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B6e Summary
Description
B6e: Life in Soil Covers: - soil structure - humus - experiments - soil food webs - soil importance - improving soils - earth worms - darwin
No tags specified
life in soil
worms
farmers
humus
ocr gateway
gcse
biology
bio
science
food webs
detrivores
fungi
decomposers
darwin
agriculture
biology
b6
cambridge igcse/ gcse
Mind Map by
Ciara Comerford
, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by
Ciara Comerford
over 9 years ago
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Resource summary
B6e Summary
Contents of Soil
complex mixture of
different sized minerals/particles
humus
formed by decomposition of dead organic material
water
air
supports diverse community
of living organisms
made of mineral particles
between them are air spaces
around them is a film of water
Types of Soil
sandy soil
large mineral particles
large air spaces
clay soil
small mineral particles
much closer together
loam
mix of sand and clay
large amount of humus
Tests for...
Water Content
1. weigh, dry in a warm area and reweigh
2. repeat until a constant mass is reached
3. the difference is the mass of water in the original sample
(you can use this to work out a %)
Humus Content
1. take a dried soil sample and weigh it
2. heat it strongly with a bunsen burner to burn the humus
3. the decrease in mass is equal to the amount of humus before
Air Content
1. fill a can with soil and find the mass of the can with soil
2. slowly add water to soak through the soil and fill air spaces
3. when water reaches top of can find the new mass of the can, soil and water
4. find the difference between the 2 masses, this is the mass of water added 1cm3 = 1g, which is also the amount of air
Life in the Soil
animals
Herbivores
feed on living plant matter
e.g. slugs, snails
Detrivores
feed on dead organic matter
e.g. earthworms, millipedes
Farmers buy worms and add them to soil to improve it, good for soil structure & fertility
Carnivores
feed on herbivores & detrivores
e.g. spiders, centipedes
plants
need soil for minerals, water and to anchor them
EARTHWORMS
aeration
burrows create gaps
increases 02 content in soil
drainage
burrows create gaps
reduces flooding
mixing
eats soil and passes waste elsewhere
nutrient distribution
making soil finer
release CaCO3 into gut to help digestion of leaves
easier for plants to grow
fertilising it
excretion
neutralises soil acidity
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