Soils Final Exam

A pedon is a human device for studying soil. It is a section of soil 1 meter x 1 meter x _____ Meter? 1 meter 3 meters 4 meters 5 meters

1 meter

If a field has a 11ft horizontal change over a distance of 1000ft, the percent slope would equal _______. 0.011 1.1 0.11 11

1.1

Organic soil contains _______ % or more organic matter. 20 30 40 50

20

The area of a rectangular field that is 1250ft long and 700ft wide is ______ acres. 20 30 40 6

20

There are __________ soil capability classes. 6 7 8 9

8

How many acres are in the South 1/2 of the South West 1/4 of Section 29? 40 80 160 320

80

Topsoil; organic matter accumulates; dark colored. A B C E O

A

Main Culprit(s) of weathering of soil. Weather Plants Acid rain Both a and b

Both a and b

The study of soil formation Pedology Soil spontaneous generation Soil genesis Both a and c

Both a and c

Climatic Hazard e w s c

C

Horizons that contains illuviated clay is the _________ horizon. O A B C

C

Underlying hard bedrock; may be cracked, fractured; intrudes into soil A B C E O

C

What site is likely to have a soil with the highest organic matter? Cool, dry climate Cool, moist climate Warm, dry climate Warm, moist climate

Cool, moist climate

The Earth consist of core, mantle, atmosphere, and_______________. Soil Water Crust Magma

Crust

Conversion of dry grasslands to desert Carbon sequestration Desertification Respiration Soil Degradation

Desertification

Interpretive maps would not include one of the following. Soil Limitations Soil Ratings Color Areas Destination Directions

Destination Directions

Minerals dissolve in water Dissolution Hydration Hydrolysis Oxidation-Reduction

Dissolution

Greatest elevation; depleted in clay, chemicals, organic matter, light colored. A B C E O

E

Runoff and erosion e w s c

E

Soil losses of clay, organic matter, and other materials in downward moving water. Alluvial Soil Colluvium Eluviation Eolian Deposit Glacial till

Eluviation

Soil parent materials carried by wind. Alluvial Soil Colluvium Eluviation Eolian Deposit Glacial till

Eolian Deposit

Arable land is not suited to cultivated crops.

False

Chemical weathering is the disintegration of rock by temperature and wind.

False

Colluvium is moved by glaciers.

False

In soil the USDA has indentified 14 textural classes.

False

Most of the earth's surface is suitable for growing crops.

False

Most of the land in the United States is used to grow cultivated crops.

False

Residual Soils form from materials transported by gravity.

False

Slope aspect refers to degree of incline.

False

Soil maps do not include enough information to make good land-use decisions.

False

Soil survey efforts in the United States began around 1880

False

Texture in large areas of soil can be modified easily.

False

Twenty-five percent of soil volume is solid material.

False

The PLSS system for developing legal land descriptions in the United States is used throughout the world. False, It is only used in the United States and Canada True, the system is used throughout the world False, It is only used in the United States False, It is used throughout Europe as well as the United States

False, It is only used in the United States

Form of physical weathering Oxidation - Reduction Dissolution Hydrolysis Root Wedging

Foot Wedging

Very cold soils of the tundra, cold desert, or high peaks Aridisol Histosol Oxisol Gelisol Vertisol

Gelisol

Debris dropped in place to form deposits during ice melting. Alluvial Soil Colluvium Eluviation Eolian Deposit Glacial till

Glacial Till

Davison's of suborders, often based on the presence of certain key horizons Great group Soil Orders Soil Series Subgroups Subborders

Great group

Forms form decaying organic matter in wetlands Aridisol Histosol Oxisol Gelisol Vertisol

Histosol

Water molecules join with the crystalline structure of minerals Dissolution Hydration Hydrolysis Oxidation-Reduction

Hydration

Minerals react with the hydrogen in water molecules and split water. Dissolution Hydration Hydrolysis Oxidation-Reduction

Hydrolysis

Which set of soil classes is well suited for cultivated crops? I, II, III II, III, IV IV, V, VI VI, VII, VIII

I, II, III

Land capability sub-class symbol designating arable farmland that has limitations due to wetness. IIe Vw IIw VIIw

IIw

Which one of the following land capability classes would have to most severe limitations yet still be able to cultivate crops. II III VI IV

IV

Deposit in a soils horizon of materials (clay & organic matter) transported form a higher soil layer (A horizon) by leaching water. Illuviation Hydration Hydolysis Eluviation

Illuviation

Which of the following would not use a soil map? Farmer Civil Engineer Landscape Designer Interior Designer

Interior Designer

Principal meridian is synonymous with _____________ just as the Base-line is synonymous with ______________. Latitude, Longitude Longitude, Latitude Township, Range Section, Township

Longitude, Latitude

Large spaces in soil that are responsible for movement of air and water in soil. Macropores Micropores Aeration Pores Pore Space

Macropores

Smaller spaces in soil that retain water for plant use Macropores Micropores Aeration Pores Pore Space

Micropores

Main United States Department that has the responsibility for making sol surveys to provide an inventory of our nation's soils resources. Natural Resources Conservation Service - NRCS Bureau of Land Management - BLM U.S. Forestry Service

Natural Resources Conservation Service - NRCS

Wholly or partially decayed plant and animal debris; undisturbed soil; example-forest A B C E O

O

Chemical reaction in which an element loses electrons to another participant n reaction, often oxygen. Dissolution Hydration Hydrolysis Oxidation-Reduction

Oxidation-Reduction

Highly weathered soil of the tropics Aridisol Histosol Oxisol Gelisol Vertisol

Oxisol

Open spaces or voids between solid particles of final and organic matter in soil. Macropores Micropores Aeration Pores Pore Space

Pore Space

Which environment generates the most organic matter in soil due to the extensive, fibrous root system of the native vegetation? Desert Prairie Woodland Pine Forest

Prairie

Soil Survey Reports include maps, legends, symbols, descriptions, and management _____________. Tools Reports Studies Icons

Reports

Soils formed in place from the left overs of broken-down bedrock. Transported soils Residual soils Lacustrine soils Glacial till soils

Residual soils

The process by which carbon is recycled directly back to the atmosphere by plants and animals. Carbon sequestration Desertification Respiration Soil Degradation

Respiration

Root Zone or tillage problems e w s c

S

The three-phase system used to describe soil is Sand, silt, clay Solids, gas, liquids Solum, parent material, bedrock Clay, organic matter, minerals

Sand, silt, clay

Rock formed by pressure applied to lose materials is called _________. Metamorphic Sedimentary Igneous Bedrock

Sedimentary

A phase is subdivision of a _______. Series Order Survey Family

Series

Loss of soil quality Carbon sequestration Desertification Respiration Soil Degradation

Soil Degradation

Broadest groups Great group Soil Orders Soil Series Subgroups Subborders

Soil Orders

The arrangement of solid particles and pore space. Solum Soil matrix Horizon Soil solution

Soil matrix

The lowest soil grouping Great group Soil Orders Soil Series Subgroups Subborders

Soil series

Which of the following description is most accurate when explaining the mollisol soil order? - Soil of this order apply to soils found. in the tundra - Soil of this order have a shallow A horizon and develop under deciduous forest. - Soils of this order are rich in organic matter and usually have formed under grasslands. - Soil of this order are highly weathered and not very productive.

Soils of this order are rich in organic matter and usually have formed under grasslands.

The A, B and E (if it exists) are referred to as true soil or the ________. Regolith Saline Solum Rhizolia

Solum

Divisions of great groups based on how close a soil is to the "central concept" of its great group Great group Soil Orders Soil Series Subgroups Subborders

Subgroups

Divisions of orders Great group Soil Orders Soil Series Subgroups Subborders

Suborders

A soil series derives its name from..... - The last name of the surveyor that first described the soil series - The Indian tribe that first inhabited the area where the soul series was described. - The town, county, or place near where the soil series was first described. - Township, section, or. range near where the soil series was first. describer

The town, county, or place near where the soil series was first described.

The four soil-forming processes do not include which of the following: Loss Translocation Addition Transformation Transpiration

Transpiration

About 25% of the United States souls are mollisols

True

Equal amounts of air and water are ideal for plant growth.

True

Frost wedging occurs when water freezes and expands in rocks or in cracks in rock causing it to break apart.

True

Gravel and other pieces of stone larger than two millimeters are not considered to be part of soil texture.

True

In capability classes, Class I soils have the fewest limitations and Class VIII soils are nearly unusable for agriculture.

True

In the soil classification system, soil order is the highest and most broad rank; while the soil series is the lowest and most specific rank.

True

Loess soils are made up of wind-deposited silt and are important agricultural soils in much of Iowa, Illinois, and neighboring states.

True

Old soils tend to have more distinct horizons than young soils.

True

Soil classification is not universal. Different countries have different systems.

True

Soil is considered a nonrenewable resource within the time frame of a human generation.

True

Soil scientist divide mineral particles into size groups called soil separates.

True

Soil supplies anchorage, water, oxygen and nutrients to plant.

True

Topography changes soil formation by changing water movement and soil temperature.

True

Two important features of topography are slope and aspect.

True

Forms from parent materials very high in clays that shrink and swell during drying and wetting cycles, such that large soil cracks from. Aridisol Histosol Oxisol Gelisol Vertisol

Vertisol

Wetness e w s c

W

Roots going into a crack in rock is called root __________. Binding Compaction Rotting Wedging

Wedging

Wet, moist, and dry are descriptive terms for soil consistence. moisture levels.

true

Of the following, which is not a way climate affects soil development. Physical weathering Chemical weathering Amount of and decay of organic matter Amount of sedimentary rock in parent material

Amount of sedimentary rock in parent material

Soil is a medium for plant growth because it provides water, oxygen, nutrients and _______________? Aeration Carbon Organisms Anchorage

Anchorage

Soil of arid climates of cool to hot desert and shrublands Aridisol Histosol Oxisol Gelisol Vertisol

Aridisol

Subsoil; "zone of accumulates" (illuviation) A B C E O

B

Which one of the following units is used to identify large tracts of land area? Links Chains Acres Rods

Acres

Another name for a macropore Macropores Micropores Aeration Pores Pore Space

Aeration Pores

The C Horizon... Is commonly referred ti as parent material Occurs beneath the solum and extends to bedrock May be thick, thin or absent All of the above

All of the above

Parent materials were carried and deposited in moving fresh water to form sediments. Alluvial Soil Colluvium Eluviation Eolian Deposit Glacial till

Alluvial Soil

The process of storing carbon in soils, plants, or elsewhere. Carbon sequestration Desertification Respiration Soil Degradation

Carbon sequestration

Transported parent material moved by gravity Eolian Lacustrine Alluvial Colluvial

Colluvial