Question

Which statement about soil formation is true?

Answer 1

Answer:

Precipitation affects the rate at which nutrients are removed from soil

Explanation:

The soil is one of the basic factors for sustaining life on land. The reason for this is that the soil provides place and nutrients for the development of the plants, and since the plants are the basis of the terrestrial ecosystems, they further provide the conditions for the rest of living organisms. Certain conditions are needed though for the formation of soil too, as it doesn't just come out of nowhere. In order for a soil to form, the rocks have to undergo a process of weathering, which will provide the parent material. Then, the plants like mosses and lichens that don't require much will cover it, and when they die they will provide biomass. This biomass will interact with the parent material and soil will start forming. The biomass is crucial for the fertility of the soil, and the more biomass there is, the more fertile the soil will be. In order for the biomass to decompose there have to be microorganisms present, as they are the ones that break up the biomass and release the chemicals from it, which in turn enrich the parent material with nutrients. The soil also gets stripped of its layers, especially the top layer, which is the organic, nutrient rich layer. This layer is mostly affected by the levels of precipitation. If the precipitation levels are high, the organic layer is very easily removed, as this layer is very loss and doesn't have a strong structure, so the water with its power is simply dragging it with it.