Across
- 1. 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. About half of soil volume which is in a good physical condition for plant growth is pore space.
- 2. A phylum or division of the animal kingdom; includes insects, spiders, and Crustacea; characterized by a coating which serves as an external skeleton and by legs with distinct movable segments or joints.
- 6. The removal of soluble constituents from soils or other materials by percolating water.
- 7. Plantlike organisms that have no chlorophyll; they get their nourishment from living or decaying organic matter.
- 8. 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.
- 9. Color difference on a mass of moderately poorly drained soil.
- 11. Single-celled microorganism; some cause human, animal, or plant diseases; others are beneficial.
Down
- 1. The capacity of soil or rock for transmitting a fluid. The 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.
- 3. Matter found in or produced by, living animals and plants, which contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and often nitrogen and sulfur.
- 4. The composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.
- 5. A layer of soil, approximately parallel to the surface, having distinct characteristics produced by soil-forming processes.
- 10. 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.