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Q: Why are the desert soils low in organic matter?
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What type of soil is good for cotton?

Cotton needs a soil texture that drains well and will not upset nutrient balances. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reports that cotton prefers a lighter, sandier soil that is not particularly high in organic matter content. Soil organics add nutrients to soils, and soils with marginal to low sand content are usually very moist soils. Lighter, sandier soils with low organic content drain quickly but retain the nutrient base cotton desires. I hope that what I found will help1


Why are organic soils unsuitable for foundation support?

Bearing capacity and shrinkage tendencies are reasons why organic soils are unsuitable for foundation support. Organic soils have low bearing capacity and therefore may not be counted upon to tolerate extensive floor plans and multiple stories. They tend to shrink so more and more of the building will be exposed with time.


Is mountain soil forest soil?

Sometimes.Forest soils form under forests. No forest, no forest soils.Mountain soils form on mountains, whether or not forests grow there.Not all mountains are forested. Also, even when forests exist on some mountains, they can also include desert vegetation at low elevations, and/or alpine tundra at high elevations. Soils that form under such vegetation types are not forest soils.


What is an aridisol?

An aridisol is a form of soil which dominates deserts and xeric shrublands, with a very low concentration of organic matter and very little water.


What does red and yellow colors in a soil horizon usually indicates?

It indicates an abundance of Iron oxide in the soil and also indicates low organic matter.

Related questions

Why are are desert soils low on organic matter?

There are few plants in the desert to provide the organic material.


Why are desert soils so low in organic matter?

Soils get their organic material from the plants that live, or have lived, in them. Deserts have few plants to provide this material.


Why are deserts soil low in organic matter?

There is very little topsoil in deserts; in fact, one millimeter of topsoil can take hundreds of years to form in a desert. The plant life in deserts evolved through selection to be less reliant on water and are therefore very slow to grow. Little plant life, little decay due to low moisture, and extremely slow growth rates could account for the low content of organic matter in desert soils.


Why is germination low in soils that contain high amount of partially decomposed organic matter?

germination is low because microbes are active in decomposing the soil


Why are desert soils low in organic material?

Organic mater in soil comes primarily from plants - dead leaves, stems, roots, etc. Since deserts do not have a high population of plants, there is little organic material added to the soil.


Why is the soil sandy in the desert?

Desert soils contain a high percentage of sand and are low in organic material. This happens in areas where there are few plants that would provide the decayed leaves and other dead organic material called humus. Humus is rich in nutrients and is better able to hold water than sand.


What type of soil is good for cotton?

Cotton needs a soil texture that drains well and will not upset nutrient balances. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reports that cotton prefers a lighter, sandier soil that is not particularly high in organic matter content. Soil organics add nutrients to soils, and soils with marginal to low sand content are usually very moist soils. Lighter, sandier soils with low organic content drain quickly but retain the nutrient base cotton desires. I hope that what I found will help1


Why are organic soils unsuitable for foundation support?

Bearing capacity and shrinkage tendencies are reasons why organic soils are unsuitable for foundation support. Organic soils have low bearing capacity and therefore may not be counted upon to tolerate extensive floor plans and multiple stories. They tend to shrink so more and more of the building will be exposed with time.


What lowers the amount of organic matter in soil?

Hostile soil structure and texture, incorrect soil pH, over-drainage, over-fertilization and population declines are reasons why organic matter can be low in soils. Sandy soils do not retain nutrients while a paucity of air and water pore spaces or an incorrect soil pH can make nutrients that are present inaccessible and unavailable. Compacted soils, environmental stresses such as droughts and heat waves, land and water pollution, and surface run-off may make soils inhospitable for animal and plant members of soil food webs and thereby reduce the amount of organic matter formation from macro- and micro-organisms consuming and excreting carbon- and nitrogen-rich recyclables and one another.


Why are deserts so low in organic matter?

There are not enough plants


What type of soil is in a rainforest?

High in decomposing organic matter, low in nutrients.


What has the author Bas van Wesemael written?

Bas van Wesemael has written: 'Soil organic matter in mediterranean forests and its implications for nutrient cycling and weathering of acid, low-grade metamorphic rocks' -- subject(s): Soil ecology, Forest soils