EXAM 2 - Chapters 4 & 5 Flashcards
Consistence
the ease with which a soil can be reshaped or ruptured; influenced by moisture
Coefficient of Linear Extensibility (COLE)
Measures the expansiveness of a soil; the soil is moistened to its plastic limit and molded into a bar that will shrink when air-dried (percent reduction in length of the soil bar)
Plastic Limit
the water content corresponding to an arbitrary limit between the plastic and semisolid states of consistency of a soil
Adhesion
the attraction of water molecules to other solid surfaces
Plant available water
water held with matric potentials between field capacity and the permanent wilting point
What is soil texture determined by?
the proportion of particles in different size ranges; sandy loam, silty clay, etc.
What are some biological processes that affect soil structure?
Activities of soil organisms, organic matter, tillage, iron/aluminum oxides
How does tillage affect soil structure?
it promotes and destroys aggregation; breaks large clods into natural aggregates that allow for root penetration but hasten the oxidative loss of soil organic matter that weakens soil aggregates
Micropores
areas filled with water that moves slowly and is not available to plants but acts as hiding places for some adsorbed organic compounds
Percolation
the process by which water moves downward in a soil
Wetting Front
a sharp boundary between a dry underlying soil and the already wet soil (after an intense rain -> gravity; at a wetting front -> matric)
Matric forces
attraction of water to soil solids which reduces the energy state of water near particle surfaces
What pressures are tensiometers useful between?
0 and -85 kPa
Wilting coefficient/wilting point/permanent wilting percentage
the amount of water retained by the soil when water potential is -1500 kPa
How does pore size affect capillary movement?
M/L pores in sandy soils allow for the rapid rise but lesser height; S pores in clay soils allow for the slow rise but greater heights
What is “too dry” in terms of the Least Limiting Water Range?
when soil strength exceeds 2000 kPa; in loose well-aggregated soils, this is close to the wilting point
How do soil organisms affect soil structure?
Burrowing and molding, the enmeshment of particles by sticky networks of roots and fungal hyphae, production of organic glues by microorganisms
What texture do physical processes affect more? Why?
Finer-textured soils (Clays) due to flocculation.
Flocculation
the mutual attraction among the clay and organic molecules, the start of aggregation that leads to a clay domain
How does organic matter affect soil structure?
soil particles become coated and encrusted during aggregation where they are bound together by interactions with silicate clays, Fe, and aluminum oxides
How do iron and aluminum oxides affect soil structure?
large amounts of iron and aluminum oxides coat soil aggregates that prevent breakdown when tilled or wetted
Describe granular soil structure types.
Spheroidal aggregates separate from each other in a loosely packed arrangement found usually in A horizons (high in OM); this is the principal type of soil structure affected by management
Describe platy soil structure types.
Relatively thin, horizontal sheetlike ped found in both surface and subsurface horizons; developed as a result of soil-forming processes
Describe blocky (sub-angular and angular) soil structure types.
irregular cube-like, molded by the shapes of surrounding blocks; angular is where the edges are sharp and the rectangular faces distinct whereas sub-angular is where rounding has occurred; found in B horizons and promotes drainage, aeration, and root penetration