Soil

Question 1

What is soil made of?

Answer 1

Disintegrated rock, broken down organic matter, gas, water, nutrients, and biological organisms

Question 2

1 teaspoon of soil can contain up to _ bacteria, _ fungi, _ algae, and _ protists.

Answer 2

100 million; 500,000; 100,000; 50,000

Question 3

Soil is a _, but slowly _.

Answer 3

Renewable resource; regenerated

Question 4

What are 3 things that soil does?

Answer 4

Supports plants, holds water, and brings us food

Question 5

Because of the biodiversity, soil is actually considered a _.

Answer 5

Microecosystem

Question 6

Starts with _, the geological material that breaks down and forms sediment.

Answer 6

Parent material

Question 7

Parent material could be…

Answer 7

Mountainous rock, lava, sand dunes, glacier, river sediment, or bedrock

Question 8

Parent material is broken down by either chemical or physical processes called _.

Answer 8

Weathering

Question 9

The weathering of parent material is just the first step of soil formation. The second step of soil formation is erosion, which is…

Answer 9

The movement of particles from one location to another

Question 10

Once broken down and carried away, rock debris will combine with organic matter, microbes, and other materials to form soil. However, it will still exist in different _, or layers.

Answer 10

Horizons

Question 11

What are the different horizons?

Answer 11

O Horizon: Organic little layer
A Horizon: Topsoil
B Horizon: Subsoil
C Horizon: Parent material
R Horizon: Bedrock

Question 12

_ is the most important layer with respect to plants as this is where they gain their nutrients and food from. The nutrient content, ability to hold water, and depth will ultimately determine how well the plant will grow.

Answer 12

Topsoil

Question 13

Organic matter decreases as you travel down the horizons. The movement of nutrients through layers is known as _.

Answer 13

Leaching

Question 14

There are 12 classifications of soil that soil scientists use that derive from where they originated. However, there are easier ways to classify soils…

Answer 14

Soil color: Can sometimes indicate infertility
Soil texture: Size of parent material particles
Soil structure: The “clumpiness” of soil
Soil pH: The acidity of the soil

Question 15

Ultimately soil is affected by its regional characteristics. Some areas allow for more _, how plants uptake nutrients. Finer texture and more organic matter make for better _.

Answer 15

Cation exchange

Question 16

Which has better soil, the Amazon rainforest or the Kansas plains?

Answer 16

Kansas plains

Question 17

_ is a huge problem in American agriculture. Almost equally as important is _, or the arrival of the eroded material at a new location.

Answer 17

Erosion; deposition

Question 18

We have increased erosion by the following practices…

Answer 18

Overcultivating fields, overgrazing rangelands, and clearing forests

Question 19

There are 3 main types of soil erosion…

Answer 19

Splash erosion, gully erosion, and rill erosion

Question 20

After a long time of erosion, the end product is the removal of topsoil and loss of nutrients of plants. As this happens, plants and vegetation die, driving erosion even deeper. This process is called _, because ultimately, you are forming a desert looking area.

Answer 20

Desertification

Question 21

There are 6 different ways that farmers can fight soil erosion…

Answer 21

Crop rotation, contour farming, terracing, shelterbelts, intercropping, and no-till farming

Question 22

Whenever we water our crops artificially, we call it _.

Answer 22

Irrigation

Question 23

Ultimately, over-irrigation can deposit salt and excess nutrient sediments on the soil’s surface as the water evaporates. Over time this builds up the salt levels on the surface and leads to a process called _, that ultimately kills plants.

Answer 23

Salinizaton

Question 24

You can stop salinization by…

Answer 24

Not over-watering, ya dingus!

Question 25

_ generally happens faster than soil formation can occur.

Answer 25

Erosion

Question 26

Soil texture consists of three categories…

Answer 26

Sand, silt, and clay (arranged from largest particles to smallest particles).

Question 27

There are 3 different kinds of soil in Denton County…

Answer 27

Texas Blackland Prairie (East), Cross Timbers (Central), and Grand Prairie (West)

Question 28

Some soils you should know…

Answer 28

Oxisols: Rainforest
Vertisols: Denton soil
Aridisols: Desert
Ultisols: Deciduous forest
Mollisols: Plains (most nutrient-rich)