Soil
* All soil contains uranium
  - is produced by sediment eroded from high elevations
  - microbes more or less have a relationship to plant roots
  - needs organic matter
  - used anywhere for agriculture contains radionuclides to a greater or lesser extent
* All soils are porous, meaning that there are small spaces between the grains of the soil
  - underlain by permafrost and are usually saturated throughout the summer
  - can store water in voids
  - consist of solid materials and pores
* All soils contain amounts of sand, silt, and clay particles
  - certain amounts of clay particles
  - mineral particles, organic matter , water and air
  - some aluminum
  - develop from weathered rock, volcanic ash deposits, or accumulated plant residues
* All soils have air spaces, and it is in the air spaces that soil water is stored
  - different natural levels of nutrients
  - save sand contain clay
  - support micro-organism and mycorrhizae populations
* Every soil has a soil profile, a list of the horizons that describe a particular soil
  - unique physical characteristics, which are determined by how it was formed
* Make a mix of equal parts of peat moss or leaf mold, and perlite or vermiculite.
* Many soils act as semi-permeable membranes
  - also have a set of thin sections, permitting microscopical analysis
* Many soils are boron deficient for alfalfa growth
  - completely free of frost
  - naturally high in potassium, and it is readily available to plants
  - contain nutrients that are tied up in complex molecular structures
* Many soils have large amounts of peat
  - three major layers or horizons, top soil, subsoil and parent material
  - two or more distinct layers or horizons
* Most soil centipedes inhabit areas
  - contains some silt and clay particles deposited by the wind
  - has about four layers
  - is made of weathered rocks
  - needs the lift of decayed organic matter such as compost to make it richer and looser
  - soils also contain humus made from biological matter
* Most soils are a mixture of sand, silt, and clay and are said to be loams
  - calcareous at some level of the surface soil or subsoil
  - deep, but texture and surface drainage vary widely
  - given a name, which generally comes from the locale where the soil was first mapped
  - mixtures of sand, silt and clay
  - naturally acidic
  - stony and shallow over bedrock, or bouldery colluvial or glacial deposits
  - benefit from additions of organic matter
* Most soils contain a mixture of clay, organic matter, sand and silt
  - minerals ex
  - adequate levels of micronutrients so outside sources are usually unnecessary
  - fungi that can attack seeds and seedlings
  - many kinds of dormant weed seeds
  - millions of weed seeds
  - thousands of dormant weed seeds that are released when the soil is disturbed
  - varying amounts of uranium
  - exist in a natural state of acidity
* Most soils have a combination of soil particles sizes
  - distinctive profile or sequence of horizontal layers
  - single sequum, but some have two or more
  - an adequate reserve of potassium, but in a form that is unavailable to plants
  - at least some residual nutrients
  - background heavy metals concentrations
  - concentrations of calcium
  - enough nutrients for most trees
  - five major horizons
  - the ability to collect heat during the day and lose it at night
  - two or more identifiable horizons
  - lack sufficient native fertility to sustain efficient crop production
  - remain contaminated with PCBs, other organic chemicals, and metals
* Most soils require deep and infrequent watering
  - extra lime added every few years in the fall or winter
  - the regular addition of organic matter, such as compost, to remain healthy
* Some soil disturbances encourage germination
  - seed germination
  - stimulate germination
* Some soil is polluted from human-made or natural substances
  - removed from the parent rock by water, wind, glaciers and waves
* Some soils are acidic
  - also deficient in potassium, sulphur, or micronutrients
* Some soils are better able to neutralize acids than others
  - at trapping pollutants than others
  - difficult to aerate by plowing due to the turf cover
* Some soils are more efficient in utilizing nitrogen fertilizers than others
  - porous than others
  - sensitive than others to the acid dropped by air pollution
  - naturally acidic because of the parent material from which they form
  - outside the limits of any recognized soil series and have unique sets of properties
  - seasonally wet or subject to flooding
* Some soils become cloddy or have a tendency to crust if they are pressed firmly when wet
  - extremely dry because of evaporation and form laterite layers
* Some soils can absorb rainwater faster than others
  - turn to liquid gel in an earthquake
  - consist entirely of material designated as O horizons or layers
  - contain manganese, which forms black spots in waterlogged conditions
  - form in material that is already highly weathered
* Some soils have a greater tendency toward sedimentation than others
  - both a duripan and a natric horizon
  - more molybdenum than others
  - simple structure , each unit being an entity without component smaller units
  - very distinct changes while other only change gradually
  - never develop pronounced red coloration
  - respond well to fall tillage, especially where there hardpan
  - seem to produce sweeter onions than others
* Tolerates a wide range of soil types as long as good drainage is present.
* Use an all purpose potting soil for houseplants
  - for indoor plants
* absorbs rainwater and releases it later, thus preventing floods and drought.
* act as the largest carbon pool in the terrestrial environment.
* acts as a filter, cleaning air and water
  - sponge to soak up excess water
  - the storage compartment for precipitation
* affect the rate in which a rock weathers.
* again covers rock exposed by landslides.
* also change from sand to clay
  - contain varying amounts of organic matter
  - differ in color, which affects soil albedos
  - have adequate physical properties for vegetation growth and hydrologic function
  - offer potential to recycle waste products
* are a basic resource upon which most other biological resources depend
  - complex, natural mantle covering the surface of the earth
  - mixture of sand and silt with rolling clay hills
  - mosaic of forest and grassland generated types
  - renewable resource, but one that is renewed only very slowly
  - three dimensional feature on the landscape
  - able to adsorb cations from the soil solution
* are acidic and have low base saturation
  - sands and sandy loams, with clays occurring primarily in the river bottoms
  - acidic, and vegetation is stressed by shallow soil depths and harsh growing conditions
* are alkaline in boreal regions and acidic in the tropics
  - nature, primarily being derived from basalt or limestone
  - also generally much heavier than Columbia Basin soils
* are an ecosystem
  - essential component of agricultural and natural ecosystems
  - important natural resource
  - ancient and infertile
  - basic to our survival
  - built up, water is captured and stored, wildlife thrives
* are calcareous and are strongly or violently effervescent
  - at shallow depth
  - classified on the basis of their chemical and physical properties
  - clay and alkaline
  - clayey to loamy and formed from lake laid sediments and glacial till
  - coarse textured, derived from fluvial material
  - coarse-textured sands or sandy loam and range from dry to wet
  - commonly heavy and residual moisture alone sustains growth
* are complex and dynamic ecosystems with communities of organisms
  - living systems that provide nutrients to plants and house many organisms
  - physical, chemical, and biological entities
  - dark brown basaltic, highly organic
  - deep silty loams derived from loess deposits
  - deep, medium textured, and generally have a slowly permeable, clayey subsoil
  - deficient in calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and are generally acid
  - derived from lake sediments and alluvium
  - different in all parts of the country as well
  - diverse
  - divided into coarse grained and fine grained, depending on the size of the soil particles
  - dynamic systems composed of organic, inorganic and living components
  - fine clays and clayey loams of basaltic or rhyolitic parent material
* are generally acidic and predominantly entisols and ultisols
  - sands, clays, and peat
  - at or near saturation most of the year
  - clay types
  - in the Mollisol order
* are generally shallow and contain little organic material
  - loams or silts formed from the underlying sandstones
  - shallow, often overlying ice-rich permafrost
  - stony but can be nearly free of stones
  - geologically old and therefore generally poor in mineral nutrients
  - high in nutrients, overlying a shallow calcareous hardpan
* are highly calcareous
  - weathered and nutrient poor
  - important in pond construction
  - inherently variable in their physical and chemical characteristics
  - lateritic sands and loams
  - light colored, low in organic matter, eroded, or compacted
  - lossy media characterised by a conductivity s DC and a complex permittivity e ' - j e ''
* are made of many living and nonliving substances
  - up of different combinations of sand, silt and clay particles
  - mainly acid with variable permeability
  - mixed with lime to neutralize any residual acid
  - moderately slow to very slow in permeability
  - more developed in areas with higher rainfall and more warmth
  - most prone to compaction when the soil water status is near field capacity
  - much more complex than simple sediments
* are mucky and usually saturated with water most of the year
  - or an accumulation of peat
  - normally gravel, sand, silt and clay
  - nutrient-poor, with high concentrations of aluminum
  - of volcanic origin and are rather well-drained
* are often deficient in minerals and as a result so are the wildlife
  - deposits of weathered, loosened, or transported particles
  - on schist-dominated substrates, and are acidic and considered to be of low fertility
  - one of our most diverse and fascinating natural resources
* are open systems that undergo changes over time
  - our most important natural resource
  - over saturated with nutrients
  - permeable, which allows atrazine to reach groundwater in some locations
  - poorly drained sands or very poorly drained organic soils with low to moderate fertility
* are predominately clay loams, sandy loams, and clays
  - wet acid sands or marl
  - primary in all agriculture
* are relatively infertile, and clays and sand are the only mineral resources
  - nutrient poor due to leaching out during the rainy seasons
  - nutrient-poor, sandy or yellow latosols
  - sand over clay
* are sand, clay, and organic deposits
  - limestone, and organic deposits
* are sandy but can be productive wherever there buildup of organic material
  - loams derived from the underlying glacial till
  - sandy, acid, and nutrient poor
  - shallow on mountain peaks, rock escarpments, and colluvial slopes
  - silt loam with high productivity
  - silts and loams, with a rich nutrient regime
  - silty clay loam soils, sometimes with a substantial shell hash component
  - similar because they all contain organic matter
  - subject to erosion
* are susceptible to compaction when wet, because the clay in the soil becomes plastic-like
  - productivity impairment when compacted
* are the largest repository of organic carbon in the terrestrial biosphere
  - major site for plant nutrient regeneration through the process of decomposition
  - primary physical contexts of archaeological deposits
  - result of the weathering of bedrock
  - thick fertile clays, which compose prime arable land
* are thin and mountain slopes support little vegetation
  - rapidly leached
  - thin, nutrients are few, it consumes almost nothing
* are typically alkaline clays with a high mixture of organic matter
  - clay-rich, with a moderate nutrient status
  - heavy and are slow to warm and dry in the spring
  - high in selenite
  - poor in nutrients compared to temperate soils
  - the most misunderstood and undervalued resource in urban landscapes
  - very fine sands and inorganic silts
* are usually clay loams or silty clay loams
  - drier, and consequently lakes and streams are often lower
  - medium textured and moisture is available to plants most of the growing season
  - neutral to alkaline poorly-drained mineral soils and mucks
  - red and are often have a visually striking contrast to the green of vegetation
  - varied and range from medium to coarse textures
* are very acidic entisols
  - dry, with very little organic accumulation
  - porous bodies
  - sandy, well-drained, and vary in texture from loamy fine sand to fine sand
  - vital for the existence of many forms of life that have evolved on our planet
  - warm, so seeds germinate rapidly
* are well drained, deep, acidic, and of low fertility
  - to poorly drained, low in nutrients, and acidic
* attributes as predictors of crop production under standardized conditions.
* based fields rely almost solely on surface drainage.
* become acid naturally in humid climates
  - water-logged when the water balance of an area is disturbed because of excess recharge
* becomes dirt when it ends up in some-body's water
  - infertile, resulting in food shortages
* borne diseases include pink root
  - occasionally show up as a soft, rotten patch on the stems
* can absorb only so much water
  - act as a sink or as a source of carbon
  - also filter some contaminants before they reach groundwater
* can be 'Sweetened' by adding lime
  - abiotic because most of it is made up of nonliving rock and mineral particles
  - acid, alkaline or neutral
  - all different colors and be equally fertile and good
  - like a sponge - water can roll right off if it's too hard and dry
  - moist to dry
  - become more acidic over time as minerals are leached away
  - effectively remove impurities, kill disease agents, and degrade contaminants
  - erode more readily due to a lack of healthy vegetation
  - form in place as residue left behind after weathering
* can hold a certain amount of water against gravity
  - different amounts of water
  - process and hold considerable amount of water
* can vary significantly in color and composition
  - tremendously over even short distances
  - widely between localities
  - widely, even over a distance or just a few feet
  - wash away, permanently degrading the land
* change as soil forming factors become more or less influential.
* comes from rivers, volcanic action, or was there since Earth formed
  - largely from weathering of rocks and erosion
* concentrates the substances so that they can be analyzed more easily.
* consist of a mixture of particles of different size, shape and mineralogy
  - weathered rock plus organic material that comes from decaying plants and animals
* consists of mineral matter, organic matter, air, and water
  - particles of rock and decaying organic materials
  - weathered rocks and decomposed organic material
* constantly undergo physical and chemical changes.
* constitute the fundamental link between atmosphere, water, biota, and rock.
* constitutes a significant fraction of house dust.
* contain a large amount of stored carbon
  - excess of precipitated calcium carbonate and are rich in bases
  - differing proportions of air , water , and living organisms , such as earthworms
  - particles of different sizes
  - solids, water and air
  - the major proportion of the total ecosystem carbon stock in all ecosystems
* containing nutlets is the primary mode by which purple nutsedge spreads
  - of spread in cultivated land
* contains PCBs, VOCs, and heavy metals.
* contains a large amount of aluminum, but it occurs in the form of aluminum silicates
  - mix of living and non-living matter
  - tremendous number of organisms
  - wider variety of microorganisms than in other types of environments
  - elements needed for plants to grow
  - heavy metals and radioactive wastes
* contains many different elements
  - microorganisms that can readily colonize dead or dying tissue
  - minerals, organic particles, other plants, animal matter, air, and water
* contains nutrients and water which are essential for healthy-growing plants
  - that plants feed on through their roots
  - small bits of rock, decaying plants and animals, and tiny life forms
  - thousands of types of single-celled fungi and bacteria that take things apart
  - three components that determine texture sand, silt, and clay
* continue to shape human nature and culture.
* contributes to the balanced functioning and stability of food chains and of the water cycle.
* covers a lot of the surface of the Earth.
* creep down natural slopes and stream banks common phenomenon in many regions
  - slowly downhill and sometimes slide rapidly
* crusting also commonly results in poor seedling emergence
  - from cropped soils can cause serious erosion problems due to increased runoff water
* deficit in calcium or other alkaline substances are or can become too acidic.
* deforms like a solid or flows like a fluid depending on the conditions of the terrain.
* develop, and are eroded away.
* differ in many ways both in chemical and physical properties
  - proportions of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter
* differ in their ability to hold water
  - capacity to retain pollutants until deactivated or used by plants
  - phosphate holding capacity
  - water holding capacity
  - one from another
  - significantly between arid, temperate, and tropical climates
  - widely in the extent to which they are self-mulching
* do hold moisture.
* dries out from the surface downward.
* drifting depletes fertility and continual drifting can change the texture of soil.
* erode, leaving hardened ground, lessening infiltration further.
* exhibits ion-exchange activity.
* exist and are used and abused all over the surface of the earth.
* flushing uses the contaminant's solubility in liquid to physically separate it from the soil.
* form an angled slope that varies with the soil and groundwater conditions.
* form by chemical and physical changes in material at the surface and a few feet down
  - the slow weathering of solid rock
  - in surficial geologic deposits
  - on volcanic ash or cinders above basaltic rock
  - slowly from rocks broken down by weathering
  - the foundation of the forest ecosystem
* formed by laterization tend to be highly weathered with high iron and aluminium oxide content
  - woody plants are different from the soils formed by grasslands
* formed in grasslands are different from forest soils
  - volcanic ash tend to be high in allophane and have a very low bulk density
* forming on slopes generally have thiner horizons than soils forming in low lying areas.
* forms primarily from the accumulation of wind-blown particles in cracks in the lava.
* fulfills most important funnctions in the natural transformation processes.
* generally contain large amounts of nitrogen, but it is mostly present in soil organic matter
  - more nutrients , moisture, and humus
  - form under prairie vegetation
  - have many sizes of particles, big and small
  - mineralize more sulfur in the presence of growing plants than in their absence
* harbor an extremely high diversity of organisms.
* have a coarse texture, such as sands or sandy loams
  - thermic temperature regime, a ustic moisture regime, and mixed or siliceous mineralogy
* have different abilities to hold water and nutrients available for plants
  - textures depending on the proportions of sand, silt, or clay particles
  - textures, mineral content and water holding and transmitting properties
  - differing capacities to retain or hold water
  - natural characteristics that determine how well they receive and hold water
  - neutrients in the soil depending on the parent material
* have properties of color and texture and have different capacities to retain water
  - similarities and differences
  - strange acoustic behavior
  - the odor of rotten eggs
* having a high silt content are most erodible of all soils
  - high or very high sensitivity tend to be rapidly permeable and low in organic matter
* help combat climate change by playing a key role in the carbon cycle.
* helps control how water moves over and through the earth s surface
  - where rain, snowmelt, and irrigation water goes
* hold different amounts of water depending on size of particles.
* initially form within the physical matrix of the parent material.
* invertebrates as indicators of soil quality.
* is alive
  - coarse-textured like sand, sandy loam or gravel
* is located in gardens
  - one of the products of waeathering
* keep plants and animals alive and work to cleanse water.
* lacks enough organic matter to support self-sustaining populations.
* liming increases microbial activity and the proliferation of earthworms and beneficial insects.
* looks yellowish when iron diffused in the soil gets hydrated.
* mites in the marine environment.
* move downslope.
* needs low to average organic content and low to average moisture
  - rich organic content and average moisture
* needs to be kept moist to improve production
  - hold air, water and nutrients as well as support the root systems of the plants
* offers substance and form which appear lifeless but which give rise to life.
* often have large cracks because of the high shrink-swell potential of the clays.
* overlaying the water table provides the primary protection against groundwater pollution.
* owe their origin to their parent rock.
* particles themselves generally have a negative charge inside and on their edges.
* percolate water at different rates.
* piping particular form of soil erosion that occurs below the soil surface.
* play a critical role in many of the environmental issues facing the world
  - very important role in the quality of life
* plays an important role in determining where contaminants go and how water moves.
* pollutes water by making it unclean.
* produces food and fiber for all civilization.
* properties that influence the plant's rooting depth.
* provide evidence of past climates and changes in earth system
  - excellent filtering media for pathogens
* provide nutrients , water, a home, and a structural growing medium for organisms
  - and mechanical support for plants
  - the minerals necessary for plant development
* provides a support structure and food for plants
  - final filtration and crops uptake the remaining nutrients
  - homes to many animals
  - many of the basic nutrients most plants use in order to grow
* provides minerals and grit used in worms' digestive tract
  - water to plants
  - most plants with essential nutrients such as nitrogen
  - nutrients and moisture necessary for plant growth and is fundamental to all life
* range from coarse sands to tight or compact clays
  - sands and sandy loams, to clay and alluvial loams
  - in texture from silty clay and clay to sand
* regulates water distribution to runoff, infiltration, or storage.
* represents decayed plants and animals.
* resemble the parent material from which they come.
* rest on bedrock that consists primarily of granites.
* rot is most severe in soils approaching alkalinity
  - or pox
* sampling Sampling often limits the success of a soil test.
* sanitary condition
* sealing increases the potential hazard of manure runoff with any subsequent rainfall.
* serve as a source and sink for methane.
* serves as a medium for supporting plant growth and development.
* slows down water while it filters through to the tile line.
* solarization a non chemical approach for management of plant pathogens and pests.
* sometimes crusts.
* starts to form when there cycle of freezing and thawing of the moisture around the rock.
* store and filter water, improving our resilience to floods and droughts.
* support and store organic matter.
* supports plant life and shelters numerous underground animals
  - life, and plant life provides both food and oxygen for humans' use
* surrounding bodies of water within the endemic region is particularly rich in fungi.
* take on different properties depending on where and how deep in a landscape they are found.
* takes from a few decades to several million years to regenerate
  - up to hundreds of millions of years to form
* tend to be deep and fertile, perfect for cropland or pastures
  - high alkaline
  - thin with poor moisture retention
* tends to be acidic, due to the thick layer of redwood needle duff.
* tends to stay on the surface making it easy to clean
  - to facilitate cleaning
* tests Soil supplies plants with support, nutrients and water.
* toxins from colored magazine inks can also kill the plants.
* typically are sandy loams with a layer of leaf litter.
* usually form mixtures with varying proportions of different size particles.
* varies across the continent and around the world
  - with climate, plant and animal life, time, slope of land, and parent material
* vary a great deal in their ability to filter viruses and bacteria from the effluent
  - according to bedrock and edaphic conditions
  - considerably in ability to supply essential nutrients for plant growth
* vary from coarse sands along outwash terraces adjacent to streams, to tight clays and shales
  - fine sand to clays and clay loams
  - very shallow loams to deep clay
* vary in the Carolinas
  - Ozarks as to their ability to provide an adequate absorption field
* vary in the amount of positive elements they can hold
  - water that they can hold in the top two feet
* vary in their ability to absorb and treat wastewater
  - capacities to release N from organic matter during the growing season
  - resistance to erosion, but erosion is generally worse in sloping areas
* vary with regards to pH, texture, and nutrients
  - topography primarily because of the influence of moisture and erosion
* vary, depending on the climate.
* warm faster when crop residues are incorporated
  - more quickly in the spring when free water is removed by a drainage system
* weathering complex process whereby chemically bond minerals are released by the soil.
+ Geology, Types of rock, Soil
  * The particles of soil come from rocks that have broken down, and from rotting leaves and animals bodies. Soil covers a lot of the surface of the Earth. Plants of all sorts grow in soil.
+ Lake Biel: Lakes in Switzerland :: Bern
  * Vineyards are located on the sunny side of Lake Biel and benefit from the southeast orientation of the hills. The lake provides a balanced climate. Soils are highly calcareous. There are 220 hectares of vineyards and a large variety of vine types, traditionally white wines, but increasingly red wines. The Chasselas, Pinot gris, Pinot noir, Pinot blanc and Chardonnay are grown by about 80 winegrowers. Most of the wine goods are family farms and the vine is often sold directly from the wine cellars.
+ Pedogenesis
  * Climate regulates soil formation. Soils are more developed in areas with higher rainfall and more warmth.