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Soil Formation Worksheet

Read p 264-267 & the material below.

Soil is a mixture of weathered rock & organic matter that usually co ers bedrock !solid rock that underlies all soil". #oth chemical & mechanical processes are in ol ed in the de elopment of soils. $hemical weathering turns hard minerals into soft ones %echanical weathering breaks solid rock into smaller pieces &lant & animals add organic materials in the form of waste products & dead organisms 'he decay of organic matter produces acids which accelerate chemical weathering #urrowing (nimals) such as earthworms) insects) & rodents) help circulate air and water through the soil & mix mineral & organic remains

'he material from which soil forms is called its parent material. *oil that has weathered directly from the bedrock beneath it and therefore matches its parent material is called residual soil. *oil that does not match the bedrock it is o er is called transported soil. +t did not weather from the bedrock beneath it but was brought there by agents of erosion such as winds) ri ers) or glaciers. %uch of ,ew -ngland & the %idwest are co ered by soil that was deposited by the mo ement of glaciers after the last +ce (ge. ( cross section of soil exposed by digging is called the soil profile. 'he weathering of soil produces layers known as soil horizons. 'he topsoil or A horizon is usually rich in darkcolored organic remains called humus (labeled O horizon below). 'he subsoil or B horizon contains minerals that ha e been transported deeper by groundwater. %ost of the clay in soil has also been washed down to this layer. 'he partially weathered bedrock or C horizon is composed of broken up bedrock on top of the solid bedrock !parent material". Soil erosion is the remo al of topsoil by the action of running water or wind. +t takes between .// & 4// years for one centimeter of topsoil to form.

0oss of topsoil can be caused when plants root are no longer present to hold down soil. *alting roads can raise the salinity of the soil and kill the plants. 1 er gra2ing can kill plants. 3inds construction) & mining can all effect plant co er. %eans of soil conser ation include the following4 Windbreaks 5 belts of trees along the edge of fields Contour farmin 5 crops are planted in rows parallel to land contours p.46 !erraces- flattening hill slopes to slow the flow of water & erosion Strip Croppin 5 a crop that lea es bare ground between rows is alternated with a crop that completely co ers the ground) ex. $orn & (lfalfa "o#till method- plowing) planting and fertili2ing are all done at the same time so there is less chance of wind remo ing topsoil Use the worksheet above to answer the following questions. 77777 .. 3hich layer in the diagram below contains the most organic material8 (. ( #.# $.$ 9. the bedrock 77777 2. :ow is soil created from rock8 (. physical weathering without chemical weathering #. chemical weathering without physical weathering $. erosion without weathering 9. weathering without erosion 77777 6. 3hich of the soil conser ation methods is least used in ,;8 (. *trip $ropping $. 'erraces #. 3indbreaks 9. no-till method 77777 4. (pproximately how many years does one centimeter of topsoil take to form8 (. .// 5 4// years $. ./// 5 4/// years #. ./ 5 4/ years 9. ./)/// 5 4/)/// years 77777 <. 3hich of the following is found in the greatest = in soil8 (. %ineral matter #. 1rganic matter $. 3ater 9. (ir 77777 6. 3hich layer of a soil profile forms first from the bedrock8 (. ( hori2on #. # hori2on $. $ hori2on 9. humus

7. >or the soil profiles below) label the hori2ons !() #) or $" and the parent material in each of the soil profiles using the spaces pro ided next to each image.

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?. (t the base of each profile abo e) number the profiles according to the proper se@uence of de elopment. A. %atch each soil profile abo e to the graph below that would most likely represent that profile. 3rite the letter of the matching profile in the space pro ided below each graph.