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Soil morphology is the branch of soil science dedicated to the technical description of soil, [1] particularly physical properties including texture, color, structure, and consistence. Morphological evaluations of soil are typically performed in the field on a soil profile containing multiple horizons .
Each O horizon is given a subscript to denote its organic character. In the US Soil Taxonomy, for example, the subscripts a, e, and i are used to denote strongly decomposed, moderately decomposed, and mostly undecomposed plant material. The terminology used to describe soil morphology has sufficient breadth to encompass all soils.
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morphology, in biology, the study of the size, shape, and structure of animals, plants, and microorganisms and of the relationships of their constituent parts. The term refers to the general aspects of biological form and arrangement of the parts of a plant or an animal. The term anatomy also refers to the study of biological structure but usually suggests study of the details of either gross or microscopic structure. In practice, however, the two terms are used almost synonymously.
Typically, morphology is contrasted with physiology, which deals with studies of the functions of organisms and their parts; function and structure are so closely interrelated, however, that their separation is somewhat artificial. Morphologists were originally concerned with the bones, muscles, blood vessels, and nerves comprised by the bodies of animals and the roots, stems, leaves, and flower parts comprised by the bodies of higher plants. The development of the light microscope made possible the examination of some structural details of individual tissues and single cells; the development of the electron microscope and of methods for preparing ultrathin sections of tissues created an entirely new aspect of morphology—that involving the detailed structure of cells. Electron microscopy has gradually revealed the amazing complexity of the many structures of the cells of plants and animals. Other physical techniques have permitted biologists to investigate the morphology of complex molecules such as hemoglobin, the gas-carrying protein of blood, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), of which most genes are composed. Thus, morphology encompasses the study of biological structures over a tremendous range of sizes, from the macroscopic to the molecular.
Evidence that prehistoric humans appreciated the form and structure of their contemporary animals has survived in the form of paintings on the walls of caves in France, Spain, and elsewhere. During the early civilizations of China, Egypt, and the Middle East, as humans learned to domesticate certain animals and to cultivate many fruits and grains, they also acquired knowledge about the structures of various plants and animals.
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Aristotle was interested in biological form and structure, and his Historia animalium contains excellent descriptions, clearly recognizable in extant species, of the animals of Greece and Asia Minor. He was also interested in developmental morphology and studied the development of chicks before hatching and the breeding methods of sharks and bees. Galen was among the first to dissect animals and to make careful records of his observations of internal structures. His descriptions of the human body, though they remained the unquestioned authority for more than 1,000 years, contained some remarkable errors, for they were based on dissections of pigs and monkeys rather than of humans.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the emergence of modern morphology as a science, one of the early landmarks was the publication in 1543 of De humani corporis fabrica by Andreas Vesalius, whose careful dissections of human bodies and accurate drawings of his observations revealed many of the inaccuracies in Galen’s earlier descriptions of the human body.
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Jan 12, 2024 · Every soil has a distinct morphology, defined as its structure or form. Soil morphology is all that can be seen and felt about a soil. It includes not only “what is there” but also how it is “put together” – its architecture. To many, the main components of soil morphology include horizonation, texture, color, redoximorphic features ...
Soil morphology is defined as the branch of soil science that deals with the description, using standard terminology, of in situ spatial organization and physical properties of soil regardless of potential use. Precise descriptions, using conventional terms, are necessary to all of the areas of science included in the field of soil science.
Examples include . andic soil properties, episaturation, and . identifiable secondary carbonates. A significant number of the terms included in this glossary are words that can be found in a common dictionary, but that have specific unique meanings in the context of soil survey and soil classification. Examples include . artifacts, buried soil,
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Classifying the soil on the basis of its morphology and horizonation. Soil Morphology and Land Use. Criteria that rate soils for a particular use are important to land use planning and land management decisions. Guidelines based on these criteria facilitate uniform and consistent land evaluations. Soil-based criteria can be developed for nearly ...
