Envirothon 2008: Soil Science Test May 9, 2008



Envirothon – May 9, 2013 Soils/Land Use Test

Soil Properties

1) In the list below of soil horizons, circle the one that contains the most organic matter:

(1 point)

a) C

b) A

c) R

d) T

2) Cl, O, R, P, T is a mnemonic for remembering soil forming factors. Place the correct letter(s) in the space associated with the soil formation phrase. (4 points)

a) _O__ Grasslands have thick, dark surface horizons.

b) _R__ The soil profile at the bottom of a hill is deeper than the upslope profile.

c) _Cl_ Warm tropical soils are more weathered than cold alpine soils.

d) _P__ Basalt weathers to silty clay loam.

3) What is the parent material described as loess? (1 point)

a) wind-blown dust

b) beach sand

c) basalt

d) evaporation and precipitation

4) Which type of soil would retain the greatest amount of total soil water? (1 point)

a) sandy loam

b) loamy sand

c) silty clay loam

d) sand

5) In a load of 10 cubic yards of fertile loam soil, ideally ___0.5____cubic yards should be organic matter. (2 points) Ideally, 5% of fertile loam soil is OM.

6) The movement of soil by wind and water is called: (1 point)

a) Infiltration

b) Erosion

c) Slope factor

d) Field capacity

e) Transportation

Soils/Land Use

7) A farmer adds more synthetic nitrogen fertilizer to the field than the crop can take up in a growing season. Circle the potential route for the excess N. (1 point)

a) Converted to carbon.

b) Leached to groundwater by precipitation and irrigation.

c) Stored in the soil through the wet season.

d) Defined as Ultisol.

8) Evidence of oxidation reduction, a chemical soil process, is used to determine if a soil is wet for part of the year. Circle the term used for a specific feature seen in redox soils. (1 point)

a) texture

b) krotovina

c) chronosequence

d) mottle

e) structure

9) A healthy soil maintains a diverse and active community of soil organisms that perform all but two of the following services. Circle the two exceptions. (2 points)

a) Increase plant disease.

b) Reduce insect and weed pests.

c) Form beneficial symbiotic associations with plant roots.

d) Increase wind-blown erosion.

e) Improve soil structure for better water and nutrient retention.

f) Increase crop yield.

10) Circle the answer that is NOT a practice to improved soil aggregates. (1 point)

a) Increase organic matter.

b) Build biological diversity.

c) Leave ground bare.

d) Prevent erosion.

e) Reduce traffic on the field.

11) What amendment would you add to increase the water holding capacity of soil? (1 point)

a) Composted manure

b) pH

c) Lime

d) Sand

e) Water

12) Sally wants to buy top soil for her three raised garden beds. Each bed is 72 inches long, 36 inches wide and 12 inches deep. Calculate the number of cubic yards that Sally must purchase to fill her beds to 75% deep. (4 points)

To get credit for this problem you must show your work!!!

Hint: 1 cubic foot = 0.037037037 cubic yards

(72/12) x (36/12) x (12/12) = 18 cubic feet per bed

18 *.75 = 13.5cubic feet

10.125 x 3 = 40.5 cubic feet

30.38 cubic feet X .03700037037 cubic yards/cubic ft = 1.5 cubic yards

13) The relative proportions of sand, silt and clay in a soil sample are referred to as: (1 point)

a) consistency

b) structure

c) texture

d) parent material

14) Which of the following is one of the three essential macro nutrients required for plant growth?

(1 point)

a) Carbon

b) Sulfur

c) Calcium

d) Lime

e) Phosphorus

15) Phosphorus is immobile in the soil therefore the loss of phosphorus from soils usually requires erosion of the soil itself. Select a phosphorus management issue below: (1 point)

a) Phosphorus accumulates in the soil.

b) Phosphorus changes soil pH.

c) Extra phosphorus should be added to wet fields during winter.

d) There are no phosphorus management issues.

16) Circle the answer that is NOT a result of improved soil aggregate formation. (1 point)

a) Increase water infiltration.

b) Change texture to sand.

c) Improve root growth.

d) Increase crop yield.

Texture Station

17) Determine the texture of Soil Samples A using the hand method. Fill in the following table:

(4 points)

18) Circle the description that best matches the drainage of the soil texture in question #16. (1 point)

poorly drained well drained

19) Use the texture triangle below to name the soil texture with 12% silt and 50% sand? (1 point)

The texture is:____________Sandy clay_______________________

[pic]

20) You examine a soil pit dug in an agricultural row crop field. Among the horizons you find a firm, impermeable layer approximately 6 – 8 inches below the soil surface. A term used to describe this feature is: (1 point)

a) bioturbation

b) spodosol

c) plow pan

d) field capacity

e) humus

rangeland soils

21) In the list below, circle two rangeland resource concerns that may be identified on a management plan map: (2 points)

a) Cover crop seeding rates

b) Runoff

c) Tillage

d) Water quality

e) Crop Rotation

22) Changes that may be observed during rangeland monitoring include all but one observation listed below. Circle the unlikely observation: (1 point)

a) Bare ground increases during periods of drought.

b) Woody species and litter cover will be lower following fire.

c) Plant communities remain constant over time.

d) Intense storms increase litter movement and water flow patterns.

23) Circle the component that will NOT be included in a rangeland management plan: (1 point)

a) Aerial photos.

b) Fertilizer recommendations.

c) Soil surveys and maps.

d) Vegetation inventory.

24) Below is a pie chart showing the relative proportions of the four components of a fertile loam soil. Match the pie chart components on the left to the list of rangeland descriptions on the right. (4 points)

[pic]

25) Match each Rangeland Management Option on the left to a Soil Impact on the right.

(4 points)

Soil Survey In this section, use the Malheur County Northeastern Part Soil Survey.

NOTE: You must write the page numbers where you found the answer to get full points.

26) Find the map symbol 13A and answer the following questions. (7 points)

a) What is the name of the Soil Series and texture? Greenleaf silt loam Page:_ 11 or Legend

b) Name one native plant that grows on this soil ____bluebunch, wheatgrass, needlegrass, Sandberg bluegrass, big sagebrush, shadscale, rabbitbursh__________Page: 11

c) What word describes the parent material that forms this soil _____loess___Page :__11__

d) What is the difference between 13A and 13B? _____slope Page:__11___

e) This soil is fairly close to the Snake River. What is depth to high water table? _>6 ft. Page:_89__

f) What is the soil’s pH between 8-31 inches? _7.4 – 8.4___Page: 86_

g) This answer is not in the Soil Survey. Circle the pH term for this soil.

alkaline acid

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Total score___/50

___/10

This page ___/6

Points:

1-Calculate cubic feet.

1-Reduce to 75%.

1-three beds

1-convert ft.3 to yrd3

This page ___/8

|Soil Sample |% Sand |% Silt |% Clay |Soil Texture |

|A |>52 |0-50 | ................
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