Chapter 12 Terms

2. Solid rock beneath the soil
4. Most northern vegetation region, found in areas where it is too cold for trees to grow; bushes, grasses, mosses and similar plants grow here.
5. Rock from which soil is derived.
7. Different layers in the soil and the rock layer below the soil. each horizon has different physical, biological, and chemical characteristics.
9. Plants that would grow in an area with out humans interfering.
11. To become decomposed; to rot.
12. Mineral substance that is absorbed by plant roots.
13. Process by which in dry climates, water carrying dissolved minerals moves upward through the soil.The water then evaporates at the surface, leaving the minerals behind and the surface soil calcified.
15. Found in warmer climates and contains maple, oak, beech, and elm trees
17. The breakdown of rock into small particles.

1. The surface layer of soil containing humus.
3. The movement of water upwards through small spaces as in soil.
6. The surface layer of the earth, composed of mineral and organic materials air and water.
8. Removal of minerals from soil by water as it moves downward through the soil. Occurs in wet climates.
10. The areas in which the characteristics of one region gradually change into those of another.
14. Rich fertile soil in which decaying and decayed plant matter is mixed with clay, silt and sand.
16. Capable of being dissolved or liquified.
18. Dark upper layer of soil made up of partially decayed plant material