Exam

Name___________________________________

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers
the question.
1)
Humus
is
________
.
1) ______ _ ttil o imary
A hiz n cause
) eer e s of
a desert
ap o ificati
rpl f on if it
tie t is
i d h prese
fto e nt in
i m exces
co p s
in r
ao
lc
ul
ftu
ere
rs
caused by agricultural runoff into waterways or into the water table
D)
composed of organic compounds and is necessary for fertile soils and for holding soil moisture
E)
a layer found in a soil horizon that is created by eluviation; it causes serious problems in
sometimes agricultural fields

2)
We lose
5 to 7
million
hectare
s of
producti
ve
croplan
d per
year to
________
.
2) ______ _ eri s izatio
A rg u n and
) oat b other
sio s factor
i n, i s
oa d
nn
,d
ot
oh
ver
efa
rct
i or
rs
forest replanting and other factors
D)
recreational use and other factors
E)
abandonment, feralization, and other factors

3)
During
most of
our
species'
100,000
-year
existenc
e, and
until
about
10,000
years
ago, we
depend
ed on
________
.
3) ______ _ cttlhunting
A ae
)
hunting and gathering
D)
crops
E)
crops and cattle

4)
Agricult
ural
practice
s,
where
the
membe
rs of a
farming
family
produce
only
enough
food for
themsel
ves and
do not
make
use of
large-
scale
irrigatio
n,
chemic
al
fertilizer
, or
machin
ery and
technol
ogy, is
called
________
.
4) ______ _ i a r ced
A ndi e tillage
) tti d agricu
eo u lture
nn
sal
ia
vgr
eic
ul
ttu
rre
advanced organic farming
D)
subsidence agriculture
E)
subsistence agriculture

5)
Industri
alizatio
n
________
.
5) ______ _ rui i essar
A ari s y
) pn today
i g n for all
dc e cultur
l o c es
ynt
in
du
eo
tu
es
rm
io
ov
re
am
te
ent
dto
n
se
ow
i cr
lo
spl
,a
n
rd
es
q
increased the ability to obtain more food from the same area
D)
improved soils permanently, providing more food from less space
E)
had no impact on agriculture

6)
Factors
involve
d in soil
formati
on
________
.
6) ______ _ nct s nal
A i er e chang
) tia a es in
r, s the
ogr o tides
ga
ezi
nn
-g
fb
iy
xh
i er
nbi
gv
or
be
as
weathering of parent material, freezing/thawing, growth of tree roots
D)
tropical climate, acid precipitation, frequent wildfires
E)
erosion, level terrain, absence of rooted vegetation

7)
A soil
deficien
t in
humus
would
________
.
7) ______ _ hitth ge
A ale a amou
) vm v nt of
ein e veget
er ative
val a detrit
em us at
rat l the
yer a surfac
ia r e
ll
have a very high pH
D)
have very few decomposers and be unable to hold much moisture
E)
have unusually high levels of biological activity

8)
The
breakdo
wn of
large
rocks
into
smaller
pieces
is
________
.
8) ______ _ afa a cause
A fll, of
) ffr mtopsoi
ee a l
ce j erosio
tzi o n
en r
dg
a
bn
yd
th
ra
aw
i in
ng
unaffected by winds
D)
primarily caused by topsoil erosion
E)
mineralization

9)
Leachin
g
________
.
9) ______ _ rtr a nutrie
A eie d nts to
) mnt d soil
os s natur
vfr ally
eo
sm
s
noi
ul
is a common agricultural practice to improve soil
D)
is caused by movement of water upward through soil from the water table
E)
can help plant growth only if done properly

10)
The O
horizon
is
________
.
10) ______ cpri pmaril
A om r y
) mari i loam
ply
oof
sbe
edr
doc
k
primarily composed of organic materials
D)
composed of equal amounts of bedrock and organic material
E)
usually more sand than silt or clay

11)
The
zone
beneath
the A
horizon,
where
leachin
g has
deposit
ed
material
s, is
called
the
________
.
11) ______ Bori Choriz
A zo on
) hn
E horizon
D)
O horizon
E)
Leaching does not result in deposits of materials

12)
Oxidatio
n of
mineral
s, warm
and wet
conditio
ns,
reaction
s of
water
with
parent
material
: all are
compon
ents of
________
.
12) ______ h fo pl/mec
A urm hhanic
) mati y al
uon s weat
s i herin
c g of
a soils
chemical weathering of soils
D)
leaching
E)
erosion

13)
Sachiko
and her
husban
d, Fred,
recently
bought
a farm
that
had
been
left idle
for over
20
years.
To
underst
and the
best
uses of
the
land,
they
should
first
investig
ate
________
.
13) ______ tpi c price
A hne us for
) ess r crops
of r and
cth e for
l e nlivest
usoi t ock
m l
the necessary herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides and their costs and alternatives
D)
the number of horizons in the soil
E)
the horizons, texture, structure, pH, slope, and prior erosion

14)
pH
influenc
es
________
.
14) ______ sco e osion
A om r
) i pa
l cti
on
the number of soil horizons
D)
soil clumpiness
E)
plant growth

15)
The loss
of more
than
10%
producti
vity in
arid
areas
due to
erosion,
soil
compac
tion,
forest
removal
, and an
array of
other
factors
is called
________
.
15) ______ drtifgbal
A eical chan
) stio o ge
en
climatization
D)
salinization
E)
stratification

16)
The
Canadia
n
agency
charged
with
slowing
soil
degrada
tion is
the
________
.
16) ______ Con T il
A oInt hCons
) neg e ervat
srat ion
eio SCoun
rn o cil
vSe
arvi
tce
i
Soil Aggregation Service
D)
Agricultural Standards Agency
E)
There is no Canadian agency charged with soil degradation, only volunteer firms funded by farmers.

17)
Shelter
belts
are to
________
as
terraces
are to
________
.
17) ______ stio werosi
A an; i on;
) l str nwater
i ati derosi
nfic on
i ati
zon
a
stratification; salinization
D)
water erosion; wind erosion
E)
leaching; desertification

18)
The
buildup
of salts
in soils
as a
result of
overirri
gation
is
________
.
18) ______ wth l achin
A eeri e g
) ang
erosion
D)
evaporation
E)
salinization

19)
Green
manure
is
________
.
19) ______ r m f tatio
A aix r n
) wed e (dea
wi s d
sth hplant
efre s, but
wsh v not
awae comp
gter gosted
e e)
expensive organic manure
D)
organic fertilizer mixed with fresh water
E)
chemical fertilizer that is not processed

20)
To
make
organic
fertilizer
by
compos
ting you
do not
include
________
.
20) ______ wm c p
A abu r resid
) stc o ues
the
erin
sg
an
f im
rals
o
animal manures
D)
microbes
E)
fresh vegetation

21)
The
conseq
uences
of
overfert
ilization
can
include
________
.
21) ______ v fr c prea
A euit r ding
) rs o rapidl
yan py into
d s near
l ve by
age s areas
rta
gbl
ees
very fertile soils in future years
D)
eutrophication in nearby waters
E)
large crop yields per acre

22)
The Soil
Conserv
ation
Council
encoura
ges
farmers
to
________
.
22) ______ ged gw
A rinsr soyb
) ote o eans
wad
of
cco
am
tm
ter
l cia
el
cr
f op
es
stop growing mustard plants
D)
stop cultivating highly erodible cropland
E)
grow native crops such as corn and beans
1)
D
2)
A
3)
C
4)
E
5)
C
6)
C
7)
C
8)
A
9)
A
10)
C
11)
C
12)
C
13)
E
14)
E
15)
A
16)
B
17)
B
18)
E
19)
B
20)
A
21)
D
22)
D