AGRY 3510: Soil Management Exam 1 Guide

Study Questions
Land Use
1. How does the definition for soil differ with the following professions:
a. Engineer
b. Pedologist
c. Agronomist
2. What is an all-encompassing definition for soil?
3. What is dirt?
4. In terms of plant production what is the practical value in knowing the soil class?
5. Name and describe the 5 factors that can cause soil differences to appear/originate?
6. What processes cause weathering? Name examples of mechanical and chemical weathering.
7. Why might soils to move? Which movements and depositions are more likely to occur in GA? Is
this movement a good thing? Explain.
8. What types of parent material formation can occur?
9. What is a soil survey? What are the components of a soil survey?
10. Define soil profile.
11. Name and describe the general soil horizons. What is a subhorizon?
12. What physical and chemical descriptions can be used to describe a soil?
13. By what means is a soil classification determined? Which classification type is most useful for
agriculture?
14. What are the 12 soil orders in the USA? What is the predominating soil order in the SE USA?
15. What is the official soil series of Georgia? Given a soil name, could you determine its soil
order?
16. Indicate 4 practical uses for a Soil Survey.
17. Discuss the difference between land-use planning and land capability classes.
18. Which land capabilities are used most for agriculture? Describe how a soils inherent land use
capability could be changed.
19. What are land capability class limitations? List a few and their symbols.
Soil pH and Acid soils
20. What is pH? Calculate pH given a concentration of H+.

21. What is acidic? Basic? Neutral?

22. Which cations are acidic and which are basic?
23. What are the three components of total soil acidity?
24. Which portion of soil acidity is measureable?
25. What are the 5 causes for the formation of acid soils?
26. Discuss the common effects of acidic soils on crops, turf, soil microorganisms.
27. What is the difference between toxicity and a deficiency?
28. Which nutrients are deficient at acid pH ranges? Which are toxic?
29. What are the symptoms of the following toxicities in plants?
a. Iron
b. Manganese
c. Zinc
d. Copper
e. Aluminum
30. What are the symptoms of following deficiencies in plants?
a. Calcium
b. Magnesium
c. Molybdenum
31. What is soil buffering? Describe the mechanism for soil pH buffering at neutral compared to
acidic ranges.
32. What soil characteristics contribute to soil buffering?
33. Define lime.
34. How does lime work to raise pH? How much acidity does a mol of CaCO3 neutralize?
35. List different types of lime. Can you list their pros and cons?
36. Define Calcium Carbonate Equivalence and Relative neutralizing value.
37. Can you calculate CCE/RNV given atomic weights?
38. How is lime effectiveness determined?
39. What are common lime laws?
40. What is effective neutralizing power?
41. When receiving a soil report, what is buffer pH?
42. In theory, how should lime be placed? On turf grass? On row crops? On no till?
43. What forms of lime are there and how do that affect application?
44. Which fertilizer types tend to acidify the soil?
45. What is the relationship between fertilizer use and lime?

46. Indicate a number of characteristics of plants which are naturally tolerant of acid soils
47. Name 5 crops that prefer acid soils.
48. How many soils in the world are acidic? Where are they located?
49. What soil orders are associated with acidity in the US?

Alkaline Soils
50. What is a base?
51. What is an alkaline soil?
52. What characteristics of soil particles, exchange sites, and the soil solution could be described
as part of alkaline soils?
53. How are basic cations held onto exchange sites? Which are held strongest? Weakest?
54. What is the main buffering mechanism in alkaline soils?
55. What are causes of soil alkalinity?
56. What US soil order is associated with alkaline soils?
57. What physical soil problems are associated with alkaline soils?
58. How are alkaline soils formed in normal areas?
59. What possible nutrient deficiencies/toxicities are observable in alkaline soils? What plant
symptoms are observable with these deficiencies/toxicities in alkaline soils?
a. Phosphorus
b. Copper
c. Iron
d. Manganese
e. Zinc
f.

Boron

g. Molybdenum
60. When might you want to lower soil pH?
61. What soil amendments might reduce alkalinity? What are the 3 more common inorganic
chemicals? How can fertilizers be used in alkaline soil management?
62. How do native plants deal with alkaline soils?
63. List some examples of plants that are tolerant of alkaline soils.
Saline Soils
64. What is a salt? Which ions are most common?

65. What is a soluble salt?

66. Name 2 ways to determine salinity levels.
67. Name 2 ways to determine sodium levels. Why is the SAR method better?
68. Define a saline soil. What is white alkali?
69. Define a sodic soil. What is black alkali?
70. Define a saline-sodic soil.
71. What are three general soil salinity issues?
72. Name the 3 salt effects on soils. What is the general result from them?
73. What are the 2 major plant problems with saline soils?
74. How do plants deal with osmotic stress?
75. What problems does sodium cause in plants?
76. What problems does chlorine cause in plants?
77. How do saline soils develop on non-irrigated land, on irrigated land, in container plants, along
roadways, on coastal soils?
78. Where are salty soils found in the US?
79. Discuss how plant age determines salt effects.
80. What are halophytes?
81. Which plants classify as sensitive/tolerant to salinity?
82. Discuss the management of irrigation to reduce salt effects
83. Discuss two amendments to soil salinity reclamation.
84. Discuss the placement of plants and drip irrigation to avoid salts.
Definitions
General Soil Terms
Soil
Rock Types
Macroorganisms
Alluvial
Elluviation
Subhorizon
Particle density
Salinity
Base saturation

Soil Forming Factors

Parent Material
Microorganisms
Marine
Illuviation
Texture
Moisture
Sodicity
CEC

Dirt
Weathering
Topography
Colluvial
Soil Profile
Bulk density
pH
Electrical Conductivity

Soil Surveys, Classification, Series

Alfisol
Entisol

Andisol
Gelisol

Aridisol
Histosol

Inceptisol
Spodosol
Land Capability Classes

Mollisol
Ultisol

Oxisol
Vertisol

acidic
active acidity
exchangeable acidity
Sulfur oxidation
Respiration
Deficiency
Calcitic limestone
Hydrated lime
CCE
Ammonia/ammonium

alkaline/basic
pH buffer
soil solution
Carbonic acid
Nitrification
Crinkling
Dolomite
Slag
Furrowslice

Basic cations
Calcareous soil
Petrocalcic
Petrogypsic
Thylakoids
Leaf scorch

Gibbsite
Sodic soils
Duripan
Dispersal
Black heart
Molybdenosis

Soluble Salt
Exchangeable Sodium Percentage
Saline Soils
White alkali
Dispersion
Ornamentals
Moderately tolerant
Saline Seeps

Total Dissolved Salt

Soil pH and Acid Soils

pH
neutralization
residual/potential acidity
Rainfall
Bicarbonate
Toxicity
Lime
Burned lime
Marl
Effective neutralizing power
Alkaline Soils
alkaline/basic
Base saturation
Bk subhorizon
By horizon
Flocculation
Apatite
Saline Soils
Salt
Electroconductivity
Sodium Absorption Ratio
Saline-sodic soils
Slaking
Osmosis
Tolerant
Sensitive
Leaching requirement

Sodic Soils
Black alkali
Swelling
Halophyte
Moderately sensitive
Chlorides