SPAGHETTI
This is 1 of the 7 pathways a contaminant may follow when it reaches soil.
What is
1. vaporize into the atmosphere
2. bond tightly to clay or OM
3. infiltrate and become part of soil solution
4. chemical reactions within soil
5. surface runoff
6. uptake by plants
7. decomposed by microbes
?
These large channels are formed by rapid water erosion and can damage entire landscapes.
What are gullies / gully?
Animal manures must be applied to food crops this many days before harvest.
What is 90-120 days?
This is how soil microbes influence nutrient availability in soils.
What is eating OM and pooping it out?
This is why toxic metals accumulate in soil over time.
What is because microbes do not break them down?
This type of landfill does not rely on the soil to filter water, but instead uses a system of pipes and pumps to remove water.
What are contained / secured landfills?
Certified organic livestock must always have access to _______________________.
What is the outdoors and a grazing pasture?
These types of crops are grown during "off-seasons" and are primarily used to protect and enhance soils.
What are cover crops?
This is 1 sure way to reduce wind and water erosion in soils.
What is vegetation?
This "pesticide" is commonly used in organic farming because it influences insect mating behavior, rather than killing insects.
What are pheromones?
This type of landfill relies on soil to filter water that infiltrates it.
What are natural attenuation or unsecured landfills?
These soil colors indicate poor airflow.
What is grey / blue?
These soil colors indicate good airflow.
What is red / yellow / orange?
Wind erosion is most serious in these types of climates.
What is dry / desert / arid?
All organic / living or once living organisms contain this element.
What is carbon?
Soil is composed of these 3 mineral textures.
What is sand, silt, and clay?
Farmers must practice organic farming for this long before applying for organic certification.
What is 3 years?
This is the zone where soil meets the groundwater.
What is water table?
This is one benefit of OM in soil.
increased water holding capacity
What is
food for microbes
plant nutrients
binds sand, silt, and clay particles
improved airflow
?
This type of tillage reduces erosion, improves OM content, increases soil biodiversity, and leaves crop residues on the soil surface.
What is conservation tillage?
These are the 6 roles of soil.
What is
1. Support plant growth
2. Regulate water supplies
3. Modify the atmosphere
4. Recycle waste/OM
5. Habitat for organisms
6. Engineering medium
In the U.S., most of the soil erosion takes place in these areas.
What is crop land, construction sites, desert regions, and cleared forests?
This is 1 way to maintain plant diversity in livestock grazing pastures.
What is planting legume + grass mixes
planting cool-season + warm-season mixes
grazing animal diversity?
These are 2 examples of plants that do not take up contaminants, but their roots excrete compounds that stimulate beneficial bacteria growth.
What are prairie grasses, wildflowers, poplar trees?
This is how colonization accelerated soil erosion in the U.S.
What is clear cutting forests for farmland and introducing plows / tillage?