soil or water that has a pH value of less than 7, a high concentration of hydrogen ions and contains very few nutrients (The sandy soil in the Pinelands is very acidic.)
a layer of sand and gravel beneath the earth's surface that has pore spaces saturated with water (The Cohansey aquifer is the major Pinelands aquifer.)
color is missing or very pale (The color of the sandy soil was bleached or light gray.)
a wet, level area with spongy soil where the water table is at or very near the earth's surface (Cranberries grow well in a bog.)
a kind of soil made of extremely tiny particles (Clay feels sticky when it is wet.)
the average daily weather condition in a given place over a long period of time (Most of the time the climate in the New Jersey Pinelands is mild)
soils in the New Jersey Pinelands that are mostly medium to coarse grained sands, although some thin clay soil layers are present (The Cohansey geologic formation was deposited on the ocean floor between 13 million and 25 million years ago, during a time that geologists call the Miocene period.)
having financial gain as a goal; the goal is to earn a living (Most of New Jersey's cranberry crop is sold on a commercial basis and the berries are made into juice and sauce.)
the make-up of anything (The soil composition was sand, silt, and clay.)
the breaking down or separation of a substance into simpler parts (The decomposition of leaves occurred on the forest floor.)
something such as rocks or sand that is placed or laid down in a certain location (The force of the ocean's waves deposited sand on the beach.)
partially decayed organic material on the forest floor (The fire was so hot that even the duff burned.)
zone of removal; the removal of soil material in suspension or in solution from a layer or layers of soil (rain water moved rapidly through the eluvial horizon leaving light gray quartz sand.)
moving up and down or back and forth (The temperature was fluctuating between 10* and 50* Fahrenheit during the winter months.)
in the Pinelands, a layer of sand or clay that is different from the layers above or below it (A geologic formation underneath New Jersey's Pinelands is called the Cohansey formation.)
people who study the development and structure of the earth (Geologists tell us the Cohansey formation was deposited on the ocean floor.)
soil layers that are generally parallel to the earth's surface. Each horizon contains certain similarities that have to do with color or texture and are a result of the soil forming process (Each soil series contains several horizons.)
plant and animal tissue that has decomposed to the point that the original material can't be identified (A layer of humus covered the earth's surface.)
zone of accumulation; a soil layer or horizon in which material carried from an overlaying layer has been precipitated from solution or deposited from suspension (Rain water washed the iron compounds into the illuvial horizon coating the sand grains with brownish-yellow colored iron stain.)
natural element found in the earth that can be weathered from within sand, combined with oxygen and produce an iron oxide which gives soil its brown color. The process is similar to the rusting of steel (If the land remains swampy, bog iron ore will continuously be formed in New Jersey's Pinelands.)
the downward movement through the soil of nutrients and chemicals that are dissolved in water (Leaching occurs rapidly in the coarse, sandy soil of the Pinelands.)
a name of soil texture containing moderate amounts of sand, silt, and clay (In the spring, corn was planted in the loam soil.)
any inorganic substance, neither plant nor animal, that has definite chemical and physical properties (The plant was lacking a mineral it needed for growth.)
irregular spots or blotches of different colors found in a dominant color (Gray mottles appeared in the yellowish-brown layers of soil.)
elements like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that nourish or feed a plant or animal and, therefore, help it to grow (A plant has to have nutrients in order to live and to grow.)
soil that is rich in decayed plants, manure, or peat moss (Muck contains a lot of organic matter.)
combine with oxygen (Iron will oxidize to become rust.)
the geologic formation from which the soil if formed. Temperature, water, and the activities of animals are some of the things that break up parent material and make it into soil (The Cohansey formation is the parent material from which the Pinelands sandy soil is formed.)
the type of soil based on its particle size, i.e. gravel, sand, silt or clay (The particle size of sand is larger than the particle size of clay.)
the downward movement of water through soil (Percolation occurs rapidly in the sandy soil.)
the speed at which a liquid passes downward through soil. This is usually expressed in inches per hour. (The percolation rate is faster in sand than in clay.)
the property of soil that allows the movement of water and soil through it (Permeability of soil is an important factor to be considered when building a drainage system.)
a symbol that when used with a number less than 7 indicates a substance is acidic. A number greater than 7 is alkaline (The pH of Pinelands soils is acidic.)
allowing liquids to pass through readily describes a soil that has relatively large pore spaces between soil particles (Sandy soil is very porous.)
an underground tank that receives wastewater (like your bath water) directly from a home (Many homes in the Pinelands forest areas have septic tanks.)
a group of soils that comes from the same kind of parent material (The black, soft organic soil found along the river bank belongs to the Muck series.)
a material particle larger than clay and smaller than sand in size (Silt may be found along the banks of a stream.)
a vertical section of the soil showing all the horizons extending down into the parent material (Excavation for the new road revealed a Lakehurst soil profile.)
name such as sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, and loam refer to the relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay in the soil (Soil texture is one of the characteristics used to differentiate soils.)
something that will dissolve in water (Some minerals are water soluble and are leached to a lower level.)
Horizon B, the layer in a soil that is below the topsoil, usually containing less humus and more clay and silt particles than the overlying Horizon A (Plants do not grow well in subsoil because it doesn't contain as many nutrients (food) and as much organic matter as topsoil.)
Horizon C, the layer below the subsoil, where very little formation has occurred (Rocks can be found in the substratum.)
the height and slope of the land's surface (Overall topography of the Pinelands is generally flat.)
Horizon A, the soil on the earth's surf ace containing relatively large amounts of organic matter and plant nutrients (food) (Most of a plant's roots are found in the topsoil.)
quite different or one of a kind (The sandy Pinelands soils are
unique.)
high land or land well above sea level generally with a low water table (In New Jersey's Pinelands, upland is often no more than 150 feet above sea level.)
the level below the earth's surface where the soil is saturated (I dug a hole five feet deep before I found the water table in our backyard.)
the breaking down of rocks into soil by the action of wind, water, and living things (The weathering process slowly turned the rocks along the sea coast into sand.)
low land that is mostly swampy (Wetland is often near a stream or lake. )
a quickly moving fire that is out of control (Wildfire raced through the forest of pitch pines and oaks.)