Soils of BC

Question 1

What are the 4 main factors that influence soil formation?

Answer 1

Climate, Biota, Parent Material, Topography

Question 2

What physical component of soil is the most important component affecting plant growth?

Answer 2

Organic content

Question 3

What are the two most active processes in soil formation?

Answer 3

Biota and Climate

Question 4

What are the different levels of the Canadian soil hierarchy?

Answer 4

Order
Great Group
Sub Group
Family
Series

Question 5

What does Order Describe?

Answer 5

Largest and most broad descriptor. Organizes soils based on properties that reflect the predominant soil processes.

Question 6

What does Great Group describe?

Answer 6

Properties that modify the strongest soil forming process of the order. ex humus accumulation in chernozems make it black, brown, or dark grey

Question 7

What does Sub Group describe?

Answer 7

Describes how a subgroup may be transitioning into another subgroup. Ex Gleyed brown chernozemic.

Question 8

What does Family Describe?

Answer 8

A group of soil that are similar in mineralogy, texture, genetic material, soil climate

Question 9

What does Series describe?

Answer 9

Subdivision of family where horizons depth, colour, texture and structure fall within a narrow range similarity.

Question 10

Describe the Brunisolic order.

Answer 10

• Result of minor modification of parent material
• poorly developed soil horizons
◦ caused by long cold winters in north and high altitudes or lack of
moisture in interior BC
• in drier landscapes than Podzols
• the “young” soils – young parent material
• thick reddish-brown Bm horizon
• 2 main types

Question 11

Describe the Chernozemic order.

Answer 11

What: Grassland vegetation. A lot of organic matter.

Where: Found in arid to sub arid. Low rainfall, high summer temps, high evaporationtraspiration rates. South and west facing slopes.

Dominant Process: accumulates organic matter. as topsoil.

Question 12

Describe the Cryosolic order

Answer 12

What: Contain permafrost close (within 2 m) to the surface.

Where: North east BC in the dry peatlands, High mountains. North facing slopes.

Dominant process: permafrost formation, cold temperatures, causing organic accumulation.

Question 13

Describe the Gleysolic order.

Answer 13

• Characteristic of poorly drained areas
• saturated for extended periods so reducing conditions present
◦ less mineral and OM transformation in soils
• fine-grained parent materials such as clayey till and glaciolacustrine deposits

Question 14

Describe the Luvisolic order.

Answer 14

• Associated with forest vegetation, parent materials that are base-saturated and fine-grained with moderate precipitation
• characterized by leaching and accumulation of clay in Bt horizon
• interior plateaus of BC and foothills of rocky mountains - peace river region.

Question 15

Describe the Organic Order

Answer 15

• Develop in wettest parts of the landscape; saturated for most of the year
• composed mainly of OM – in situ accumulation – not modification of parent
material
• found in wetlands across the province
• several different types based on OM composistion

Question 16

Describe the Podzolic order

Answer 16

• Cool, humid climates beneath coniferous forests
• widespread along BC coast & throughout mountains (except at lowest elev.)
• high acidity and profile development (caused by lots of leaching)
• tend to develop on volcanic ash
Ferro-humic podzols = display red horizon where Fe, Al and OM have accumulated
- found on western slopes of coast and insular mountains

Question 17

Describe the Regosolic Order

Answer 17

• Little soil development – little to no B horizon
• on high mountains and steep slopes where soil development doesn’t really
happen much
• lithic soil is when you have bare rock… so basically not soil

Question 18

Describe the Solonetzic order

Answer 18

• Have significant Na and/or Mg salt accumulations
• scattered across interior region
• moderately common on sedimentary rocks with high salt content