ENV100Y5 Lecture 3: ENV100 - Module 3

• School: UTM
• Department: Environment
• Course: ENV100Y5
• Professor: Havelka, M.

Document Summary

Peat soils formed over 8000 years; up to 6m thick. Peat: slow to decompose and stores a lot of carbon. Carbon balance in peat: primary production stores carbon, decomposition releases carbon. Interdisciplinary research project studying influence of climate on carbon balance and vice versa. Soil is both biotic and abiotic because of its components. Soil consist of mineral matter, organic matter, water, air, and other gases. Dead and living microorganisms and decaying material. Bed(cid:396)o(cid:272)k: (cid:272)o(cid:374)ti(cid:374)uous (cid:373)ass of solid (cid:396)o(cid:272)k (cid:894)the ea(cid:396)th(cid:859)s (cid:272)(cid:396)ust(cid:895) Regolith (sediment): broken-up rock, on top of the bedrock. People (cid:449)ould sa(cid:455) (cid:862)the(cid:396)e(cid:859)s soil o(cid:374) the (cid:373)oo(cid:374). (cid:863) but this is i(cid:374)(cid:272)o(cid:396)(cid:396)e(cid:272)t (cid:271)e(cid:272)ause it(cid:859)s (cid:373)issi(cid:374)g a lot of the o(cid:396)ga(cid:374)i(cid:272) (cid:272)o(cid:373)po(cid:374)e(cid:374)ts su(cid:272)h as (cid:449)ate(cid:396), (cid:271)ioti(cid:272) component. Physical (mechanical): taking a hammer to break down rock, no chemical changes in the parent material. Chemical: substances chemically interact with the parent material. Biological: organisms break down parent material (enzymes breaking down things apart)