DP Environmental Systems and Societies Questionbank

With reference to four different properties of a soil, outline how each can contribute to high primary productivity.

Outline the processes involved in the formation of fertile soils from bare rock.

Identify one other input to the mineral storage in the “A” horizon in Figure 2(b).

Describe how the addition of sand to a silty clay loam could alter its characteristics for healthy plant growth.

The soil system includes storages of inorganic nutrients.

Identify two inputs to these storages.

Identify one other output from the mineral storage in the “A” horizon in Figure 2(b).

State the soil texture that has the following composition: 20 % clay; 55 % silt; 25 % sand.

Draw a flow diagram to show the flows of leaching and decomposition associated with the mineral storage in the “A” horizon in Figure 2(b).

Outline two reasons why loam soils are the most productive for plant growth.

Outline how soil can be viewed as an ecosystem.

The soil system includes storages of inorganic nutrients.

Identify two outputs from these storages.

Outline two ways in which the soil quality in the pioneer stages of the succession model shown in Figure 1 will differ from that in the climax ecosystem.

Outline one climatic and one edaphic (soil) factor which affect the final climax community in an ecosystem.

Describe two characteristics of soil with high primary productivity.

Identify one example of an output to the atmosphere from the soil system.