5.1 Soil (SL)

Soil

A mixture of mineral particles and organic material that covers the land, and in which terrestrial plants grow.

Detritivores

Organisms that ingest and internally digest detritus.

Saprotrophs

Heterotrophs that digest and absorb detritus.

Intensive farming

An agricultural system aiming to maximise productivity from a given unit of land with a relatively high amount of inputs (for example, agrochemicals and labour) per unit area of land.

horizon

e layer of soil just beneath the uppermost organic humus layer, where present. It is rich in organic matter and is also known as the mixed layer or topsoil

Soil profile

A vertical section through a soil, from the surface down to the parent material, revealing the soil layers or horizons.

Soil texture

Relative amounts of the different types and sizes of mineral particles in a sample of soil.

Dead organic matter

plant litter, dead animal biomass, manure.

Humus

material formed from decaying leaves and other organic matter