Author Question: Name and describe the four major soil orders listed in this chapter. Where are they mainly found? ... (Read 63 times)

dmcintosh · **on:** Jul 15, 2018

Name and describe the four major soil orders listed in this chapter. Where are they mainly found? How do hydric soils relate to soil orders?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What are the different layers, or horizons, that compose a soil profile? What makes each one distinct from the others?

What will be an ideal response?

Silverbeard98 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 15, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The four major soil orders in this chapter are Mollisols, Oxisols, Alfisols, and Aridisols. Mollisols are fertile, dark soils found in temperate grassland biomes. Oxisols are soils of the tropical and subtropical rain forests. Alfisols are widespread, moderately weathered forest soils. Aridisols are the very widespread soils of drylands and deserts. Hydric soils are those that occur in wetland areas and are members of other classes of soil.

Answer to Question 2

A typical soil profile consists of the O horizon, consisting of dead organic matter; the A horizon (top soil), consisting of a mixture of the mineral soil from below with the humus from above; the E horizon, consisting of a layer from which the minerals have been leached; the B horizon (subsoil), consisting of the layer to which the minerals leach from the A and E horizons; and the C horizon, consisting of the parent mineral material. The differences between each layer can sometimes be minor, but the size of particles is the main determinant.