Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Chalk heath is a rare habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, formed of a paradoxical mixture of shallow-rooted calcifuge ("calcium-hating") and deeper-rooted calcicole ("calcium-loving") plants, growing on a thin layer of acidic soil over an alkaline substrate. Chalk heath is intermediate between two much more ...
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.
Caliche fossil forest on San Miguel Island, California. Caliche (/ k ə ˈ l iː tʃ iː /) (unrelated to the street-slang "Caliche" spoken in El Salvador) is a soil accumulation of soluble calcium carbonate at depth, where it precipitates and binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt.
These oozes form slowly under low-energy environments, and necessitate higher seawater saturation states or a deeper CCD (see supersaturation and precipitation vs. undersaturation and dissolution). Therefore, in shallow CCD conditions ( i.e. , undersaturation of calcium carbonate at depth), stable, non-calcareous sediments such as siliceous ...
This is a list of U.S. state soils. A state soil is a soil that has special significance to a particular state. Each state in the United States has selected a state soil, twenty of which have been legislatively established. These official state soils share the same level of distinction as official state flowers and birds.
Chalk and other forms of limestone may be used for their properties as a base. [23] Chalk is a source of quicklime by thermal decomposition, or slaked lime following quenching of quicklime with water. [24] In agriculture, chalk is used for raising pH in soils with high acidity. [25] Small doses of chalk can also be used as an antacid. [26]
Scientists think the heat of severe wildfires can transform a benign version of the metal, which is found commonly in California soil, into a notorious carcinogen, according to new research ...
Additionally, some bacteria can fix atmospheric nitrogen, and some fungi are efficient at extracting deep soil phosphorus and increasing soil carbon levels in the form of glomalin. [69] Plants hold soil against erosion, and accumulated plant material build soil humus levels. Plant root exudation supports microbial activity.