Across
- 2. profile A vertical section of a soil. The section, or face of an exposure made by a cut, may exhibit with depth a succession of separate layers although these may not be separated by sharp lines of demarcation.
- 3. A textural class of soils that contains 80 percent or more of silt and less than 12 percent clay.
- 5. The long-term average weather conditions.
- 6. The surface layer of soil, containing relatively high percentages of decomposed and partially decomposed organic matter.
- 9. Mineral matter of variable composition, consolidated or unconsolidated, assembled in masses or considerable quantities in nature.
- 10. Inorganic compound that occurs naturally in the Earth and has a distinctive structure.
- 13. The artificial application of water to soil for the purpose of increasing plant production.
- 16. The change in elevation for a given horizontal distance of the surface of the Earth, often expressed as a percentage.
- 19. The mineral and organic surface of the earth capable of supporting upland plants. It has been (and is being) formed by the active factors of climate and biosphere exerting their influence on passive parent material and topography over neutral time.
- 20. Any igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rock that is represented as a unit in geological mapping.
- 21. The science of classification of organisms and other objects and their arrangement into systematic groups, such as species, genus, family, and order.
- 24. matter Matter found in, or produced by, living animals and plants, which contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and often nitrogen and sulfur.
- 25. A unit of soil structure such as an aggregate, crumb, prism, block, or granule, formed by natural processes (in contrast with a clod, which is formed artificially by compression of a wet clay soil).
- 26. An elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains.
- 28. structure The arrangement of primary soil particles into compound particles or aggregates that are separated from adjoining aggregates. Size, shape, and distinctness are used to describe soil structure. Farmers often describe soil structure with words, such as crumbly or cloddy.
- 29. Refers to the extent of voids or openings in the soil that exist between soil particles and soil peds or clods. These pores hold water and air for absorption by plant roots. A porosity of 50% is excellent for plant growth.
- 30. material The horizon of weathered rock or partially weathered soil material from which the soil is formed.
- 32. The group of processes whereby earth or rock material is worn away, loosened, or dissolved and removed from any part of the earth’s surface.
- 33. In soil science, a group of textural classes in which the particles are finer than gravel but coarser than silt, ranging in size from 2.00 to 0.5 millimeters in diameter. It is the textural class of any soil that contains 85 percent or more of sand and not more than 10 percent of clay.
Down
- 1. The percolation of rainwater through the soil.
- 4. texture The relative proportion in a soil of the various size groups of individual soil grains.
- 5. A size term denoting particles, regardless of mineral composition, with diameter less than two microns.
- 6. Slope of the land and the position on the landscape, such as the top of a hill, a hillside, or the foot of a slope.
- 7. Atmospheric action on rock surfaces producing decomposition, disintegration, or alteration of rock.
- 8. The capacity of soil or rock for transmitting a fluid. Degree of permeability depends upon the size and shape of the pores, the size, and shape of their interconnections, and the extent of the latter.
- 11. Drainage The relative degree of downward movement of water in a soil. Also called permeability.
- 12. A layer of soil, approximately parallel to the surface, having distinct characteristics produced by soil-forming processes.
- 14. The process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil.
- 15. Unweathered hard rock that lies directly beneath the soil layers or beneath superficial geological deposits, such as glacial drift.
- 17. Soil that consists of less than 52 percent sand, 28 to 50 percent silt, and 7 to 27 percent clay, resulting in a soil texture ideal for gardening.
- 18. Accumulation of water-worn pebbles larger than two millimeters in diameter.
- 22. Any living individual whether plant or animal.
- 23. A natural part of the Earth’s surface characterized by any single factor or combination of topgograhpy, climate, soil, rocks, vegetation; the natural landscape.
- 27. cover Any vegetation that grows close to the ground, producing protection for the soil.
- 31. The many soil particles held together in a small mass.