Questions and Answers of The Nature Properties of Soils

In what areas of the world has the decline in soil quality been most extensive? Why has this decline taken place?
How much soil is likely to be eroded from a Keene a silt loam in central Ohio, on a 12% slope, 100 m long, if it is in dense permanent pasture and has no support practices applied to the land? Use
Consider Figure, which illustrates the response of wheat plants (shoot weight) to increasing soil P, Zn, and bulk density,(a) Explain, using specific data, how the graphs illustrate the principle of
A certified organic grower plans to grow a crop that requires the application of 120 kg of plant-available N/ha and 20 kg/ha at P. She has a source of compost that contains 1.5% total N (with 10% of
The incorporation of large amounts of wheat straw into a soil may bring about P deficiency in the following crop. What is the likely reason fo this?
The grass in the fairway referred to in question #2 is mowed weekly from May through October and produces an average of 200 kg/ha dry matter in clippings each time it is mowed. The clippings contain
Explain with two soil examples the concept of an ecosystem engineer.
Through appropriate extractions and counting you determine that there are 58 nematodes in a 1-gram sample of soil. How many nematodes would occur in 1.0 m2 area of this soil? In 1 hectare? Assume the
A 100 g sample of a soil has been determined to contain the exchangeable cations in these amounts: Ca2+ = 90 mg, Mg2+ = 35 mg, K+ = 28 mg, Al3+ = 60 mg.(a) what is the CEC of this soil?(b) What is
The small irrigation project you manage collects 2,000,000 m3 of water annually in a reservoir. Of this, 20% evaporates from the reservoir surface during the year. Of the remaining water, 25% is lost
You know that the forest vegetation that covers a 120 km2 wildland watershed uses an average of 4 mm of water per day during the summer. You also know that the soil averages 150 cm in depth and at
Fill in the shaded cells of this table to show the cm of available water capacity in the entire 90 cm profile. Show complete calculations for the first (upper left) and last (lower right) of the
For the forest plot B in question 4, what was the change in percent pore space of the surface soi caused by timber harvest? Would you expect that most of this change was in the micropores or in the
What is a common T value, and what is meant by this term? Explain why certain soils have been assigned a higher T value than other soils.
How can the proper integration of livestock with crop farming enhance soil quality in (a) developed country intensive agriculture and (b) developing-country low-input agriculture?
In what areas of the world has the decline in soil quality been most extensive? Why has this decline taken place?
What is shifting cultivation: why is its use today in many areas resulting in a declined in soil quality: and what are some promising alternatives?
Africa is the only major region of the world where per-capita food production has declined in the past three decades. What are the reasons for this situation, and what major steps might be taken to
What are some of the changes in nutrient management of intensified plant production systems that are needed to improve soil productivity and agricultural sustainability and to enhance soil quality?
How does the evolving ecosystem approach to plant production differ from the short-term economic return approach that has pertained in the past? Which approach will likely have a more positive effect
What are the positive and negative effects on soil quality of the intensive agricultural practices of the past half century?
What technological inputs were largely responsible for the remarkable food and fiber-production increases of the past three decades in the developing countries of Asia and Latin America? Will these
What is meant by soil resistanceand soil resilience, as they relate to soil quality?
Compare the provision of ecosystem services by soils in a mature forest; a mono-cropped, chemical-intensive vegetable farm; and a diverse, integrated vegetable. grain. and livestock farm.
Why does the biological productivity aspect of soil quality lend to receive more attention than do the aspects dealing with the environment and animal and human health? Is this comparative priority
Why is soil quality likely of greater societal concern today than it was 100 years ago?
What is soil quality. how is it measured and of what importance is it to all organisms that live in or on the soil?
What is soil quality. how is it measured and of what importance is it to all organisms that live in or on the soil?
If you were hired by a state government to produce a GIS-based map showing where investments should be made to protect farmland from suburban development. what layers' of information would you want
Assume you are planning to buy a 4-ha site on which to start a small orchard, Explain, step by step, how you could use the county soil survey to help determine if the prospective site was suitable
A soil mapper drew a boundary around an area in which he made six randomly located auger borings, two in soil A, with an argillic horizon more than 60 cm thick and strong brown in color, and the
Assume that you have two wall maps. each approximately 1 m wide by 0.70 m tall. One is a map of Canada. and the other is of a ranch in California. which map is the large-scale map and which is the
For the region in which you live, describe some kinds of information that you would expect to be able to obtain from satellite imagery.
What are the advantages of using aerial photos as a map base in making a soil survey?
How can the GPS be used in a GIS?
Describe the kinds of information a soil mapper may use in deciding where to drill into the soil with an auger to bring up subsurface samples for study.
What is the principal difference between a soil association on one hand, and a catena on the other? What is the difference between a lithosequence and a toposequence?
What is the main purpose of digging soil pits as part of making a soil Survey?
What is the principal difference between a soil association on one hand, and a catena on the other? What is the difference between a lithosequence and a toposequence?
suppose a nickel-contaminated soil 15 cm deep contained 800 mg/kg Ni, Vegetation was planted to remove the nickel by phytoremediation. The above-ground plant parts average 1% Ni on a dry-weight bas
What are two approaches to phytoremediation. and for what kinds of pollutants are they useful? Explain.
What are the comparative advantages and disadvantages of in situ and ex situ means of remediating soils polluted with organic compounds?
What radionuclides are of greatest concern in soil and water pollution, and why are they not more readily taken up by plants?
Soil organic matter and some silicate clays chemically sorb some organic pollutants and protect them from microbial attack and leaching from the soil. What are the implications (positive and
What are organoclays, and how can they be used to help remediate soils polluted with nonpolar organic compounds?
What are the two basic types of landfills discussed in the text, and how do they differ in terms of their design and utilization?
Even though large quantities of the so-called heavy metals are applied to soils each year, relatively small quantities find their way into human food. Why?
What is bioremediation, and what are its advantages and disadvantages compared with physical and chemical methods of ha nandling organic wastes?
Discuss the environmental problems associated with the disposal of large quantities of sewage sewage on agricultural lands, and indicate how the problems could be alleviated.
Discuss the types of reactions pesticides undergo in soils, and indicate what we can do to encourage or prevent such reactions.
What agricultural practices contribute to soil and water pollution, and what steps must be taken to reduce or eliminate such pollution?
Why is it important that there be a close relationship between land in the CRP and til at considered to be HEL?
Describe a soil in land capability Class Ilw in comparison with one in Class IVe.
Which two factors in the wind erosion prediction equation (WEQ) can be affected by tillage? Explain.
Certain soil properties generally make land susceptible to erosion by wind or erosion by water. List four properties that characterize soils highly susceptible to wind erosion. Indicate which two of
In most forests, which component of the ecosystem provides the primary protection against soil erosion by water, the tree canopy, tree roots, or lear litter?
Why are narrow strips of grass planted on the contour sometimes called a "living terrace"?
What type of conservation tillage leaves the greatest amount of soil cover by crop residues? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this system?
Contrast the properties you would expect in a soil with either a very high K value or a very low K value.
Why is the total annual rainfall in an area not a very good guide to the amount of erosion that will take place on a particular type of bare soil?
Many people assume that the amount of soil eroded on the land in a watershed (A in the universal soil-loss equation) is the same as the amount of sediment carried away by the stream draining that
Describe the three main steps in the water erosion process.
When erosion takes place by wind or water, what are three important types of damages that result on the land whose soils are eroding? What are five important types of damages that erosion causes in
Explain the distinction between geologic erosion and accelerated erosion. Is the difference between the two greater in hum id or and regions?
Explain the distinction between geologic erosion and accelerated erosion. Is the difference between the two greater in hum id or and regions?
When might the use of plant tissue analyses have advantages over soil testing for correcting nutrient imbalances?
Discuss the value and limitations of soil tests as indicators of plant nutrient needs and water pollution risks.
Discuss how GIS-based, site-specific nutrient-application technology might improve profitability and reduce environmental degradation.
Why are nutrient-cycling problems in agricultural system s more prominent than those in forested areas?
Discuss the concept of the limiting factor and indicate its importance in enhancing or constraining plant growth.
Organic or natural fertilizers are those that are made of animal excretion. plant decomposition etc. Inorganic or chemical fertilizers are synthetic fertilizers. Though both fertilizers supply the
How much phosphorus (P) is there ill a 25-kg bag of fertilizer labeled "20-20-10"?
A park manager wants to fertilize an area of turfgrass with nitrogen and phosphorus at the rates of 60 kg/ha of N and 20 kg/ha of P. He has stocks of two types of fertilizers: urea (45-0-0) and
Compare the resource-conservation and environmental-quality issues related to each of the three so-called fertilizer elements, N, P. and K.
What effect do forest fires have on nutrient availabilities and losses to streams?
What management practices on forested sites can lead to significant nitrogen losses. and how can the losses be prevented?
You want to plant a cover crop in fall to minimize nitrate leaching after the harvest of your corn crop. What characteristics would you look for in choosing a cover crop to ameliorate this situation?
The groundwater under a heavily manured field is high in nitrates, but by the time it reaches a stream bordering the field, the nitrate concentration has declined to acceptable levels. What are
Since boron is required for the production of good-quality table beets. some companies purchase only beets that have been fertilized with specified amounts of this element. Unfortunately, an oat crop
Discuss the role plant breeders and geneticists might play in managing micronutrient deficiencies and toxicities.
Animals. both domestic and wild. are adversely affected by deficiencies and toxicifies of two of the micronutrients. Which elements are these. and what are the conditions responsible for their
Two Aridisols. both at pH 8. were developed from the same parent material. one having restricted drainage. the other being well drained. Plants growing on the well-drained soils showed iron
The addition of only 1 kg/ha of a nutrient to an acid soil on which lime-loving cauliflower was being grown gave considerable growth response. Which of the nutrients would it likely have been?
What are chelates. how do they function, and what are their sources?
Soybeans growing on a recently limed soil show evidence of a deficiency of a nutrient. thought by some to be molybdenum. Do you agree with this diagnosis? If not. what is your explanation?
Give two examples of fungal-caused plant diseases that can be effectively reduced by fertilizing with a micronutrient. Name the micronutrient and explain why it helps control the disease.
How do Fe and Al oxides effect the availability of Mo and B in soils? Explain.
Iron deficiency is common for peaches and other fruits grown on highly alkaline irrigated soils of arid regions. even though these soils are quite high in iron. How do you account for this Situation
Since only small quantities of micronutrients are needed annually for normal plant growth, would it be wise to add large quantities of these elements now to satisfy future plant needs? Explain.
During a year's time, some 250 kg nitrogen and only 30 g molybdenum have been taken up by the trees growing on a hectare of land. Would you therefore conclude that the nitrogen was mor essential for
What portion of the plant would you look at to find symptoms of Ca and Mg deficiencies. respectively?
Which is likely to be a better indicator of acidification stress on forest trees, a molar ratio of Ca/Al in leaf tissue less than 1.0 or a molar ratio of Ca/Mn less than 1.0 in the leaf tissue? Why?
If a forest soil has 5 mg& (ppm) of Al3+ ions and S mg/L. of Ca2+, ions in the soil solution, what is the ratio of Ca/AI in that solution? (That is, the ratio of molc Ca2+/molc A13+, as presented
If a forest soil has 5 mg& (ppm) of Al3+ ions and S mg/L. of Ca2+, ions in the soil solution, what is the ratio of Ca/AI in that solution? (That is, the ratio of molc Ca2+/molc A13+, as presented
For establishment of new turf in a golf fairway, the recommendations from soil testing call for the application of 1000 kg of limestone powder, 200 kg of triple super phosphate fertilizer, and 200 kg
Compare the organic P levels in the upper horizons of a forested soil with those of a nearby soil that has been cultivated for 25 years. Explain the difference.
How does phosphorus that forms, relatively insoluble inorganic compounds in soils find its way into streams and other waterways?
What is luxury consumption of plant nutrients, and what are it, advantages and disadvantages?
What is the effect of soil pH on the availability of phosphorus, and what are the unavailable forms at the different pH levels?
In the spring a certain surface soil showed the following soil test: soil solution K = 20 kg/ha. exchangeable K = 200 kg/ha. After two crops of alfalfa hay that conlained 250 kg/ha of potassium were

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