Soil properties

Question 1

What is water holding capacity?

Answer 1

The total amount of water soil can hold

Question 2

What does water retention contribute to?

Answer 2

Land productivity and fertility of the soil

Question 3

Water holding capacity varies with:

Answer 3

different soil types

Question 4

What does the particle size and composition of each soil horizon affect?

Answer 4

The porosity, permeability, and fertility of soil.

Question 5

Why is it important to test the chemical, physical, and biological proper sites of soil?

Answer 5

The results can aid in a variety of decisions such as irrigation and fertilizer requirements.

Question 6

What is a soil texture triangle?

Answer 6

A diagram that allows for the identification and comparisons of soil types based on their percentage of clay, silt, and sand

Question 7

What three particles is the geologic (rock) portion of soil made up of?

Answer 7

From biggest to smallest: sand, silt, clay

Question 8

What is soil texture?

Answer 8

The percentage of sand, silt, and clay in soil. It always adds up to 100%.

Question 9

What is porosity?

Answer 9

The amount of pore space soil has

Question 10

How does more sand in a soil affect porosity?

Answer 10

More sand in a soil means it is more porous/has a higher porosity because it’s easier for water and air to enter. Because sand is bigger, it has bigger pores.

Question 11

How does more clay in a soil affect porosity?

Answer 11

More clay in a soil means it is less porous/has a lower porosity because it’s harder for water and air to enter. Clay has smaller pores, so it’s harder for air and water to enter clay-heavy soils.

Question 12

What are soil pores?

Answer 12

Empty spaces between particles

Question 13

What determines soil texture?

Answer 13

The percentage of clay, sand, and silt

Question 14

How should you use a soil texture chart?

Answer 14

1. start at the bottom with sand percentage
2. move out to the point where sand and silt meet
3. go straight over to clay
4. make sure it adds up to 100%

Question 15

What is porosity?

Answer 15

The pore space within a soil (more sand = more porous)

Question 16

What is permeability?

Answer 16

How easily water drains through a soil

Question 17

What is the water holding capacity of a soil?

Answer 17

How well water is retained/held by a soil

Question 18

There is an inverse relationship between:
and a positive relationship between:

Answer 18

• porosity/permeability and water holding capacity
• porosity and permeability

Question 19

When porosity goes up, what happens to permeability and water carrying capacity?

Answer 19

When porosity goes up, permeability goes up, and water carrying capacity goes down.

Question 20

Higher porosity =

Answer 20

higher permeability and lower water holding capacity

Question 21

How do porosity, permeability, and water carrying capacity relate to each other?

Answer 21

inverse relationship between porosity/permeability and water carrying capacity

Question 22

what happens to plants when soil is too sandy?

Answer 22

the soil is too permeable so water drains too quickly for roots and the soil dries out

Question 23

what happens to plants when the soil has too much clay?

Answer 23

clay-heavy soil doesn’t et water drain to roots or it waterlogs the roots, suffocating them

Question 24

what is the ideal soil for plant growth? why?

Answer 24

the ideal soil for most plant growth is loam which balances porosity (drainage) with water holding capacity

Question 25

what is soil fertility?

Answer 25

the ability of soil to support plant growth

Question 26

what are the common nutrients found in soil?

Question 27

what factors increase soil nutrients?

Question 28

what factors decrease soil nutrients?

Question 29

what factors increase water carrying capacity?

Question 30

what factors decrease water carrying capacity?