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Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals [1] (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, Al 2 Si 2 O 5 4). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impurities, such as a reddish or brownish colour from small amounts of iron oxide .
Once in the soil-plant system, most nutrients are recycled through living organisms, plant and microbial residues (soil organic matter), mineral-bound forms, and the soil solution. Both living soil organisms (microbes, animals and plant roots) and soil organic matter are of critical importance to this recycling, and thereby to soil formation ...
Plants with shallow roots, might not withstand the soil contraction forces due to the shrinkage of clay in the dry season. The low water infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity may lead to a perched water table form on top of the claypan layer. Water in the perched water table evaporates instead of uptake by plants, especially in the dry ...
Soil texture is determined by the relative proportion of the three kinds of soil mineral particles, called soil separates: sand, silt, and clay. At the next larger scale, soil structures called peds or more commonly soil aggregates are created from the soil separates when iron oxides, carbonates, clay, silica and humus, coat particles and cause ...
This kind of zoopharmacognosy use differs from one species to another. For example, mountain gorillas from Rwanda tend to ingest clay soil during dry season, when the vegetation changes forcing them to feed on plants that have more toxic compounds, in this case the ingested clay absorbs these toxins providing digestive benefits. [4]
Plants hold soil against erosion, and accumulated plant material build soil humus levels. Plant root exudation supports microbial activity. Animals serve to decompose plant materials and mix soil through bioturbation. [70] Soil is the most speciose (species-rich) ecosystem on Earth, but the vast majority of organisms in soil are microbes, a ...
An important type of plant that resides within mesic habitats is the forb, which provides a strong source of food for many species, especially avian species such as the ruffed grouse. [5] These habitats play an important role in the distribution abundance of sage grouse , influencing where they choose their breeding grounds, or leks .
Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover. Calcareous grassland is an important habitat for insects, particularly butterflies and ants, [ 2 ] and is kept at a plagioclimax by grazing animals , usually sheep and sometimes cattle.