Final Exam Questions

^Hey DepengR8198uan I am almost certain that soil is a luvisol, you wouldn't find a chernozem in the environment that this soil is referenced in. Chernozems are more in continental grassland environments.

Thanks Gwendolyn, I also think luvisol should be the correct one.

I second what Gwen has said. This soil is a Luvisol (diagnostic horizon = Bt, which is 30 cm thick). And as Gwen has said, you cannot have a Chernozem in a non-grassland ecosystem, in a region with a sub-humid climate.

You have to be careful re. making decisions about a soil being a Chernozem, since many soil types will have an Ah horizon. But not every Ah is the Chernozemic Ah (diagnostic horizon. The Chernozemic Ah horizon, need to have several specific properties (e.g., C/<17/1, base satauration >80%, Ca2+ as the dominant ion on the exchange complex)

Based on that, I guess the question will provide more information about Ah horizon for us, so we can identify that soil order. Thank you very much, Maja!

yes, that is correct - if a soil is Chernozem those additional details about the Ah horzion would be provided

Hi Maja,

Will a soil with no B horizon always be classified as Regosol? For example soil with Ap=10cm, Cg1=20cm, Cg2=30cm is not Chernozemic for sure, but could it be Gleyesol?

Thank you

Soil without B horizon is a Regosol

Hi, I am wondering what is the distinction between C factor and P factor for soil erosion? Is it correct to say that C factor only considers the influence of vegetative cover and related management such as tillage on erosion, whereas P factor incorporates various combinations of management practices?

C factor (in the Universal Soil Loss Equation) refers to all management practices (tillage, fertilization, addition of organic amendments, etc) that are needed to grow a particular crop on the site P factor refers to the conservation practices (terraces, contour cropping, etc) that are done to protect the soil from erosion