ARKANSAS ENVIROTHON SOILS TEST

 

1. Under identical conditions of climate and forest cover, which of the following freely-drained soils would warm up most rapidly in the spring?
1. A clay-textured soil
2. A loam-textured soil
3. A sandy loam-textured soil
4. A loamy sand-textured soil
5. All of the above soils would warm at the same rate

 

2. Generally, most of the macronutrients in soil are most readily available at pH values between:
1. 4.5 and 5.5
2. 5.5 and 6.5
3. 6.5 and 7.5
4. 7.5 and 8.5
5. 8.5 and 9.5

 

3. Nitrification is the conversion of:
1. ammonium to nitrous oxide
2. nitrate to ammonium
3. nitrous oxide to nitrogen gas
4. ammonium to nitrate
5. none of the above

 

4. Which of the following activities is most likely to increase soil degradation?
1. cultivation across slopes on the contours
2. leaving soil bare over winter
3. strip-cropping
4. operating heavy machinery on dry soils

 

5. Soil reaction or pH refers to:
1. The activity of hydroxyl ions in the soil
2. The activity of hydrogen ions in the soil
3. The activity of clay in the soil
4. The activity of carbon dioxide in the soil
5. All of the above

 

6. Which of the following best describes the chemical processes responsible for mineral weathering?
1. Reduction, hydrolysis, hydration, oxidation
2. Carbonation, disintegration, hydration, oxidation
3. Combustion, reduction, hydration, assimilation
4. Decomposition, carbonation, disintegration, hydration
5. All of the above
   
   
7. The general term for the soil forming process is called:
1. podzolization
2. illuviation
3. pedogenesis
4. none of the above
    

8. Which of the following terms is not used to describe soil consistence?
1. friable
2. plastic
3. pliable
4. firm
5. soft
    

9. The presence of mottles in a soil profile indicates?
1. Impeded soil drainage
2. Old root channels
3. Presence of microbes
4. None of the above
5. All of the above
    

10. Which of the following soil amendments would not be expected to lower soil pH:
1. acid treatments
2. limestone
3. anhydrous ammonia
4. chemical amendments that contain sulfur
    

11. The measurement of soil bulk density is widely used to estimate:
1. porosity
2. texture
3. mineral content
4. microbial activity
5. none of the above
    

12. Soils developed on glaciofluvial outwash deposits are typically:
1. fine-textured
2. highly fertile
3. poorly drained
4. sandy and gravelly
5. none of the above
    

13. The Universal Soil Loss Equation considers which of the following factors in calculating rates of soil erosion?
1. crop management, erosion control practices, rainfall, organic matter
2. slope position, soil erodibility, snowfall, soil acidity
3. slope length, aspect, solar radiation, clay content
4. soil drainage, soil color, stoniness, runoff
5. none of the above
    

14. Which of the following drainage classes’ world a hydric soil most likely have?
1. well drained
2. excessively drained
3. moderately well drained
4. very poorly drained
    

15. Wind blown soil particles are commonly referred to as___________.
1. sediments
2. loess
3. duff
4. organic
    

16. Which of the following is a coarse fragment?
1. clayey
2. sandy
3. gravelly
4. silty
    

17. A subsoil with columnar structure is a good indication that the soil has a high________content.
1. silt
2. sodium
3. organic matter
4. lime
    

18. You would expect a soil classified as montmorillonitic to have:
1. low shrink swell
2. high shrink-swell potential
3. high organic matter
4. high infiltration
5. all of the above
    

19. Which of these is NOT a geographic landscape position?
1. upland
2. wetland
3. floodplain
4. prairie

 TRUE OR FALSE QUESTIONS

20. Available water holding capacity is the amount of water that a soil can store and release to plant roots.
21. The physical condition of a soil as related to its ease of tillage, fitness as a seedbed and impedance to seedling emergence and root penetration is called tilth.
22. Calcium is a soil macronutrient.
23. In a pine stand, the soil pH is generally acidic.
24. All soils will produce trees of commercial value.
25. Terrace soils refer to those soils formed in old alluvial sediments.
26. Potassium is an essential plant nutrient that is the most easily leached from the soil.
27. The presence of mottles in a soil profile indicates impeded soil drainage.
28. You would expect a soil classified as montmorillonitic to have high organic matter.
29. Munsell soil color notations are comprised of hue, value, and chroma.
30. Generally the deeper the soil, the greater the site index.
31. A field is made up of only one type of soil.
32. If harvesting were taking place, clayey soils would compact the most under normal harvest operations.
33. Soils high in coarse fragments are harder to compact than fragment free soils.
34. Wind may move soil particles by abrasion.
35. If a soil profile exhibits relatively thin layers of light and dark colored materials stratified approximately parallel to the surface, it is likely that the soil is located on a floodplain.

36. List the five factors of soil formation. (two points each or a total of ten points)