Unit 3 Flashcards
Arthropod
A phylum or division of the animal kingdom; includes insects, spiders, and Crustacea; characterized by a coating which serves as an external skeleton and by legs with distinct movable segments or joints
Bacteria
Single-celled microorganisms; some cause human, animal, or plant diseases; others are beneficial.
Accumulation
To gather or collect.
Bedrock
Unweathered hard rock that lies directly beneath the soil layers or beneath superficial geological deposits, such as glacial drift.
Erosion
The group of processes whereby earthy or rock material is worn away, loosened or dissolved and removed from any part of the earth’s surface.
Deposition
The addition of sediment, as by flowing water.
Horizon
A layer of soil, approximately parallel to the surface, having distinct characteristics produced by soil-forming processes.
Ground Cover
Any vegetation that grows close to the ground, producing protection for the soil.
Microorganism
An organism so small that it cannot be seen clearly without the use of a microscope; a microscopic or submicroscopic organism.
Leaching
The removal of soluble constituents from soils or other materials by percolating water.
Irrigation
The artificial application of water to soil for the purpose of increasing plant production.
Organic Matter
Matter found in, or produced by, living animals and plants, which contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and often nitrogen and sulfur.
Nematodes
Microscopic, wormlike, transparent organisms that can attack plant roots or stems to cause stunted or unhealthy growth.
Mottle
Color difference on a mass of moderately poorly drained soil.
Parent Material
The horizon of weathered rock or partially weathered soil material from which the soil is formed.
Porocity
Refers to the extent of voids or openings in the soil that exist between soil particles and soil peds or clods. These pores hold water and air for absorption by plant roots.
Soil Texture
The relative proportion in a soil of the various size groups of individual soil grains.
Soil
The mineral and organic surface of the earth capable of supporting upland plants. It has been (and is being) formed by the active factors of climate and biosphere exerting their influence on passive parent material and topography over neutral time.
Translocation
To move or transfer from one place to another; cause to change location; displace.
Transformation
Change in form, appearance, nature, or character.
Topography
Slope of the land and the position on the landscape, such as the top of a hill, a hillside, or the foot of a slope.
Weathering
Atmospheric action on rock surfaces producing decomposition, disintegration, or alteration of rocks at or close to the earth’s surface.
Loam
Soil that consists of less than 52 percent sand, 28 to 50 percent silt, and 7 to 27 percent clay, resulting in a soil texture ideal for gardening.
Internal Drainage
The relative degree of downward movement of water in a soil. Also called permeability.
Sand
In soil science, a group of textural classes in which the particles are finer than gravel but coarser than silt, ranging in size from 2.00 to 0.5 millimeters in diameter. It is the textural class of any soil that contains 85 percent or more of sand and not more than 10 percent of clay.