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a loose mixture of small mineral fragments, organic material, water ad air that can support the growth of vegetation; provides nutrients and moisture to plants which grow directly in it
animals benefit when soil is rich with nutrients
soil's ability to hold water allows plants to get the moisture they need |
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| region where a plant or animal lives |
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| overuse and over grazing can cause soil to be damaged and lose nutrients |
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| desertification / land degradation |
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| without plants to hold and cycle water, an infertile area can become like a desert |
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| process by which wind, water or gravity transport soil and sediment from one location to another |
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| 3 methods by which farms help prevent erosion |
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- contour plowing
- terracing
- no-till farming |
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| crops that are planted between harvests to replace certain nutrients and prevent erosion |
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| slows down nutrient depletion b/c different crops use different nutrients in the soil |
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| soil that is blown or washed away from its parent rock |
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| the layer of rock beneath the soil |
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| the rock formation that is the source of mineral fragments in the soil |
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| soil that remins above its parent rock |
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| soil quality that is based on the proportions of soil particles |
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| soils ability to hold nutrients and to supply nutrients to a plant |
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| ability of water to move through the soil |
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| arrangement of soil particles |
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| the organic material formed in soil from the decayed remains of plants and animals |
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| because of the way soil forms soil often ends lup in a series of horizontal layers called this |
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| the top layer of soil usually contains more humus than the layers below it |
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| the removal of substances that can be dissolved from rock and soil due to water passing through is called this; tropical soils are generally poor and thin due to leaching |
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| what is the pH scale used to measure? |
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| how acid or basic a soil is and ranges from 0 to 14 |
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| climate with low temperatures and slow soil formatio, resulting in thin soil that cannot support many plants; combined low precipitation and low temperature - plants and animals decompose slowly or not at all; limits the nutrients in the soil |
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climate with heavy rain that leaches precious nutrients from the topsoil
lush plant growth takes large amount of nutrients from the soil |
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| temperate forest and grassland |
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| climate with enough rain to cause a high level of chemical weathering, but not so much that the nutrients are leached out of the soil; the most productive soil in the world can be found here |
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| climate with less than 25cm of rain per year and a low ability to support plant and animal life; toxic levels of salt are sometimes found in the soil here |
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| what happens to soil because of frequent changes in temperature in temperate climates |
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| thick fertile soil develops |
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| the grinding and weatherig away of rock surfaces through the mechanical action of other rock or sand particles |
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| rain, sleet or sow that contains a high concentration of acid |
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| the process by which rocks break down as a result of chemical reaction |
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| the breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by physical means; ice, wind, water, gravity, plants and animals can all be agents of mechanical weathering |
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| a chemical reactio in which an element, such as iron, combines with oxygen to form an oxide |
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| the process by which rock materials are broken down by the actio of physical or chemical processes |
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| occurs when water filing a crack in a rock flows out and then freezes; type of frost action |
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| chemical weathering causes a carst landscape such as a cavern |
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| how do lichens slowly break down a rock |
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| what is most likely to experience oxidation |
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| aluminum can (over wood/rubber, etc) |
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| a process by which softer less weather resistent rocks wear away and leave harder, more weather -resistant rocks behind |
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| the average weather condition in an area over a long period of time |
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| chemical weathering is most rapid in areas that are |
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| which rocks are exposed to more wind, rain and ice? |
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| rocks at a higher elevation |
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| small rocks weather more quickly than large rocks because their surface are is |
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| 3 factors that determine the rate at which a rock weathers |
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| climate, elevation, make up |
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| scientist believe Devil's Tower once was part of a |
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| the landform called Devil's Tower is made up of the hard, weather resistant rocks that remained after the softer rocks |
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| on the outer surface of the rocks |
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| because of a large rock's volume it will |
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| weather relatively slowly |
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| small rocks weather more quickly than large rocks because they hav emore surface area as compared to their |
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| how does gravity contribute to the weathering of steep mountain slopes |
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| the steepness increases the effects of chemical and mechanical weathering at a faster rate |
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| alternate freezing and thawing of soil and rock |
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| rocks that have been shaped by blowing sand |
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| one rock falling against another rock |
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| pebbles bumping against each other in a stream |
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| wind blowing sand against a rock |
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| explain how a plant can break a rock |
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| the force of the expading root becomes so strong that it can break a rock apart |
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| in what way can an animal cause mechanical weathering |
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| by mixing and digging or burrowing through soil and rock particles |
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| compounds formed by the burning of fossil fuels combine with water in the atmosphere and form this; |
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| can cause acid precipitation |
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| over a long period of time, acids in the groundwater can cause chemical weathering of limestone, this weathering can form a cavern which is a type of |
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| when oxygen in the air reacts with metal, oxidation occurs ad causes the metal to rust |
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