1. Soil Jordan Del Guercio Ryan Lee Matt Jun Nick Tang APES Per. 5

2. Importance of Soil provides physical support and nutrients for plants, allowing them to live greatly affects both above-ground and below-ground ecology above-ground usually affects plants below-ground affects organic matter and decomposers

3. Earth’s Spheres lithosphere – inorganic, rocky crust hydrosphere – water biosphere –all living organisms atmosphere – air that surrounds planet each sphere contains a different amount of soil

4. Amount of Soil lithosphere – soil is present, but it lacks nutrients and minerals hydrosphere – none biosphere – soil is present to support living organisms such as plants atmosphere – none

5. Soil Formation soil forms spontaneously from rock, which fragments as a result of heat, cold, wind, rain, hail and ice it is formed under high temperature and pressure

7. Factors of Soil Formation climate topography organisms time parent material

8. Climate the quality of soil at the end of the soil formation process depends on the climate temperate regions: able to absorb nutrients, swells under moisture hot/humid regions: arable but easily dried, not able to hold nutrients cold regions: soil is similar to sand

9. Soil in a Temperate Climate contains minerals and nutrients that help plants grow

10. Soil in a Humid Climate easily dried, not able to hold minerals or nutrients

11. Topography steepness of the soil’s location can affect runoff of water and vegetation parent material needs to lie undisturbed

12. Parent Materials Geological material where soil horizons form, made of weathered minerals Physical weathering: materials are broken down, usually occurs due to temperature Chemical weathering: parent material releases minerals and nutrients

14. Soil Structure O-Horizon – where the nutrients come from A-Horizon – nutrients absorbed by lower horizons, rich in organic matter B-Horizon – where nutrients are accumulated C-Horizon – withered soil R-Horizon – unexposed parent material

15. Loam mixture of sand, silt and clay 40% sand, 40% silt, 20% clay

16. Loss of Soil produced naturally at a rate of 1mm in 200-400 years soil is currently being lost as much as 40 times as much of its natural replacement rate

17. Desertification Desertification is the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems by climatic variations and human activities

18. Desertification Desertification occurs as a result of a long-term failure to balance human demand for ecosystem services and the amount the ecosystem can supply

19. Causes of Desertification Poor management of agriculture Globalization Population growth

20. Desertification effects a wide range of services provided by ecosystems to humans Effects Such as: food and water, climate regulation, and soil conservation

21. Sediments Soil erosion occurs when particles are transported down-hill towards ever faster flowing rivers In slowly moving waters, silt and sand are deposited with some mud, creating very fertile soil. In the sea, thick layers of sediment are formed as water is squeezed out and the sediment compacted to form sedimentary rocks.

22. The End of the Soil Cycle When subjected to extreme pressure, by being pushed deep down, or by colliding forces, sediment rock will metamorphose into new, harder rock forms like gneiss, schist, greywacke and marble. These weather like the original igneous rocks, to form sand, silt and clay.

23. Works Cited