Sustainable Agriculture
Exam Materials
Course Introduction
Sustainable Agriculture explores the principles and practices of farming that meet societys food and fiber needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This course examines ecological, economic, and social dimensions of agriculture, including soil conservation, integrated pest management, renewable resources, biodiversity, and sustainable food systems. Students will analyze case studies and real-world models to understand the challenges and opportunities involved in transitioning to more sustainable agricultural practices at local, regional, and global scales.
Recommended Textbook
The Nature and Properties of Soils 14th Edition by Nyle C. Brady
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20 Chapters
838 Verified Questions
838 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/3989
Page 2
Chapter 1: The Soils Around US
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42 Verified Questions
42 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/80115
Sample Questions
Q1) In humid regions most rainwater that soaks into the soil and is not used by plants eventually flows into rivers and streams.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Most of the water flowing in rivers passed through a soil profile or over soil surfaces before reaching the river.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The dark brown and black humus found in many soils does not mix well with clay minerals so there is very little contact between these two soil components.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Plants can be grown without any soil.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Formation of Soils From Parent Materials
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53 Verified Questions
53 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Igneous rocks are formed when molten magma cools and solidifies.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The element most often involved in oxidation reactions as minerals weather is
A)copper
B)silicon
C)aluminum
D)magnesium
E)iron
Answer: E
Q3) Glacial till can be recognized by the distinct layering of different kinds of particles.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Soil Classification
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47 Verified Questions
47 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/80117
Sample Questions
Q1) A soil pedon is ____.
A)a category of Soil Taxonomy
B)a three-dimensional unit that embodies the primary characteristics of an individual soil
C)generally larger in area than a polypedon
D)a diagnostic subsurface horizon prominent in arid regions and in sandy parent materials.
E)a surface horizon used to characterize soil suborders and great groups
Answer: B
Q2) The categories of Soil Taxonomy can be listed from the broadest (first) and most specific (last) as: order, suborder, great group, subgroup, series, family.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Histosols generally have higher organic matter contents than Mollisols.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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5
Chapter 4: Soil Architecture and Physical Properties
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43 Verified Questions
43 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/80118
Sample Questions
Q1) The percent of total pore space in a soil can be calculated if only the particle density and the organic matter content are known.
A)True
B)False
Q2) For any soil, the bulk density is always lower than the particle density.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Proper timing of tillage is generally more difficult for a clayey than for a sandy soil.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Soils of good tilth and high productivity are usually characterized by stable aggregation and a high percentage of macropores.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Tillage when the soil is too wet is likely to increase the soil bulk density. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Soil Water: Characteristics and Behavior
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The matric potential is due to the attraction of water molecules to soil solid surfaces.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Capillarity in soils _____.
A)involves both adhesion and cohesion
B)is enhanced by the symmetrical nature of the water molecule
C)is independent of the matric potential in soils
D)is not involved in the process of water uptake from soils
E)does not account for unsaturated water movement in soils
Q3) The effect of soil organic matter on the amount of water available to plants is due to organic matter influence on total soil porosity as well as to the water-supplying power of the soil organic matter.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The tenacity with which water is held in soils is directly related to the soil moisture content, the higher the moisture level the greater the attraction of the water to the soil.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Soil and the Hydrologic Cycle
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44 Verified Questions
44 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The water potential in soils is generally considered lower than that in the atmosphere.
A)True B)False
Q2) Evaporation from the soil surface (E) is determined to a large degree by soil surface wetness.
A)True B)False
Q3) The evapotranspiration (ET) from a pine forest was found to be 50 cm during a growing season.If the evaporation from the soil surface during this period of time was 5 cm, what is the level of loss from leaf surfaces?
A)55 cm
B)45 cm
C)50.0 cm
D)10 cm
E)Impossible to calculate from the data given
Q4) The average residence time for water in clouds over the ocean is about one year.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 7: Soil Aeration and Temperature
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a major factor in determining the soil aeration status?
A)redox potential
B)volume of macropores
C)nitrogen gas
D)carbon dioxide
E)oxygen
Q2) Alternate freezing and thawing of soils results in the "heaving" of plants and the destruction of shallow building foundations.This effect is due primarily to _____.
A)the expansion of water when it freezes
B)the wetting and drying of swelling-type clays
C)pressure from upward movement of water from lower horizons
D)the breaking down of soil aggregates due to freezing and thawing
E)the hydration of adsorbed cations on the soil colloids
Q3) Some 40 to 50% of the solar radiation in humid regions is used to heat the soil.
A)True
B)False
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9
Chapter 8: Soil Colloids: Seat of Soil Chemical and Physical
Activity
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) While 2:1 type clays have significant internal surfaces, their external surfaces are generally much more extensive.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Smectite and vermiculite are more prominent in extremely weathered soils than in soils where only modest weathering has occurred.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A 2:1 type silicate clay has one octahedral sheet sandwiched between two tetrahedral sheets.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Isomorphous substitution involves the substitution of a tetrahedral sheet for an octahedral sheet.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Kaolinite is most prevalent in soils developed from volcanic ejecta (Andisols).
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Soil Acidity
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42 Verified Questions
42 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Iron and manganese are commonly deficient in very acid soils.
A)True
B)False
Q2) An acid soil is known to contain toxic quantities of a certain plant nutrient.Which of these essential elements is it most likely to be?
A)nitrogen
B)manganese
C)phosphorus
D)molybdenum
E)boron
Q3) Nitrogen fertilization is a significant cause of acidity in many cultivated soils.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Bright brownish or reddish colored soil or saprolite layers encountered during excavation are likely to be result in acid sulfate soil problems if exposed to the air.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Soils of Dry Regions: Alkalinity, Salinity, and Sodicity
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/80124
Sample Questions
Q1) You were advised to use elemental sulfur in the reclamation of a saline-sodic soil.Indicate how the sulfur helps bring about this reclamation.
A)Sulfur leaches down into the soil and increases the soil pH.
B)Sulfur is oxidized to sulfates that will precipitate much of the exchangeable Na<sup>+</sup>.
C)Sulfur helps maintain high salt content while reducing exchangeable Na+ levels.
D)Sulfur is oxidized and forms sulfuric acid which, in turn, removes the exchangeable Na<sup>+.</sup>
E)Sulfur stimulates the formation of gypsum in the soil.
Q2) Conservation tillage can help reduce salt build up by reducing surface evaporation.
A)True B)False
Q3) Saline soils are characteristic of arid and semiarid areas with poor internal drainage. A)True B)False
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Chapter 11: Organisms and Ecology of the Soil
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/80125
Sample Questions
Q1) In which situation are the actinomycetes likely to be most dominant?
A)extremely acid conditions too severe for most other microorganisms
B)low organic matter soils
C)cold, wet soils
D)soil with lots of fresh, easily decomposed residues
E)neutral, moist, warm soil with lots of partially decomposed residues
Q2) In most soils the overall population (numbers) of microorganisms changes with time, generally following changes in the _____.
A)supply of decomposable organic matter
B)supply of oxygen
C)porespace
D)availability of root infection sites
E)concentrations of antibiotics
Q3) Soil microorganisms often compete with higher plants for mineral nutrients, such as nitrogen.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Most soil organisms are heterotrophs.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Soil Organic Matter
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The soils of the world contain more carbon than all the world's vegetation and the entire atmosphere, combined.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Green plant residues such as grass clippings or a green manure crop generally have a water content of about ____% by weight.
A)10
B)25
C)45
D)75
E)95
Q3) Removing all the straw with the harvest of paddy rice would increase the amount of methane produced by the paddy soil microorganisms.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Humus is an important nutrient, essential for healthy plants.
A)True
B)False
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Nitrogen and Sulfur Economy of Soils
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Nitric acid deposited on forest soils with "acid rain" can increase the leaching of nutrient cations.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Leguminous forest trees, such as Locust, enrich the soil in nitrogen, to the benefit of non-nitrogen fixing plants growing nearby.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere ______.
A)can be an important source of sulfur nutrition for plants
B)is a major contributor to "acid rain"
C)comes from fires such as fossil fuel burning, volcanoes and forest fires
D)all of the above
E)none of the above
Q4) To be practical, a nitrification inhibitor should kill or inhibit _____.
A)Nitrosomonas
B)Nitrobacter
C)either A or B
D)none of the above
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Chapter 14: Soil Phosphorus and Potassium
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The sites in certain clay minerals which fix potassium ions are also capable of fixing which other ion?
A)NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>
B)NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>
C)H<sub>2</sub>PO<sub>4</sub><sup>-</sup>
D)Ca<sup>2+</sup>
E)H<sup>+</sup>
Q2) Other things being equal, a soil with 30% clay of the ____ type would be expected to have the greatest potassium -fixing capacity.
A)allophanic
B)2:1
C)1:1
D)crystalline iron oxide
Q3) Unlike the use of nitrogen fertilizer on forests, the use of potassium fertilizer can be expected to increase the trees' resistance to diseases and/or pests.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Micronutrients and Other Trace Elements
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42 Verified Questions
42 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Plants generally convert oxidized iron to its reduced form by means of organic reducing agents before the iron is taken up or utilized by the plant.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Plants that are efficient at taking iron up from a calcareous soil are known to employ which of the following methods?
A)lower pH of their rhizosphere
B)produce reducing agents that reduce Fe<sup>3+</sup> to Fe<sup>2+</sup> in the rhizosphere.
C)produce organic compounds that can form stable chelates with iron.
D)all of the above
E)none of the above
Q3) Where the available supply of iron and zinc are low, deficiency of these elements can often be overcome by larger than normal applications of phosphorus fertilizer.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 16: Practical Nutrient Management
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The nutrient element magnesium is often supplied by which type of application?
A)injection of a gas into the soil
B)broadcast of a chloride salt
C)broadcast of the nearly pure element as a solid
D)incorporation of powdered limestone rock
E)application of a chelate to the soil
Q2) Fertilization to supply the nutrient element potassium is often accomplished by which type of application?
A)injection of a gas into the soil
B)broadcast of a chloride salt
C)broadcast of the nearly pure element as a solid
D)incorporation of powdered limestone rock
E)application of a chelate to the soil
Q3) Consider the data in the accompanying Table giving the average height of 10 trees planted in order to revegetate a disturbed soil.What was the first limiting factor for tree growth on this soil?
A)water
B)soil pH
C)nitrogen
D)phosphorus
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Chapter 17: Soil Erosion and Its Control
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41 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) You have been asked to produce continuous corn on five different soils using both no-till and conventional management systems.Yields on the no-till and conventional-till systems are about the same on all but one of the soils.In which of the following suborders would the poor-performing soil most likely be classified?
A)Orthods
B)Eutrox
C)Borolls
D)Udalfs
E)Xerolls
Q2) In explaining erosion processes to a friend, which of the following would you say about accelerated erosion?
A)It refers to sediment carried by water flowing at ever greater velocity.
B)It involves a much less rapid process than geological erosion.
C)It is greatly enhanced by the splash effect of raindrops impacting bare soil.
D)It is increasing in intensity in the United States, especially in the past 10 years.
E)it removes more nitrogen from the surface soil than calcium
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Chapter 18: Soils and Chemical Pollution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which class of organic toxins is often intentionally applied to soils?
A)refrigerants
B)pesticides
C)fuels
D)preservatives
E)plasticizers
Q2) Soil washing is a commonly used method of bioremediation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A pesticide is more likely to contaminate groundwater if it has which of the following characteristics?
A)highly volatile (high vapor pressure)
B)highly soluble in water
C)strongly adsorbed to soil colloids
D)rapidly degraded by soil microorganisms
E)all of the above
Q4) Radon is a chemically inert gas that emanates from certain soils and builds up in confined spaces such as the basements of buildings.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 19: Geographic Soils Information
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/80133
Sample Questions
Q1) A stereo pair of air photos is particularly useful in studying _______ landscape features.
A)plant stress induced
B)salt-affected
C)human-made
D)parent material
E)topographic
Q2) In evaluating a site for a septic drainfield, an "undifferentiated group" mapping unit would be more helpful than a "soil complex" mapping unit.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Soil Associations are usually used for large scale soils maps.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Modern county soil survey reports provide information on the suitability of soils for construction of such projects as sewage lagoons, roads and streets, and septic tank drainage fields.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 20: Prospects for Global Soil Quality
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a characteristic of alley cropping systems that are being studied as one alternative to slash-and-burn systems?
A)Food crops are grown in alleys with borders provided by woody species.
B)Nutrients accumulated from subsurface soil layers by the border plants are added in residues to the surface of the cropped areas.
C)The woody border plants help conserve water in the cropped alleys by shading the soil.
D)Organic mulch cut from border plants helps control weeds and prevents runoff and erosion.
E)crop yields in humid regions have generally been satisfactory using this system
Q2) Africa lags far behind other developing areas in the use of chemical fertilizers. A)True
B)False
Q3) More than 75% of the potentially arable land in South America is being cultivated. A)True
B)False
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