ESS 120 Exam 1 Questions With Correct Answers!!

What soil order is commonly the site of most disasters related to water? - Entisols True or False: Food production and real estate conflict because they both require the same soil. - True. The best land for food production is also the best land for building houses on. What is the most productive soil order in the world? - Mollisols; they out-produce everything. They are dominantly in the great plains and western states (the grassland prairies). Prairies have deep roots; all the nutrients come from the soil. Nutrient-rich parent material. ~7% of global ice-free land and ~21.5% of US land What are the two most common soil orders found in Tennessee and what factors led to these soils? - Alfisols: Soil that is generally acidic and has tree matter top soil with a clay, nutrient-enriched subsoil. Formed in semiarid and humid areas under deciduous forests. Ultisols: Highly weathered, leached, red or reddish-yellow acid soil with a clay-rich B horizon (subsoil). Formed in warm, humid, temperate climates under deciduous forests. Which is older? Alfisols or Ultisols - Ultisols Who caused the shrinking of the Aral Sea and why? -Uzbekistan, because they are trying to grow cotton and pumping the Aral Sea dry via irrigation. What is happening to the Everglades in the US as the water table is decreased? - The formerly flooded Histosols (highly organic soil) soil is being oxidized (organic matter being broken down) by aerobic organisms leading to loss in soil. Permanent subsidence post measurements prove soil loss. How are land prices related to commodity prices (crop prices)? - Increase in price of land = Increase in price of commoditesWhy is it an issue for farmers when commodity prices drop? - Since the cost of production doesn't change, farmers can't pay for the same land and/or production with the profit made off that land's crops. The development of agriculture provided the framework for what 3 changes in rural society? - 1. More free time and disposable money. 2. More permanent villages. 3. More people. Why can crops move East and West but not North and South? - The day length and climate determines which crops can be produced. Moving East and West doesn't change day length or climate but moving North and South does.