Factors affecting soil variation in the UK

Question 1

definition of soil

Answer 1

• dynamic natural body composed of mineral and organic material and living forms in which plants grow
• collection of natural bodies occupying part of the earths surface that supports plants and are influenced by climate, relief, time and parent material

Question 2

soil variation

Answer 2

the type of mineral and organic inputs, and the speed at which they are transformed, moved or lost from the soil profile will depend on local environmental conditions and will determine the type oo soil

Question 3

soil formation

Answer 3

• climate
• biology
• parent material
• topography
• time
• management

Question 4

how does parent material influence soil properties?

Answer 4

influenced by particle size and state of consolidation

- influenced by mineralogy and chemical composition

Question 5

main type of parent material

Answer 5

SEDENTARY
- igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary
TRANSPORTED
- sedimentary
- geologically recent, Quaternary
- predominant soil and landscape forming material in the UK

Question 6

Generalised map of parent materials in the UK

Answer 6

UPLANDS
- mostly pre-glacial and include all 3 rock types
LOWLANDS
- Quaternary sediments of glacial, aeolian, alluvial, colluvial or biogenic laid down in various stages

Question 7

Physical and chemical properties of drift depend on

Answer 7

• the mineralogy of the rocks from which the drift was derived
• the extent of weathering prior to deposition
• the transport processes that deposited the drift

Question 8

Transport processes that deposit drift materials

Answer 8

• ice: glacial
• water: glacial, alluvial
• wind: aeolian
• Gravity: colluvial

Question 9

Glacial drift

Answer 9

GLACIAL TILL
- deposited by ice sheets during the cold stage
FLUVIO-GLACIAL DEPOSITS
- deposited by melt water during the warm stages

Question 10

Aeolian Drift

Answer 10

• glacial origin
• not common in the UK
• often mixed with glacial drift
• very important in the USA

Question 11

Colluvial drift

Answer 11

• accumulated material (mostly <10,00 years) on the sides and bases of slopes and valleys
• coarse and stoney
• agriculturally unimportant

Question 12

Alluvial drift

Answer 12

• recently deposited by flooding streams and rivers that runt heir current course
• particle size ranges from large stones and boulders to fine clays
• particles are sorted into different sizes during the flood, with the larger material being deposited near the river channel and finer materials further away

Question 13

Climate

Answer 13

Temperature
- function of latitude and altitude
- mild winters in the UK lowlands
- cool summers in the UK, especially with increasing altitude
Precipitation
- Annual rainfall ranges from 50mm in lowland east and south to 5000mm in mountains in the west

Question 14

Relief

Answer 14

The shape of the land affects the evolution of the soil by causing local different in

• climate
• ground surface stability
• moisture regimes (hydrological sequences)

Question 15

influences of vegetation and management

Answer 15

• acidity inputs
• organic matter accumulation
• soil surface stability
• soil moisture