EESA01H3 Lecture Notes - Crop Residue, Capillary Action, Soil Management
Document Summary
Soil is a complex plant-supporting system consisting of disintegrated rock, organic matter, water, gases, nutrients, and microorganisms: fundamental to the support of life on this planet and the provision of food fort he growing human population. The composition of a region"s soil can have as much influence on the regions ecosystems as do the climate, latitude and elevation. Soil is composed of living and non living components. Weathering, erosion, and the deposition of organic matter were responsible for soil formation. Weathering describes the physical, chemical, and biological processes that breaks down rocks and minerals, turning large particles into smaller particles. Chemical weathering results when water or other substances chemically interact with parent material: eg. Biological weathering occurs when living things break down parent material by physical or chemical means: tree accelerates weathering by physical action of its root growing and rubbing against rock.
