User:Mp282-NJITWILL

Hey, my name is Munul Patel. I am a Computer Science major student at NJIT, Newark, NJ. I am currently a junior and I have created this page for my Technical communications class for Dr. Lipuma.

WISER Article -Topsoil
I decided to do my WISER proposal on Topsoil.

APA Citation: Topsoil. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 5, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topsoil

The article I have selected to edit on Wikipedia is about Topsoil. Topsoil is the upper most layer of soil which is commonly characterized by dark colored, organically-enriched materials. Topsoil is usually no deeper than about eight inches from the ground. Topsoil is very important when planting a plant or a tree because it mixes rich humus with minerals and composed material which results in a nutritious substance for plants and trees. It is very important to plant different crops on the topsoil in order to preserve the rich minerals. Planting the same crops into the topsoil results in decreased amount of certain minerals, this practice can result into damaged topsoil. There are three main types of topsoil; they are sandy, loam and clay. Topsoil is mainly used by gardeners and farmers. Topsoil results in improved overall aeration, moisture, acidity and the pH level in the soil. Topsoil is one of the most vital resources on the planet Earth, it contains delicate nutrition balance and helps provide food for many animals. Wikipedia

UserID: Mp282-NJITWILL

Article talk page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Topsoil#Evaluating_Topsoil

Proposed Changes
One of the changes I propose for this article is the addition of supplementary information to the Classification of topsoil subtopic. After taking a quick glance at the article, I realized that the article lacks referenced information in almost every subtopic. The change I propose to make in the classification subtopic is adding information which mentions how to evaluate the topsoil. I propose to add additional information as well as two different tables obtained from North Carolina Department of Agriculture webpage which mention the percentage of different mineral levels in bulk topsoil versus bagged topsoil. The webpage also contains a different table which mentions the desired levels of soil nutrients. In my opinion, this addition will cover important information which will advise the reader on the state of healthy topsoil. These changes will act as a reference for the readers when performing a topsoil test before a gardening project. Since the information is obtained from the NCAD website, it is valid and numbers provided will be accurate. I propose to add the following two tables into the article.

Typical soil test results from bulk and bagged topsoil.*

Topsoil	HM%	BS%	pH	P-I	K-I	Ca%	Mg%

Bulk	0.3	69	5.2	009	026	45	10

Bagged	0.7	78	5.8	166+	178	56	12.3

Desired levels of soil nutrients*

pH level =       5.8 to 6.2

Phosphorus (P-I) =	Index of 50

Potassium (K-I) =      Index of 50

Calcium (Ca%) =	       40-60% of Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)

Magnesium (Mg%) =	       8-10% of CEC

Base saturation (BS%) =	60-80% of CEC

Manganese (Mn-I)=	Index > 25

Zinc (Zn-I) = 	       Index > 25

Copper (Cu-I) =	       Index > 25


 * Data retrieved from: http://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/pdffiles/sfn14.pdf

(note: I can not get the information to show up in a table format so I have decided to list it as such)