Across
- 3. The process by which fertile land becomes desert-like due to drought or poor land use, such as overgrazing or deforestation.
- 5. _____ matter - Living or formerly living plant and animal material in soil that adds nutrients and helps hold moisture.
- 6. Soil _____ - Practices that protect soil from erosion and loss of fertility, such as planting cover crops or rotating crops.
- 10. _____ activity - Mechanical weathering caused by living things, such as plant roots widening cracks or animals breaking up soil and rock.
- 11. soil _____ - The proportions of sand, silt, and clay particles in a soil.
- 12. _____ weathering - The process that breaks down rock by changing its chemical composition, often through reactions with water, oxygen, or acids.
- 15. Decayed organic material in soil.
- 17. A mechanical weathering process where overlying rock is removed, reducing pressure and causing the exposed rock to crack and peel in layers.
- 18. _____ rain - Rainwater that contains higher levels of acids due to pollution, which speeds up chemical weathering.
Down
- 1. Frost ______ - A type of mechanical weathering in which water seeps into cracks, freezes, expands, and forces the rock apart.
- 2. _____ weathering - The process that physically breaks rock into smaller pieces without changing its chemical makeup.
- 4. The uppermost, darkest soil layer where most organic matter is found and where plant roots grow.
- 7. A weathered mixture of minerals, water, air, and organic material that covers the Earth's surface.
- 8. A medium-sized soil particle, smaller than sand but larger than clay.
- 9. _____ weathering - The process in which softer, less resistant rocks wear away faster than harder, more resistant rocks, creating uneven landscapes.
- 13. The smallest soil particle type; it is easily compacted and holds water and nutrients very well.
- 14. An organism that can grow on rocks and slowly break them down by chemical weathering.
- 16. a large-sized soil particle, which drains easily.