Plant and Soil Science Ch. 3 Quiz

A soil pedon is____?

A three-dimensional unit that embodies the primary characteristics of an individual soil.

Soils in which of the following suborders would be more likely to occur in Minnesota than in Texas?

Cryolls

Rearrange the following soil orders from the least to the most highly weathered: Oxisols, Alfisols, Mollisols, Entisols, and Inceptisols. *HINT: The first one (least weathered) should be Entisols.

Entisols, Inceptisols, Mollisols, Alfisols, Oxisols.

Because soil development is just beginning in Entisols, these soils are generally less variable in properties than are those in the Andisol or Ultisol orders. (True or False)

False

Soil Taxonomy, the classification system used in the United States, was developed by C. E. Marbut and associates in the 1940s. (True or False)

False

Which of the categories in the Soil Taxonomy system indicates properties that have implications for root growth as well as for the construction of building foundations?

Family

To which soil order does each of the following belong? (Matching) Psamments =? Udolls =? Calciusterts =? Fragiudalfs =?

Psamments = Entisols Udolls = Mollisols Calciusterts = Vertisols Fragiudalfs = Alfisols

Human influence on the formation of soils, such as many urban soils, is highlighted at what level in Soil Taxonomy?

Subgroup

The nomenclature of Soil Taxonomy is characterized by all but which one of the following statements?

The names give a clear indication of the modes of genesis of the soil.

The broadest category of classification in Soil Taxonomy specifies 12 soil orders, 11 of which are for mineral soils. (True or False)

True