Exam 6: Soil and the Hydrologic Cycle

Urban development of land under natural vegetation or agriculture usually greatly _____ soil infiltration capacity and therefore greatly increases _______.

Which of the following irrigation systems produces the most biomass per unit of water applied?

Which of the following locations in the United States would have the highest evaporation (E) from the soil surface in July?

Some 60 percent of the water that is actively involved in the hydrologic cycle worldwide is found in soils.

The evapotranspiration (ET) from a pine forest was found to be 50 cm during a growing season. If the evaporation from the soil surface during this period of time was 5 cm, what is the level of loss from leaf surfaces?

The likelihood of polluting groundwater with pesticides and plant nutrients is enhanced by _____.

In a field experiment you noted that 300 tons of water was transpired to produce 1 ton of corn (dry weight). If alfalfa had been grown in the same field instead of corn, which of the following would most likely have been the amount of water transpired?

Vapor loss from a south-facing slope in Australia would likely be higher than from a north-facing slope.

Some two-thirds of the solar energy reaching the earth is absorbed by water on or near the earth's surface.

Sprinkle irrigation is generally more efficient in the use of water than drip irrigation, especially for high valued crops.

The transpiration ratio of a native meadow is 550 kg per kg of dry matter produced. If 4 Mg of dry matter is produced on a hectare of land, how many centimeters of water will be required (rounded to the nearest cm) ?

The most common form of on-site waste water treatment for homes not hooked up to sewer lines is the _______.

Drainage pipe comes in 200 ft long rolls. The number of rolls needed to construct a uniform buried drainage system for a nearly level 20 hectare field will depend primarily on _____________.

Which of the following will not increase the efficiency of water use by plants in an irrigation system? 52

Which of the following will increase the evaporation (E) from the soil surface?

Conservation tillage can have a significant direct effect on transpiration of water from a rapidly growing crop of corn.

More than ninety-eight percent of the earth's water does not take part in the annual cycling known as the hydrologic cycle.

Early snowfall that arrives before the cold winter weather has frozen the soil generally increases the penetration of water into the soil.

The leaf area index significantly affects the solar radiation reaching the soil surface.

Plant transpiration efficiency at a given location is markedly influenced by _____.