What is Soil
What is soil?
A mixture of minerals, water, air, organic matter, and organisms.
What is a decomposer?
eats dead plants and animals. Ex. fungi, bacteria, and earthworms.
Name a type of additive.
Fertilizer, salt, herbicides, and pesticides.
What is the best soil for growing plants.
loam
Where is soil found?
In the ground, around plants.
How do decomposers help soil and plants?
Put nutrients back into the soil.
Why can an additive be good?
Kill off weeds and unwanted insects in the garden.
Name a way we protect the soil?
Plant tall trees
What is humus?
tiny pieces of rotted plants and animals. Humus is dark brown and crumbles when touched.
What is composting?
the natural breakdown of organic material by bacteria, fungi, and other creatures such as earthworms.
Why can additives be bad?
harms other living things. For examples, blocking nutrients.
What does anchorage mean?
securing something to a base or in the case of plants, to the ground
Name the 4 types of soil.
Sand, silt, clay and loam.
What are 2 disadvantages of composting?
takes a bit of time and smelly.
True or false: fertilizers also have small bits of metals.
True.
What would happen if soil quality poor?
hard time getting nutrients from plants so plant would not grow and animals not getting energy
What are some uses of soil?
grow crops, clay used in pottery, constructing buildings e.g. bricks.
How do bacteria, fungi, and earthworms help with the composting process.
Help break down by eating it and returning to soil.
Name all 4 additives discussed.
Herbicides, pesticides, salt, fertilizer
How does soil help plants to live and grow?
anchorage, water, oxygen, nutrients.