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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
litter |
very top layer of fertile soil made of dead leaves and grass |
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topsoil |
crumbly, topmost layer of soil made up of clay and other minerals and humus |
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subsoil |
layer of soil below topsoil that has less plant and animal matter than topsoil and contains mostly clay and other minerals |
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bedrock |
rock that makes up Earth's crust |
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erosion |
process by which water, ice, wind, or gravity moves weathered particles of rock and soil |
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nutrient depletion |
situation that arises when more soil nutrients are used than the decomposers can supply |
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fertilizer |
substance that provides nutrients to help crops grow better |
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desertification |
advance of desert-like conditions into areas that previously were fertile |
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drought |
long period of low precipitation |
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land reclamation |
process of restoring land to a more natural, productive state
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municipal solid waste |
waste produced in homes, businesses, schools and in a community |
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incineration |
burning of solid waste |
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pollutant |
substance that causes pollution |
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leachate |
polluted liquid produced by water passing through and dissolving chemicals from buried wastes in a landfill |
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sanitary landfill |
landfill that holds nonhazardous waste such as municipal solid waste |
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recycling |
process of reclaiming and reusing raw materials |
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biodegradable |
capable of being broken down by bacteria and decomposers |
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hazardous waste |
a material that can be harmful not properly disposed of |
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emissions |
pollutants that are released into the air |
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photochemical smog |
a brownish thick haze that's a mixture of ozone and chemicals formed when pollutants react with sunlight |
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ozone |
form of oxygen that has 3 oxygen atoms in each molecule instead of the usual two |
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temperature inversion |
a condition in which a layer of warm air traps polluted air close to Earth's surface |
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acid rain |
rain or another form of precipitation that's more acidic than normal |
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radon |
colorless, odorless, radioactive gas |
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ozone layer |
layer of the upper atmosphere that contains a higher concentration of ozone than the rest of the atmosphere |
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chlorofluorocarbon |
human-made gases containing chlorine and fluoride that are the main cause of ozone depletion |
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groundwater |
water that fills the crack and spaces in underground soil and rock layers |
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pesticide |
chemical that kills insects other crop destroying organisms |
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sewage |
water and human wastes that are washed down sinks, toilets, and showers |
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sediment |
small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or the remains of organisms, earth materials deposited by erosion |
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greenhouse gas |
gases in the atmosphere that traps energy |
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fossil fuels |
coal, oil, or natural gas that forms over millions of years from the remains of ancient organisms |
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global warming |
a gradual increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere thought to be caused by an increase in greenhouse gases from human activites |