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Soil mnral and proc
For 330 Soil Minerals and Soil Processes, From Chapin et al 2011
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Parent material | Rocks or other substrates that generate soils through weathering. |
Igneous rocks | Rocks formed when magma from Earth’s core cools near the surface. |
Loess | Soil derived primarily from wind-blown silt particles. |
Amorphous minerals | Minerals with no regular arrangements of atoms. |
Primary minerals | Minerals present in the rock or unconsolidated parent material before chemical changes have taken place. |
Secondary minerals | Crystalline and amorphous products that are formed through the reaction of materials released during weathering. |
Metamorphic rocks | Sedimentary or igneous rocks that are modified by exposure to heat or pressure. |
Sedimentary rock | Rocks formed from sediments. |
Crystalline minerals | Minerals with highly regular arrangements of atoms. |
Decomposition | Breakdown of dead organic matter through fragmentation, chemical alteration, and leaching. |
Weathering | Processes by which parent rocks and minerals are altered to more stable forms. |
Transformations | Conversion of the organic compounds contained in litter to recalcitrant organic compounds in soil humus. |
Leaching | Downward movement of materials in solution. |