Soil Vocabulary

6. the subsoil layer that contains much of the original parent material that has been weathered.
9. decomposed organic matter that may include animal manures, food wastes, and vermicompost.
10. the process by which air is circulated, for example, in soil to provide oxygen for root respiration.
11. the amount of water the soil can hold at any given time so that it will be available for uptake by plant roots, stored, or released between field capacity and the permanent wilting point.
17. the proportion of different sizes of mineral particles present in a soil.
18. the subsoil layer below the A horizon and B horizon that contains much of the original parent material that has not been weathered.
19. the binding together of sand, silt, and clay particles into aggregates called peds.
20. the material (bedrock, sediment, or organic material) that is weathered to form soil.

1. a layer of soil distinguished by properties and characteristics developed through the five factors of soil formation.
2. a situation in which water fills pore spaces in soil or soilless media to the point that there is no room for air in the pores.
3. the manner in which water moves through the soil.
4. living and dead organisms.
5. the binding of soil particles to form a soil structure.
7. the acidity or alkalinity of a soil.
8. the state of having space or gaps.
12. the ease through which soil compacts or compresses.
13. the physical, chemical and biological process that creates soil.
14. the rate at which water passes through soil.
15. a gap or open area between solid soil components that may be filled with air or water.
16. the fertile, upper, outermost layer of soil. Also referred to as the surface horizon or topsoil.