Page 12 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book. To close the book, close the tab.

Chernozem
Chestnut soil
Similar to chernozem soils, but their topsoil is shallower and less deeply stained. They develop in
the areas between the prairies and the deserts. The topsoil is chestnut rather than black because they develop in areas where there is
less rainfall and so plants grow
less vigorously and develop smaller root systems. This means that less humus gets into the soils. Chestnut soils can be used for cultivation, but only with irrigation. They are more fragile than chernozems and prone to erosion by wind or heavy rain. (See also: Alkaline soil.)
C horizon
The name of the lowest layer
in a soil. It is also known as
the parent material of a soil.
It is the layer from which new topsoil and subsoil will form. It
is commonly made of unweathered rock or alluvium.
Cinder cone
A volcanic cone made entirely of cinders. Cinder cones are not as large as volcanic cones made of ash, but they have very steep sides.
Clast
An individual grain of a rock.
Clastic rock
A sedimentary rock that is made up of clasts of older rocks. For example, sandstones and clays.
Chernozem
The name for a soil group found in the more humid parts of the prairies and Russian steppes. It is also known as a black soil.
The soil has a black A horizon (topsoil) that is at least 25cm thick and often as much as 1m. The blackness of this layer comes from the humus in it.
Chernozems form in places with cold winters and dry summers. Plants that grow in these places have to survive difficult weather conditions of summer drought and fire and winter freezing. To protect their delicate growing buds, most
plants keep about nine-tenths of their bulk under the surface.
The prairies and steppes are dominated by grasses with very extensive fibrous root systems that penetrate downwards in a search for moisture. When the roots
die, they are turned into humus. Furthermore, because the rainfall is low, the humus is not washed out of the soil.
The deep topsoil in a chernozem merges into the subsoil (the
B horizon). The subsoil is often rich in calcium. These are extremely fertile soils and widely used (often with irrigation) for growing crops.
Tundra soil
Black topsoil (No subsoil)
Dark grey waterlogged parent material
Podzols Blackpartoftopsoil
Light grey part of topsoil
Orange iron pan Orange subsoil
Parent material
Brown soils
Dark-brown topsoil
Medium-brown subsoil
Parent material
Chernozem/ chestnut soil
Very deep black topsoil
Brown subsoil Parent material
Cooler
Tundra soils
Podzols
Brown soils
Chernozem and chestnut soil
Drier
 Chernozem/Chestnut soil – These are two related prairie soils. Chernozems are found in the wetter regions, while chestnut soils are found on the more arid edges. Both have thick, black topsoils, but the chernozem is
the thickest by far. This map of Saskatchewan shows chestnut soils in warmer and drier parts of the province (to the southwest) than the chernozems. Other soils are found in the cooler and wetter parts of the Province.
12