is always a slight assumption that the topsoil is suitable for being placed back onto the graded subsoil; or b) Remove the top-soil and use it for other purposes, then grade the existing subsoil to the desired evenness and then import new topsoil or rootzone material.

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A layer of stone which is used to create a stable and free-draining base for a pitch. Where a different layer of stone is laid above the sub-base then this additional layer might be called a base layer.

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A layer of soil beneath a topsoil. It will typically be lighter in colour, due to less biological activity and organic matter content. A subsoil may also have higher clay content than an overlying topsoil, due to soil particles being gradually washed down the soil profile.