Chapter 8 Vocabulary

Question 0

Compostings

Answer 0

The process of letting organic wastes decompose in the presence of air

Question 1

Compaction

Answer 1

Packed down; packing and pressing out air spaces present in the soil; reduces soil aeration and infiltration and thus diminishes the capacity of the soil to support plants

Question 2

Contour strip cropping

Answer 2

The practice of growing crops in strips alternating with grass (hay) at right angles to prevailing winds or slopes on order to reduce erosion

Question 3

Desertification

Answer 3

The formation and expansion of degraded areas of soil and vegetation cover in arid, semiarid, and seasonally dry areas, caused by climatic variations and human activities

Question 4

Erosion

Answer 4

The process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water; moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser, sandier, stomper texture

Question 5

Horizons

Answer 5

The layers in soil (I think)

Question 6

Humus

Answer 6

A darn brown or black, soft, spongy residue of organic matter that remains after the bulk of dead leaves, wood, or other organic matter has decomposed; humus does oxidize, but relatively slowly; it is extremely valuable in enhancing the physical and chemicals properties of soil

Question 7

Inorganic fertilizer

Answer 7

Fertilizer, also called chemical fertilizer, that is a mixture of one or more necessary nutrients in inorganic chemical form

Question 8

Irrigation

Answer 8

Any method of artificially adding water to crops

Question 9

Leaching

Answer 9

The process in which materials in or on the soil gradually dissolve and are carried by water seeping through the soil; may eventually remove valuable nutrients from the soil, or it may carry buried wastes into groundwater, thereby contaminating it

Question 10

Loam

Answer 10

A soil texture consisting of a mixture of about 40% sand, 40% silt! and 20% clay; usually good soil

Question 11

No-till agriculture

Answer 11

The farming practice in which weeds are killed with chemicals (or other means) and seeds are planted and grown without resorting to plowing or cultivation; the practice is highly effective in reducing soil erosion

Question 12

Organic fertilizer

Answer 12

Fertilizer that is natural organic material, such as manure, that releases nutrients as it breaks down

Question 13

Overcultivation

Answer 13

The practice of repeated cultivation and growing of crops more rapidly than the soil can regenerate, leading to a decline in soil quality and productivity

Question 14

Overgrazing

Answer 14

The phenomenon of animals grazing in greater numbers than the land can support in the long term

Question 15

Salinization

Answer 15

The process whereby soil becomes saltier and saltier until, finally the slat prevents the growth of plants; caused by irrigation. Because salts brought in with the water remain in the soil as the water evaporates

Question 16

Shelterbelts

Answer 16

Rows of trees around cultivated fields for the purpose of reducing win erosion

Question 17

Soil classes

Answer 17

Taxonomically arranged major groupings of soil that define the properties of the soils of different regions

Question 18

Mineralization

Answer 18

The process of gradual oxidation of the organic matter (humus) present in soil that leaves just the gritty mineral component of the soil

Question 19

Soil profile

Answer 19

A description of the different naturally formed layers, called horizons, within a soil

Question 20

Transpiration

Answer 20

The loss of water vapor from plants; water evaporates from cells within the leaves and exits through the stomata

Question 21

Soil texture

Answer 21

The relative size of the mineral particles that make up the soil; generally defined in terms of the soil’s sand, silt, and clay content

Question 22

Castings

Answer 22

Earthworm excrements