Exam 4: The Terrestrial Environment

Gleysols are immature soils associated with recently deposited sediments.

Organized layers of soil are known as

________ is the process of maximum leaching from the E horizon of a soil profile.

Define soil texture and describe two different ways that texture may influence the soil function.

The bedrock lies above the C horizon.

Salinization results in the buildup of salts in the B horizon of soils.

Give several possible definitions of "soil." Why is it difficult to develop a good definition of soil, even for a pedologist?

In forests, most of the organic matter that enters the soil comes from plant roots.

Cryosols are characteristic of the high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Regions that are subjected to heavy volcanic activity have dark soils called ________.

As soil acidity increases, the concentration of ________ is relatively unchanged.

In general, the soils in or on ________ are the most shallow.

When the amount of water in soil exceeds what the pore space can hold, the soil is

The vertical reduction or ________ of light through a stand can be estimated by leaf area index.

In terrestrial environments, the dominant factor that influences the vertical gradient of light is the absorption and reflection of solar radiation by water vapour in the air.

The unconsolidated mass from which different types of soil can develop is called the

You examine a soil that is quite dark, even black. Because of this, you know that this soil has a high content of

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

Iron oxides give soil a purplish to black colour.

Aquatic environments are relatively stable because water requires a large amount of energy to change states.