soil formation
Temperature fluctuations, rainfall, sun and wind exposure lead to breakdown of parent material.
What is climate?
Sandy soils, Clayey soils, Loamy soils
What are the texture classes?
gravel, sand, or silt, (coarse grained soil) with little or no clay content.
What is granular soil?
free water that moves through the soil by the force of gravity.
What is gravitational water?
The material that plants grow in.
What is soil media?
The combination of natural processes by which soils are formed.
What is soil formation?
Its proportion of the sizes of mineral particles present in a soil.
What is soil texture?
The binding together of sand, silt, and clay particles together into aggregates and are called peds.
What is soil structure?
amount of water remaining in the soil a few days after a rain event or irrigation.
What is field capacity?
The process of breaking down dead organic matter in soil into simpler substances.
What is decomposition?
The weathering of rocks that greatly influences the physical and chemical properties of soil.
What is parent material?
An even mixture of sand, silt, and clay with moderate water-holding capacity and strong ability to store plant nutrients.
What is loamy soil?
Particles that clump together into blocks that are roughly angular or rounded in shape.
what is blocky soil?
Held in the soil against gravitational pull, and most of this water is available to plants. Found in the micropores or small pore spaces.
What is the capillary water?
The process of creating nutrients that are essential for the growth of plants and animals.
What is nutrient production?
The Fertile, upper, outermost layer that is most important for plant growth
What is the A horizon?
a type of soil that is made up of large particles of sand and the pore spaces allow for aeration, quick infiltration (moves fast), easily tilled, warm up quickly in spring
What is sandy soil?
soil particles are not arranged into any distinct units, and appear as a large, solid mass
What is a massive soil?
the water content of a soil when most plants growing in that soil wilt and fail to recover after water
What is the permanent Wilting Point?
The creation of empty spaces or gaps between soil particles, forming a network of pores that can be filled with air and water
What is pore formation?
The lowest layer of soil and is made up of tightly bound, unbreakable materials.
What is the R horizon?
The finest particle size, contributes to slow drainage and poor aeration, easily compacted, high water-holding capacity and ability to hold nutrients.
What is clayey soil?
The soil units are longer vertically than horizontally, with flat or slightly rounded vertical faces
What is prismatic soil?
The amount of water the soil can hold at any given time so it will be available for uptake by plants
What is water-holding capacity?
Dead plant or animal tissue, contains carbon, usually has diseases or insects.
What is organic matter?