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What are the key components that make up soil?

Soil is made up of sand, silt, clay, humus, nutrients (like ammonium, phosphates, and nitrates), water, air, and living organisms.

What role do decomposers play in soil ecosystems?

Decomposers break down dead organic matter and return nutrients to the soil.

What are the three types of weathering that contribute to soil formation?

Physical weathering (wind, water, freezing and thawing), biological weathering (roots of trees and plants), and chemical weathering (acid rain, acids from mosses and lichens).

What is erosion?

Erosion is the transport of weathered rock by wind and rain to a new location.

What major factors affect soil formation?

Parent material, topography, climate, and organisms.

What is the texture of soil determined by?

The percentage of sand, silt, and clay particles.

What is porosity in soil?

Porosity is the amount of space soil has; more sand indicates higher porosity, while more clay indicates lower porosity.

What type of soil is considered ideal for most growth, and why?

Loam is ideal because it balances porosity with water holding capacity.

What factors can decrease soil nutrients?

Acids that leach positive nutrients, excessive rain and irrigation, excessive farming, and topsoil erosion.

How does clear-cutting affect soil and nutrient levels?

Clear-cutting leads to loss of stabilizing root structures, removal of organic matter and nutrients, and increased soil erosion.

What is a watershed?

A watershed is all the land that drains into a specific body of water.

What are the human impacts on watersheds?

Activities like agriculture, clear-cutting, urbanization, and construction of dams can negatively impact water quality.

What is the rain shadow effect?

The phenomenon where moist air rises over mountains, cools, condenses and loses rain, leading to a dry area on the leeward side.

What is the significance of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?

ENSO causes regular climatic shifts between warmer, rainier conditions (El Niño) and cooler, drier conditions (La Niña) in the Pacific Ocean.

What happens during El Niño conditions?

El Niño leads to suppressed upwelling, warmer winters in North America, increased precipitation and flooding in the Americas, and droughts in Southeast Asia and Australia.

What are the effects of La Niña?

La Niña is characterized by stronger upwelling, better fisheries in South America, worse tornado and hurricane activity in the U.S., and rainier, warmer conditions in Southeast Asia.