soil classification Flashcards
1
Q
what are the ten soil orders of CSSC
A
- brunisol
- luvisol
- podzol
- vertisol
- gleysol
- organic
- cryosolic
- chernozem
- solonetz
2
Q
tell me about regosols
A
- limited to no B horizon
- form on young materials
3
Q
tell me about brunisols
A
- medium fertility
- igneous rock
- low pH
- thin Ah horizon
- large C transition
- forms under mixed forest or now farmland in Ontario/Quebec where annual precipitation is less than 700 mm/year
4
Q
tell me about luvisols
A
- parent material rich in base cations -> high fertility
- neutral/high pH
- eluviation and illuviation produce Ae and Bt horizons (Bt: clay)
- formed in mixed deciduous and coniferous forests
- southern Ontario/Quebec
5
Q
tell me about podzols
A
- low-medium fertility
- intense chemical weathering
- metal ions form complexes with organic decomposition products (chelates)
- leached Ae horizon –> Bf and Bh horizons
- acidic
- form under coniferous forests (acidic needles) and sandy parent material + precipitation > 700mm/year
6
Q
tell me about vertisols
A
-high clay content
- little development
- shrinking and swelling
- parent material depositied in lakes during retreat of glaciers
- found in cool subarid grasslands through prairies
7
Q
tell me about gleysols
A
- depletion of oxygen in soils (anoxic conditions)
- reduced iron: blue-grey horizon (Bg)
- medium/high fertility
- areas with high water table, riparian landscapes, 5-10 meters from water, everywhere in canada
8
Q
tell me about organic soils
A
- composed largely of organic material that piles up
- saturated with water for long periods
- low/medium fertility - drainage and nutrient dependent
- found where water accumulates and cold
9
Q
tell me about cryosol?
A
- very thin or no Ah horizon
- cryoturbation - churning upon freezing and thawing
- on top of permafrost
- shallow, weak chemical development
- rich in organic matter at top
- found north of treeline where mean temp <0 degrees cel.
10
Q
tell me about chernozems
A
- well drained soils
- means black earth in german
- majority of C in ground due to dense root network
- high fertility
- dissolved salts and calcium carbonates from topsoil go to upper C horizon
- limited leaching of bases
- neutral pH
- found in prairie grasslands
11
Q
tell me about solonetz soils?
A
- enriched with sodium chloride
- alkaline
- hard B horizon when dry and sticky mass with low permeability when moist
- dry season: formation of cracks and accumulation of salts from capillary rise
- wet season: peptization of clay and OM due to high sodium concentration in upper soil horizons and illuviation of clay and OM to Btn horizon
- poor fertility
- found in prairie grasslands
12
Q
tell me about salonchak soils
A
- enriched by no dominant salt
- strong enrichment at top layer
- low OM
- well-structured soils due to flocculation
- pH: 7-8
- in arid regions where ET>P
13
Q
tell me about calcisols
A
- enriched in calcium carbonates
- dissolution of carbonates in topsoils -> leaching -> precipitation of secondary carbonates at depth -> groundwater flow of Ca2+ -> capillary rise -> precipitation of carbonates in soils
- great for grasses
14
Q
tell me about aridisols
A
- desert pavement of gravel
- old oxidized, Fe-rich horizon
- silcrete (si-cemented horizon)
15
Q
tell me about arenosols
A
- quartz-rich parent material
- very permeable for water
- low water holding capacity
- loose structure -> sensitive to erosion and compaction
- in arid zones: rich in base cations, develop on sand dunes, permanent wind erosion
- in temperate zones: shallow A horizon, de-calcified due to leaching, often first sign of podzolation
- in tropical zones: young soils on parent material deposits or old soil that has lost everything but coarse-grained quartz
