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Soils > Exam 1 > Flashcards

Exam 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 2 scales of soil?

A
  • Global

- Local

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2
Q

Global scale of soil

A
  • soil is at the intersection of atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere
  • Soil is a biogeochemical membrane
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3
Q

Critical zone

A

-comprised of the outer layers of the planet that lie between the tops of the tallest trees and the bottom of the groundwater aquifers that feed out rivers.

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4
Q

Local scale of soil (for ideal soil system)

A
  • 4 phase system
  • 20-30% air
  • 20-30% water
  • 5% organic
  • 45% mineral
  • pore space is air, water, organic
  • soil solids are minerals
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5
Q

Ecosystem services of soil

A
  • provisioning services (food, drinking water, fuel)
  • Regulating services (climate, water, disease)
  • Supporting services (soil formation, nutrient cycling)
  • Cultural services (educational, recreational, tourism)
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6
Q

What forces move particles?

A

Ice, wind, water

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7
Q

MASTER horizons

A
  • O (organic horizons)
  • A, B, C, E (mineral horizons)
  • R (bedrock horizon)
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8
Q

Organic vs mineral soil

A

-organic has >20% carbon

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9
Q

Oi (stage 1)

A

–litters

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10
Q

Oe (O2)

A

-partially decomposed

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11
Q

Oa (O2)

A
  • highly decomposed by microbiota

- AKA humus

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12
Q

A (A1)

A

-mixture of humified organic matter and mineral soil (topsoil)

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13
Q

E (A2)

A
  • eluviated leached horizon

- leached by water

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14
Q

B (B2)

A
  • altered, undergoing change
  • Illuviation
  • Loss of carbonates
  • Change in color or structure
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15
Q

R

A

-weathered bedrock

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16
Q

What is the regolith composed of?

A

-Everything above the bedrock

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17
Q

What is the solum composed of?

A

-A and B layer collectively

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18
Q

p

A

-plow layer, abrupt smooth boundary

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19
Q

t

A

-illuvial accumulation of silicate clays

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20
Q

w

A

-distinctive color or structure

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21
Q

g

A

-gleying (strong grey color)

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22
Q

s

A

-illuvial accumulation of sesquioxides

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23
Q

h

A

-illuvial accumulation of organic matter

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24
Q

d

A

-dense, impermeable (gegenic)

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25
x
- dense, brittle, impermeable (genetic) | - Bx
26
Topsoil
-composed of organic horizons and the A horizon
27
subsoil
-composed of B and C horizons
28
Catena
- soils that commonly occur in the landscape in sequence | - Each member of the catena has similar age, and parent material, but different drainage classes.
29
What is the point of reference for profile depth?
-top mineral soil horizon
30
Very poorly drained depth to mottliing
-0-4 inches
31
Poorly drained depth to mottling
4-8 inches
32
Somewhat poorly drained depth to mottling
8-16 inches
33
moderatley well drained depth to mottling
16-40 inches
34
well drained depth to mottling
>40 inches
35
differences between reduced mottling and oxidized mottling
- oxidized in red, yellow, and bright (Fe +3) | - Reduced is grey, gley, and dull (Fe +2)
36
Esker
- coarse sands/gravel throughout | - Excessively well drained
37
Soil color--munsell notation
- Hue, relation to red, yellow, green, blue, purple - Value- lightness (10 white, 1 black) - Chroma - departure from neutral of the same lightness - describes location in 3D color space, written as hue value/ chroma (1.5yr/4)
38
Soil profile horizon description (components)
- color - horizon boundary - coarse fragments - depth to mottling, root restrictive layer - roots (size and abundance)
39
What has an influence on soil drainage class
-landscape shape, position, slope, and topography
40
Size class of roots
- very fine (<1mm) - fine (1 - 2mm) - Medium (2 - 5mm) - Coarse (5 to 10mm) - very coarse (>10mm)
41
Root abundance
-few <1 -Common 1 to 5 Many greater than or equal to 5
42
what contributed to the fall of Mayans
- Overpopulation - soil degradation - competition among villages for resources
43
Anthopogenic disturbance of the NE landscape
- 1740, clearing of land for homesteads - 1830, height of cultivation - 1850, beginning of land abandonment
44
Alluvial (fluvial)
- deposited by streams | - particles are coarse, bigger
45
-Lacustrine
- deposited by lakes - variable size, size of particles depends on the speed of the water - means glacial lake
46
Till
- angular shape, not rounded - deposited by ice - Basal - crushed at bottom where ice melts, impermeable at water, dense - Ablation - ice with a lot of stuff in it, loose
47
Marine
- deposited by the ocean - texture depends on the source - east coast is coarse texture
48
Outwash
-coarse texture, moves in water, becomes smooth and rounded
49
Deposited by WATER (stratified)
- outwash - Marine - Alluvial - Lacustrine
50
Deposited by ICE
-Till
51
5 factors of Jennys state model for soil formation
- climate - time - organisms - parent material - topography
52
Jennys state model CLIMATE
- active - temperature, when the temp is warmer, the soil will form quicker - effective precipitation
53
Jennys state model ORGANISMS
- active - plants - breaking down organic matter and adding nutrients to soil - organisms mound, mix, form and fill voids, and form/destroy peds
54
Jennys state model PARENT MATERIAL
- determines how the soil will form as well as the texture | - passive
55
Jennys state model TOPOGRAPHY
- the slope and aspect of the land greatly influence how the soil develops - passive
56
Jennys state model TIME
- soils need time to develop, so a longer time frame leaves more time to develop a soil profile - passive
57
Material depeosited by wind
-Eolian or Aeolian
58
What are the 3 most common elements in earth crust?
-Al, Si, O
59
Backslope
-WD and MWD till
60
Footslope
-SPD and PD till
61
Toe Slope
VPD, organic soil
62
Mineral
-specific chemical composition and specific arragement
63
Primary minerals
- have not been altered since deposition (quartz, olive) | - silicate materials
64
Secondary minerals
- have been altered/weathered (clay) | - silicate clay materials
65
Igneous rocks
cooling of magma
66
sedimentary rocks
collection of particles that solidify under pressure
67
metamorphic rocks
mix of igneous/sedimentary, heat and pressure applied overtime
68
Mull
-thick A horizon, very thin litter layer
69
Duff mull
-thick litter horizon, moderatley thick A horizon followed by E
70
MOR
-thick litter horizon with small A, E horizons, mostly composed of bedrock
71
_____ has greatest potential for high vegetative productivity
-Mull
72
Coarse grained rocks weather to
-coarse (sandy) textured soils
73
Limestone, marble weather to
-medium textured soil (silt, loamy)
74
Shale, slate weather to
-fine (clay) textured soil
75
Earth's crust + weathering agents =
parent material | -Weathering of earths crust creates parent material
76
soil parent material + weathering agents =
soil | -weathering of parent material creates soil
77
Soil formation, Process model
- Transformation - Translocation - Addition - Loss of material
78
Transformation in process model
- mineral weathering and organic matter breakdown | - destruction, modification, synthesis
79
Translocation in process model
- transloaction of organic and inorganic material | - occurs in 3 dimension
80
Addition in process model
-addition of soil materials from the outside soil profile
81
Two types of mineral weathering
- Disintegration (physical) | - Biogeochemical weathering
82
Physical weathering
- temperature (can break things apart) - Ablation (water, ice, wind) - plants and animals (roots splitting sidewalks)
83
Biogeochemical weathering
- Hydration (water molecules are incorporated into structure) - Hydrolosis (splitting of water) - Dissolution (decomposition of ions) - Redox (exchanging of electrons) - Complexation (adding organic molecules) - Acid/base (changing pH of structure)
84
Podzolization
- Precip>PET - cool, moist temp - Soil order : spodosol - E, Bs horizons
85
Laterization
- Precip>PET - desilication, low Si - hot, moist temp - Ap, Bo horizons - Oxisol soil order
86
Calcification
- Calcium accumulates | - precip
87
Gleization
- anerobic, gleyed horizon | - reduced iron
88
In arid regions, which weathering process is expected to dominate?
-Physical
89
Soil texture
-relative proportion of primary particles (sand, silt, clay)
90
Larger particles are called
- Sand - 2 - 0.05mm - irregular size and shape - primarily quartz
91
Particles >2mm are
-rocks, coarse fragments
92
-smaller particals are called
-clay, diameter < .002mm
93
medium size particles are called
- silt - .05-.0002mm - irregular size and shape
94
Sandy soils characteristics
- low water holding capacity, organic matter, and compaction potential - susceptible to wind erosion - resist water erosion - rapid drainage, well aerated
95
Silty soils characteristics
- medium water holding capacity, organic matter, and fertility - very susceptible to wind and water erosion - moderate aeration
96
wind blown silt deposits are
loess
97
clay soils characteristics
- slow drainage, poor aeration | - high water holding capactiy, organic matter, fertility

Soils (3 decks)

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