IB ESS Review: Topic 5 Terms

Question 1

Soil system storages and transfers

Answer 1

Storages: Organic matter, nutrients, minerals, air, water.
Transfers: biological mixing, leaching (form organization of soil).

Question 2

Soil profile

Answer 2

Vertical succesion down through a soil which reveals distinct layers or horizons in the soil.

Question 3

Biological mixing

Answer 3

large living organisms help mix various soil elements through their movement within the soil through their bodily functions.

Question 4

Leaching

Answer 4

Water soluble substances are washed out of the soil, reducing fertility.

Question 5

Characteristics of sand soils

Answer 5

Poor structure, dry, lacks nutrients, low yields, easy penetration, warms quickly.

Question 6

Characteristics of clay soils

Answer 6

Heavy (few air spaces), drains poorly, holds moisture, compacts easily, difficult for plant roots to grow well, warms slowly in spring

Question 7

Characteristics of loam soils

Answer 7

Ideal for farming, better infiltration/drainage, least susceptible to erosion, highest in primary productivity.

Question 8

Primary productivity

Question 9

Buffer zones

Answer 9

Planted surrounding agricultural land to minimize agricultural runoff.

Question 10

Soil fertility. What reduces it?

Answer 10

If it is rich in nutrients necessary for plant nutrition. Deforestation, overgrazing, agricultural mismanagement.

Question 11

Subsistence farming methods

Answer 11

Small, developed over 1000s of years, low productivity, ecologically friendly.

Question 12

Soil erosion

Answer 12

Soil crusting/compaction increases runoff, decreases infiltration

Question 13

Toxification

Answer 13

Toxic chemicals in the soil

Question 14

Saliinsiation

Answer 14

Concentration of abnormally high levels of salts in soils due to degradation.

Question 15

Desertification

Answer 15

The gradual transformation of habitable land into desert.

Question 16

Soil conditioners

Answer 16

Materials added to soil to improve soil fertility

Question 17

Wind reduction

Answer 17

Methods used to reduce the wind’s ability to disturb top soil and a road particles.

Question 18

Contour plowing

Answer 18

Prevents the downslope movement of water and soil. Prevents moisture from running downhill and reduces erosion considerably.

Question 19

Strip cultivation

Answer 19

Growing crops in a systematic arrangement of strips across a field

Question 20

Terracing

Answer 20

Slopes converted into series of flat steps. Used where slopes are to steep for contour plowing.

Question 21

Nutrient cycling

Answer 21

Some of the plants lost as an output will return as leaf litter in time

Question 22

Food security

Answer 22

All people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain healthy lifestyles.

Question 23

Agro-industrialization

Answer 23

Large scale, capital intensive, monoculture, highly mechanized, low labor, heavy use of fertilizers. Natural consequence of the globalization of agriculture.

Question 24

Pedogenis

Answer 24

The process of soil development

Question 25

Food wastte

Answer 25

Edible food thrown away at retail/consumer levels.

Question 26

Food loss

Answer 26

Food that spills, spoils, reduced quality, lost before retailer or consumer. Occurs at the front of the food chain.

Question 27

Humus

Answer 27

Breakdown of organics. Makes soil more fertile.