Environmental Science - Soil and Agriculture

Mechanical weathering

breaking down rocks into small pieces - water

chemical weathering

transforming rocks into different things

mechanical weathering

sheeting, thermal expansion, frost wedging

three factors that influence the rate of weathering

climate, biological activity, topography

particle sizes of soil

sand, silt, clay

mass weathering

the transfer of rocks and soil downslope

factors that trigger mass movement

overstepping, water saturation, vegetation removal

rockfall

rocks or rock fragment fall freely through the air

rockslide

slides that include the bedrock that moves suddenly flat

slump

the downward movement of a block of material along a curved surface

mudflow

a quickly moving mass of material that contains large amounts of water

earth flow

a flow moves really slow a mm per day

human activities that promote soil erosion

overcultivating, clearing Forrest, over grassing rangeland

positives of green revolution

new technology, crop variety, new farming practice

benefits of GMO

increase production of foods, crops have better nutrients

risk of GMO

potential ecological impact by mixing with the wild crops

weathering

the disintegration and decomposition of material

erosion

the incorporation and transportation of material by a mobile agent

soil is a combination of

50% mineral matter, 25% water, 25% air

regolith

rocks and mineral fragments

the horizons of soil

o, a, e,b, c

rangeland

land where livestocks live

monoculture

growing one type of crop

challenges with irrigation

water logging with overittation, salitazion problems

fertilizer

sustancr that contains nutrients

inorganic

mines or synthetically manufactured or

organic

consists of remains or wasted of organisms

pollution

process by which plant male sex cells fertilize female sex cell