Midterm

Question 1

Ecosystem services from soil perform

Answer 1

Provide goods (water, food, medicine, lumber)
Purifies water
Decompose waste
Nutrient cycling
Biomass production
Outdoor recreation

Question 2

How does soil supports plants?

Answer 2

Physical support
Air - remove carbon from atmosphere, release oxygen
Water - store water as groundwater
Temperature moderation - shade
Protection from toxins
Nutrient elements

Question 3

Soil Profile and its layers

Answer 3

O - organic matter
A - organic matter and topsoil
B - minerals and salts (subsoil)
C - salts and rocks

Question 4

consistuent of your soil

Answer 4

25% air
25% water
5% organic matter
45% mineral

Question 5

Soil Texture

Answer 5

sand
loamy sand
sandy loam
sandy clay loam
Loam - mixture if sand, silt, and clay particles
silt loam
silt
silty clay loam
clay
clay loam
sandy clay
silty clay

Question 6

Soil structure

Answer 6

sand
silt
clay

Question 7

Weathering of rocks and minerals

Answer 7

Physical and Chemical

Question 8

Types of rocks

Answer 8

Igneous - formed from molten magma (granite)
Sedimentary - formed by the break down of other rocks that are underwater and make new rocks (quartz)
Metamorphic - formed from other rocks by a process called metamorphosis (marble)

Question 9

Factors influencing weather

Answer 9

Parent material
topography
climate
biology
time

Question 10

Parent materials

Answer 10

those found in place
those transported by water

Question 11

Basic processes of soil formation

Answer 11

Transformations
Translocations
Additions
Losses

Question 12

Types of Soil structure

Answer 12

Spheroidal, platelike, blocklike, prismlike

Question 13

Types of tillage

Answer 13

Conventional tillage - use of moldboard plow to life, twist, and invert soil
Conservation tillage - leaves at least 30% of the soil surface covered by residues
Minimum/reduced tillage - chisel plowing, stirring of the soil but leaves plant residue

Question 14

Soil density

Answer 14

Mass measurements of soil

Question 15

Bulk density

Answer 15

Mass of a unit volume of dry soil
includes both solids and pores

Question 16

Particle density

Answer 16

Mass per unit volume of soil solids
Not affected by pore space

Question 17

Factors that determine pore space

Answer 17

minerals that make up minerals

Question 18

Macropores vs micropores for each soil texture

Answer 18

A sandy soil has more macropores
A silty soil has smaller than sand pores but bigger than clay pores
A clay soil has more micropores

Question 19

Activity as humans that can affect pore space

Answer 19

walking, driving, tillage

Question 20

Soil water properties

Answer 20

polarity
hydrogen bonding
hydration
cohesion (glue to another water) vs adhesion (glue to surface)
surface tension

Question 21

Tillage is influenced by

Answer 21

aggregate formation and stability
bulk density
soil moisture content
aeration
drainage
rate of water infiltration
capillary water capacity

Question 22

Alfisols

Answer 22

Mildly acid clay
Productive soils
Good forest growth and crop yield
Strongly weathered
high-to-medium base saturation

Question 23

Andisols

Answer 23

High content of volcanic glass
Poor content of iron and aluminum
Humid moisture
Support intensive agriculture

Question 24

Aridisols

Answer 24

Dry soil
low organic matter
Need irrigation for growing crops

Question 25

Entisols

Question 26

Gelisols

Answer 26

Support tundra vegetation
Rarely used in agriculture
Very cold

Question 27

Histosols

Answer 27

> 20% organic matter
Lightweight
anaerobic

Question 28

Inceptisols

Answer 28

Important for lowland rice-growing areas
can dominant an area

Question 29

Mollisols

Answer 29

High fertility
Organic matter oxidized

Question 30

Oxisols

Answer 30

Highly weathered

Question 31

Spodosols

Answer 31

Acid
Productive when fertilized
Good for crop production

Question 32

Ultisols

Answer 32

Strongly acidic clays
Good crop production
Productive in agriculture

Question 33

Vertisols

Answer 33

High in swelling clays