Introduction.
I strongly agree with Sommer & Schlichting, 1997 quote “Studying soils along a slope is one of the simplest, yet most elegant ways to discern spatial interrelationships between soil and topography”. Various factors are responsible for the difference in soil characteristics and pattern along a slope. The aim of this assignment is to demonstrate the credibility of this statement by providing relevant information about the different processes along topography that affects the soil and thus enable readers to value the statement. The catena concept is a framework that ties everything together when studying the relationship between soil and topography.
The catena.
According to Shaetzl & Anderson, 2005:469, “A catena is a transect of soils from the top to the base of a hill, perpendicular (or nearly so) to the contour lines”. The concept asserts that a set of soils has been formed from the same parent material but vary along the topography as a result of drainage and relief (Brady & Weil, 1999: 760). It also considers the soil to be a dynamic open system with inputs, processes and outputs. The catena itself is separated into 4 distinct zone namely the Flatter upland(Plateau), Shedding (Degrading or eluviation) zone , Transfer (Translocation) zone and the Receiving ( Accumulation or iluviation) zone each having its own discrete characteristics as illustrated by figure.1 (Waugh, 2009: 276).
Figure.1 shows a catena: The relationship between soil type and slope (Waugh, 2005: 261)
Catenary differentiation.
The variations in soil down a slope are as a result of slope gradient changes as well as the drainage characteristics (Gerrard, 1981:62). The amount of precipitation, cloud cover and wind is highest on the upper slope (W...
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At the end of the last ice age windblown silt covered the lava and basalt deposits. This silt would go on to create the fertile rolling hills of the Palouse. This soil is more than a hundred feet deep in places. Soon, enough time passed for vegetation to take place and more soil started to form.1 The lava flows would end up damming streams flowing from the mountains; in turn forming the current lakes of the region. Layered between the flows of basalt are sand and gravel deposits that washed down from mountains.1
Soil regions of the Montane Cordillera include mostly Complex soils of mountain areas and Dry-climate soils. There are various types of soils in the Montane Cordillera because of the wide range of temperatures, rainfall, and elevations throughout the ecozone. However, the most common soil is Brunisol soil, which is typically located under the dry pine forests of south-central British Columbia but is not very good for agriculture because it is very acidic.
Mississippi has a variety of different soils .The three general soils are 1) the river flood plain, known as the Delta, 2) a loess region, or bands of soils formed in windblown material that adjoins the Delta, and 3) Coastal Plain. The Mississippi Delta is better for growing row crop, while the loess and Coastal Plain region are better for animal production and forestry. The loess and Coastal Plain regions are divided based on similar soils, geology, climate, water resources, and land use called Major Land Resource Areas. The Mississippi Delta’s soil comes from sediments left by flooding various rivers in the region, rather than being a typical Delta formed by the mouth of a river. In the Delta most of the land is farmed, with three-fourths of the cropland to the north. Controlling surface water and drainage are major soil management issues. In the Delta soils are naturally diverse because of their alluvial origin. Particle sizes within the sediment decrease as distance from the originating stream increase. Another factor in Delta soil formation us surface water movement over time, because soils that formed under standing water have different properties than soils formed under moving water. Soils with large amounts of clay particles have unique features. When the soil is dry, small round aggregates form at the surface that look like shotgun buckshot, which is where the popular name for Delta clay soils “buckshot” came from. Soils with large clay content have very slow water filtration rates; this has led to significant aquaculture and rice production in the region. When floodwaters receded in the Delta, strong winds blew some of the dry sediment left by flooded river to the adjacent uplands to form the loess areas. Because of eas...
Holmes, Garnett, Bureau of Plant Industry United States, and Bureau of Chemistry and Soils United States. Soil Survey of The Yuma Area, Arizona-California. N.p.: Govt. print. off., 1905
Africa has a regular coastline characterized by few indentations. Because of the smooth coastline, natural harbors were non-existent. Today, however, there are important coastal cities, such as Lagos and Dakar. With the exception of the Mediterranean coast, most of the coastline is low-lying , generally narrow and rising sharply to high elevations. The African climate and topography varies greatly. Although temperatures are usually high, due to being so close to the equator, rainfall, soil quality and elevations are of various degrees. Because most of the African continent has not been covered by water for millions of years, soils have developed according to their weathering e...
(Ant)arctic (high-latitude) and alpine (mountain) areas are affected by relatively similar climates, as latitude and altitude produce similar meteorologic effects. In these geographic regions where temperature is at such a pronounced extreme, climate would seem to be the leading factor of soil development. It is my goal in this research paper to answer the following question: How do the soils of arctic and alpine areas differ? This idea, taken largely from an abstract by Birkeland (1975), will be explored through the comparison of the soils of these two geographic regions, and an analysis of the soil development factors in those environments.
[1] “Mixedwood Plains.” Canadian Ecozones. Toronto: n.p., n.d. N. pag. TDSB Online Library School Sites. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. .
Weir, Wilbert W., 1936, Soil Science : Its Principles and Practice Including Basic Processes for Managing Soils and Improving their Fertility: Chicago, J.B. Lippencott Company.
Podzol Soils, found in the north, are used for recreation and forestry, while Luvisol Soils located in the south are for agricultural use. These leached, wet-climate soils combined with a fairly mild climate are responsible for over 50% of Canada’s class 1 agricultural land, while 62% of the land is capable of classes 1, 2, and 3.
Davis, J. G., R. M. Waskom, and T. A. Bauder. Managing Sodic Soils. Colorado State
Barren Ground by Ellen Glasgow follows the life of Dorinda Oakley, a poor girl living in a desolate town in Virginia. At the beginning of Barren Ground, twenty-year old Dorinda Oakley lives with her family in the town of Broomsedge. She dreams of escaping her farm house for a life in New York when she meets the son of the village doctor, Jason Greylock, and almost instantly, she develops feelings for him. He becomes the “object of her passion” (Bunch). But when she loses him, her life is forever changed. In Ellen Glasgow’s novel Barren Ground, the main character Dorinda Oakley leaves her life of poverty in order to pursue her dream of happiness and in her journey experiences love, loss, and despair.
Singer, Michael J. and Munns, Donald N., 1996, Soils: An Introduction, Prentice-Hall Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ
...spatial heterogeneity of surface soil properties has in ecosystem functioning, few studies have described the spatial heterogeneity of SOC in Golestan province and their relations with topography and different slope position loessial hillslope lands of northen Iran. However, just few studies on the spatial variability of soil organic carbon in farmland are available (Ayoubi et al, 2007).
As a result of this process, the mine sites "do not develop normal soil structure or support the establishment of a plant cover". Many mine sites have...
Sammut, S. (N/A). A Soil Information System for the Maltese Islands. Available: http://www.wise-rtd.info/sites/default/files/d-2008-05-26-Project_presentation.pdf. Last accessed 29th Dec 2013.