{"id":83,"date":"2025-02-07T14:48:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T14:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/?page_id=83"},"modified":"2025-03-13T13:37:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:37:26","slug":"soil","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/soil\/","title":{"rendered":"Soil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Jamaica&#8217;s soils are diverse, influenced by the island&#8217;s varied geology, topography, and climate. A prominent soil type is the Jamaica series, characterized by well-drained, reddish-brown loam to clay loam textures. these soils are typically found on limestone hills and are suitable for various agricultural activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The country&#8217;s soils face challenges such as erosion, organic matter depletion, and nutrient imbalances. sustainable land management practices are essential to maintain soil fertility and support agriculture. The old colonial ways of farming have led to deforestation and issues of soil fertility.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1736\/2025\/03\/image-8-683x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1736\/2025\/03\/image-8-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1736\/2025\/03\/image-8-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1736\/2025\/03\/image-8-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1736\/2025\/03\/image-8-rotated.jpeg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While Farming in Jamaica, I was introduced to both limestone and marrow which I had never worked with before. Limestone is primarily composed of calcium carbonate, is commonly used to adjust soil pH. It raises the pH of acidic soils, making them more neutral or slightly alkaline, which improves nutrient availability to plants. When talking to Lise she explained to me that this is important in tropical regions like Jamaica, where soils are often acidic due to heavy rainfall and leaching. Also, limestone provides essential nutrients like calcium and magnesium, which are important for plant cell structure, enzyme function, and photosynthesis. Calcium also helps improve soil structure by promoting the clumping of clay particles, enhancing soil aeration, drainage, and root growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, marrow, or organic materials adds macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as micronutrients such as zinc, copper, and iron. As the organic matter decomposes, it releases nutrients gradually, promoting long term soil fertility. It also enhances microbial life in the soil, which is essential for breaking down complex organic matter into simpler compounds that plants can absorb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I found out when these two are combined, limestone and organic amendments create a balanced soil environment, with limestone adjusting the pH and organic matter boosting nutrient content, microbial health, and water retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jamaica&#8217;s soils are diverse, influenced by the island&#8217;s varied geology, topography, and climate. A prominent soil type is the Jamaica series, characterized by well-drained, reddish-brown loam to clay loam textures. these soils are typically found on limestone hills and are suitable for various agricultural activities. The country&#8217;s soils face challenges such as erosion, organic matter &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/soil\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Soil<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1433,"featured_media":123,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1433"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/83\/revisions\/244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.evergreen.edu\/bittersweet-abroad-w25-marcelli\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}