Dirt for Dummy Soil Scientists

Soil profile

Here at the Antisocial Network, we don't spend much time looking at content about subjects outside our so-called wheelhouse: very little if anything on business, marketing or makeup, for instance. Sadly, the freelancers out there aren't so constrained: some will hold forth on any topic, even if it was a complete mystery to them the day before - that's what they think wikipedia is for, we suppose. Take today's DotD, Amy Rodriguez, who's one of the content farmers at Demand Studio. Unlike a real farmer, she clearly knew nothing about soil before explaining (sort of) "What Is the Difference Between Topsoil and Subsoil and Bedrock?" for SFGate.com.

As an aside, Demand Media claims (to its stable of freelancers, at least) to have high standards in grammar and style, but Rodriguez's writing certainly gives lie to their claim... And now back to garden-variety dumbassery... We snickered loudly at some of Amy's statements, such as the caption she wrote for her DMS-required image:

"Microorganisms proliferate within the soil structure for better aeration during plant growth."

Sure, microorganisms improve soil aeration (even when plants aren't growing), but their chief contribution to soil development is the decomposition of organic matter. Aeration is an added benefit. We also liked her claim that

"Soil layers, like topsoil, subsoil and bedrock, offer distinct habitats to continually recycle [soil]."

In a word, NO they don't. First, "habitat" is misused here (you want "environment," dummy) and second, soil isn't "recycled." Soil develops top-down, period: topsoil never becomes subsoil, for instance. And then there's

"Topsoil: The first layer, or horizon, is only several feet deep on the planet's surface..."

Besides being a ridiculous overstatement -- natural topsoil in some areas is just a few inches thick -- that's some pretty crappy writing: "only several feet deep"? really? We'll skip Rodriguez's equally sloppily-written description of subsoil and go straight to bedrock:

"Bedrock: Forming the outside layer of the Earth's crust is the bedrock layer... bedrock supplies the land with future soil components. For example, earthquakes and everyday tectonic plate movements expose this horizon to upheaval and eventual weathering at the ground surface." Thanks, Amy, for your half-assed definition of bedrock conflating geological terminology with soil terminology. The staff geologist was amused at the injection of plate tectonics into a discussion of soil, a discipline whose textbooks never mention the theory. No, Amy, you don't need to go that far: a soil scientist's definition of "bedrock" is pretty simple: "consolidated rock." Since it's obvious that you knew nothing about soil before taking this assignment (and precious little afterwards, we suspect), you're a prime candidate for Dumbass of the Day.

Note to DMS: Why was this content, such as it is, once filed within the site's hierarchy in the "business" category?

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