C O N C R E T E , S O I L , W O O D, A N D OT H E R M AT E R I A L S
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Figure 8.33 A: Golden Street, Shanghai, China, by SWA landscape architects; B: Paseo de Santa Lucia River Walk, Monterrey, Mexico, by Enrique Albarroa, landscape architect.
Wind can cause a still sheet of water to shimmer as it produces ripples which in turn act as prisms bending and contorting the sunlight that is reflected by the water.
Soil Soil is a living entity. It is living in the sense that it is full of life: billions of microorganisms. These organisms are beneficial to the lives of plants and other living creatures that are dependent on soil. The presence of these microorganisms is central to the process of soil nutrient creation and air and water transfer to other organisms including plants. Soils are the resulting product of geologic, climatic, hydrologic, and biological processes. Soils are created in the process of mountain building and their erosion from wind and temperature fluctuations, water movement, such as streams and surface runoff, and the grinding action of advancing and retreating glaciers. Soil creation is the result of erosive action, deposition, and chemical and biological processes. Plants are contributors to soil creation in several ways. The decomposition process of leaves, branches, and whole trees contributes to the build-up of soil. Various fauna such as worms, bacteria, various microbes, and other life-forms further the breakdown of large soil particles into finer and often nutritionally enhanced chemical nutrients, including nitrogen and other elements important to plant life. And there are many different types of soils: both found naturally and formulated by landscape architects for specific purposes. The soil needs of plants installed in a designed landscape vary greatly, depending on a range of considerations, including climate, rainfall, location of the planting beds, and the uses that could affect plant performance such as playfields for active sports. Whenever feasible, landscape architects will include the stockpiling of the valuable surface soils occurring on a project site at the outset of earth-moving operations. Provisions for setting aside these 177
