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Soil Vocabulary
vocabulary terms for soil unit
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Soil | a mixture of minerals and organic material that covers much of Earth's surface. |
| Bedrock | the solid layer of rock in the earth's surface, found beneath soil, sand, or gravel |
| Humus | is the organic matter in the soil. It is made of dead parts of plants and animals. |
| Fertile | contains large amounts of nutrients. These nutrients help keep plants healthy. |
| Loam | the ideal plant-growing medium. It is actually a combination soil, normally equal parts of clay, silt, and sand, which gives the benefits of each with few of the disadvantages. |
| Soil Horizon | layer parallel to the soil surface whose physical, chemical and biological characteristics differ from the layers above and beneath. |
| Topsoil | Topsoil is considered the "A" horizon. It is a fairly thin layer (5 to 10 inches thick) composed of organic matter and minerals. This layer is the primary layer where plants and organisms live. |
| Subsoil | a layer of soil lying just under the topsoil. |
| Bedrock | the solid rock found under surface materials (as soil) |
| Litter | to throw or leave trash on the ground. 2 : to cover in an untidy way Leaves littered the yard. |
| Decomposers | (as a bacterium, fungus, or insect) that feeds on and breaks down plant and animal matter into simpler parts or substances. |
| soil conservation | Soil Conservation is a combination of practices used to protect the soil from degradation. |
| natural resources | Anything that is found in nature that can be used by living things is a natural resource. This includes water, forests, fossil fuels, minerals, plants, animals and even air. |
| dust bowl | area in the Midwest that suffered from drought during the 1930s and the Great Depression. The soil became so dry that it turned to dust. Farmers could no longer grow crops as the land turned into a desert. |
| contour plowing | a method of plowing furrows that follow the curves of the land rather than straight up and down slopes. Furrows that run up and down a slope form a channel that can quickly carry away seeds and topsoil. |
| conservation plowing | is a soil conservation method in which the dead stalks from the previous year's crop are left in the ground to hold the soil in place. |
| crop rotation | the practice of planting different crops sequentially on the same plot of land to improve soil health, optimize nutrients in the soil, and combat pest and weed pressure. |
Created by:
mjsmithpk12
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