Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The type and amount of vegetation depend on climate, topography, soil characteristics and biological factors, mediated or not by human activities. [104] [105] Soil factors such as density, depth, chemistry, pH, temperature and moisture greatly affect the type of plants that can grow in a given location. Dead plants and fallen leaves and stems ...
Soil aeration maintains oxygen levels in the plants' root zone, needed for microbial and root respiration, and important to plant growth.Additionally, oxygen levels regulate soil temperatures and play a role in some chemical processes that support the oxidation of elements like Mn 2+ and Fe 2+ that can be toxic.
Soil is used in agriculture, where it serves as the anchor and primary nutrient base for plants. The types of soil and available moisture determine the species of plants that can be cultivated. Agricultural soil science was the primeval domain of soil knowledge, long time before the advent of pedology in the 19th century.
Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality. [3] It also refers to the soil's ability to supply plant/crop nutrients in the right quantities and qualities over a sustained period of time.
Soil is made up of a multitude of physical, chemical, and biological entities, with many interactions occurring among them. It is a heterogenous mixture of minerals and organic matter with variations in moisture, temperature and nutrients. Soil supports a wide range of living organisms and is an essential component of terrestrial ecology.
Measured on the pH scale, soil acidity is an invisible condition that directly affects soil fertility and toxicity by determining which elements in the soil are available for absorption by plants. Increases in soil acidity are caused by removal of agricultural product from the paddock, leaching of nitrogen as nitrate below the root zone ...
The benefits of improving soil structure for the growth of plants, particularly in an agricultural setting, include: reduced erosion due to greater soil aggregate strength and decreased overland flow; improved root penetration and access to soil moisture and nutrients; improved emergence of seedlings due to reduced crusting of the surface; and ...
Soil quality reflects how well a soil performs the functions of maintaining biodiversity and productivity, partitioning water and solute flow, filtering and buffering, nutrient cycling, and providing support for plants and other structures. Soil management has a major impact on soil quality. Soil quality relates to soil functions. Unlike water ...