Soil Vocabulary

_______________ is made up of once-living material, such as grass, twigs, leaves, bark, and animal waste.

• decomposers

• time

• air & water

• organic matter

• weathering

_______________ becomes trapped in the small spaces between sediment.

• decomposers

• time

• air & water

• organic matter

• weathering

Earthworms, bacteria, and fungi recycle nutrients by breaking down decaying plants, animals, and waste. These are known as ________________.

• decomposers

• time

• air & water

• organic matter

• weathering

___________ is the process of breaking larger, existing rocks into smaller pieces called sediment.

• decomposers

• time

• air & water

• organic matter

• weathering

Soil can take hundreds, thousands, and even millions of ____ to form.

• decomposers

• years

• air & water

• organic matter

• weathering