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53 Cards in this Set
- Front
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acid soil |
A soil material having a pH of less than 7.0, usually understood to be less than 6.0 |
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Adsorber water |
Water held in a solid mass by physiochemical forces and having physical properties substantially different from absorbed water or chemically combined water at the same temperature and pressure |
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Air-dry |
The state of dryness of a soil at equilibrium with the moisture content of the surrounding atmosphere; the moisture content depends on the relative humidity and temperature of the surrounding atmosphere |
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Alkali soil |
A soil having a high degree of alkalinity (pH 8.5 or higher) or having an exchangeable sodium content (15% or more of the exchange capacity) or both |
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Anerobic |
Having no molecular oxygen in the environment |
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Available nutrient |
The portion of any nutrient in the soil that can be readily absorbed and assimilated by growing plants. |
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Bearing capacity |
The average load per unit area that is required to rupture a supporting soil mass |
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Bulk density |
The mass of dry soil per unit bulk volume. The bulk volume is determined before the soil is dried to constant weight at 105 C. It has been called apparent density |
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Bulk volume |
The volume, including the solids and the pores, of a soil mass |
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Capability class |
A rating that indicates the capability of land for some use such as agriculture, forestry, recreation or wildlife. In the Canadian system, it is a grouping of lands that have the same relative degree of limitation or hazard |
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Clay |
As a particle size term: a size fraction less than 0.002mm in equivelent diameter |
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Compressibility |
The susceptibility of a soil to decrease in volume when subjected to load |
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Conservation, soil |
Protection of the soil against physical loss by erosion or against chemical deterioration; that is excessive loss of fertility by either natural or artifical means |
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Cross-bedding |
A arrangement in which thin layers of stratified sediment are transverse or oblique to the main plane of stratification |
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Crystal |
A homogenous inorganic substance of definite chemical composition bounded by plane surfaces that form definite angles with each other to give the substance a regular geometric form |
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Drain |
To provide channels such as open ditches or drain tile so that excess water can be removed by surface of by internal flow. To lose water by percolation |
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Dry weight percentage |
The ratio of the weight of any consistuent of a soil in the over dy weight of the soil |
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eluviation |
The transportation of soil material in suspension or in solution within the downward or lateral movement of water |
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Erode |
To wear away or remove the land surface by wind, water or other agents |
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Fine Clay |
A clay fraction of specified size less than 2 um, usually less than 0.2um |
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Fine texture |
Consisting of or containing large quantities of the fine fractions (silt and clay) |
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Gleysation |
A soil forming process, operating under poor drainage conditions which results in the reduction of iron and other elements and in gray colours, and mottles |
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Groundwater |
Water that is passing through or standing in the soil and unerlying strata. It is free to move by gravity |
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Humus |
The fraction of the soil organic matter that remains after most of the added plant and animal residues have decomposed. It is usually dark coloured. It is also used in a collective term for the surface organic matter deposits: mor, moder, mull, muck |
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Hydrogenic soil |
Soil developed under the influence of water standing within the profile for prolonged periods; it is formed mainly in cold, humid regions |
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Hydrolysis |
The process by which a substrate is split to form two end products by the intervention of a molecule of water |
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hygroscopic water |
Water adsorbed by a dry soil from an atmosphere of high relative humidity; water lost from an air dry soil when it is heated to 105 C |
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Igneous Rock |
Rock formed by the cooling and solidification of magma. It has not changed appreciably since its formation |
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Illite |
A hydrous mica |
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Indicator Plants |
Plants that are characteristic of a specific soil or site condition |
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Indurated layer |
A soil layer that has become hardened, generally by cementation of soil particles |
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Infiltration |
The downward entry of water into the soil |
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Landscape |
All natural features such as fields, hills, forests, and water that distinguish one part of the Earth's surface from another part. Usually it is the portion of land or territory that the eye can see in a single view, including all its natural characteristics |
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Landslide |
A mass of material that has slipped downhill by gracity, often assisted by water, when the material is saturated. A rapid movement of a mass of soil, rock, or debris, down a slope |
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Leaching |
The removal from the soil of materials in solution |
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Mica |
A mineral group consisting of phyllosilicates, having sheetlike 2:1 lattice structure, generally with potassium in interlayer position |
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Mine Dump |
Area covered with overburden and other waste materials from ore and coal mines, quarries, and smelters, and usually having little or no vegetative cover |
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Mine wash |
Water deposited acumulation of sandy, silty, or clayey material recently eroded in mining operations. It may clog streams and channels and damage land on which it is deposited |
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Moisture-weight percentage |
The moisture content expressed as a percentage of the oven dry weight of the soil |
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Montmorillonite group |
Clay minerals having 2:1 explanding crystal lattice. isomorphous substitution gives the various types and causes a net permanent charge balanced by cations in such a manner that water may move between the sheets, giving reversible cation exchange and very plastic properties |
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Mottled Zone |
Layer that is marked with spots or blotches of a redder hue or deeper shades of a hue (chroma). The pattern of mottling and the size, abundance, and colour contrast of the mottles vary markedly and should be specified in the soil description |
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Mottles |
Spots or blotches of different colour or shades of colour interspersed with the dominant colour |
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Munsell colour system |
A colour designation system specifying the relative degrees of the three simple variable of colour: hue, value, and chroma |
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Mycorrhiza |
The association, usually symbiotic, of fungi with the roots of seed plant |
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nitrogen fixation |
The conversion of elemental nitrogen to organic combinations, or forms readily utilizable in biological processes |
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Organic Matter |
The organic fraction of the soil; includes plant and animal residues at various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of soil organisms, and substances synthesized by the soil population. It is usually determined on soils that have been sieved through a 2.0mm sieve |
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ovendry soil |
Soil that has been dried at 105 C until it has reached a constant weight |
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outwash |
sediments washed out of flowing water beyond the glacier and laid down as stratified drift. The particle size may vary from boulders to silt |
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pans |
horizons or layers in soils that are strongly compacted, or very high in clay content |
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parent material |
The unconsolidated and more or less chemically weathered mineral or organic matter from which the solum of a soil has developed by pedogenic processes |
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peat |
Unconsolidated soil material consisting largely of undecompossed, or slightly decomposed, organic matter |
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ped |
A unit of soil structure, such as a prism, block, or granule, which is formed by natural processes, in contrast with a clod, which is formed artificially |
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pedology |
The aspects of soil science dealing with the origin, morphology, genesis, distribution, mapping, and taxonomy of soils, and classification in terms of their use |
