final exam earth systems

➢What is soil B horizon?
➢Soil forming processes and governing
factors
➢14 Australian soil order
➢ Vertosol is the most common Soil
Order in Queensland?

What are the key components of a soil?
• What is the basis of dividing soil particles into sand,
silt and clay?
• What are clay colloids?
• Which component affect soil chemical properties
most?
• Why kind of role does organic matter play in soil?
• The key role of soil organisms in soil ecological
function.

➢What causes surface charges?
➢What causes soil acidity?
➢How soil pH affect nutrient availability?
➢What is EC?
➢What causes salinity?

➢ Definition of global P cycle
➢ Where is the most P stored in the earth
system?
➢ Phosphorus release from the parent rock is a
very slow process
➢ What are the differences between P cycle and
C and N cycles?
➢ Phosphorus cycle does not have a gas as part
of the cycle!
➢ Soil P mainly come from the parent materials
(rocks) via weathering.

What cause global warming ? – greenhouse gases
and why?
• What are key greenhouse gases – CO2, CH4, N2O
• Consequences of climate change: Ice melting, rising
see level, extreme weather patterns, loss of
biodiversity
• How human affect greenhouse gas emission? - the
burning of fossil fuels; deforestation; increased
application of fertilizers