Soil order Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Soil order - Essay Example The vertisol order of arid soils comprises of soils that contain swelling clays that develop deep wide cracks at specific periods of the year. Entisol, on the other hand, comprises of soils that exhibit very little or absolutely no signs of formation of pedogenic horizons. From the surface, arid soils comprise of torrifluvents followed by the torriorthents as one digs deeper beneath. Torrifluvents are recent deposits of alluvial plains that are flooded periodically. They make up the irrigated soils in arid climates. Torriorthents, on the other hand, have highly soluble salts and aridic moisture conditions because they are found deeper beneath the surface (Dregne 92). Climate in the arid regions experience largely uninterrupted sunshine for the entire year. This comes as a result of the high pressure in the air and the stable descending air. Arid regions are found 30 degrees latitudes north and south of the equator. Temperatures in these regions range between 400C and 450C all round the year. Ordinarily, arid regions have little rains during winter. However, they are devoid of rains all through the year. Usually, the difference between the highest and the lowest rainfall in arid regions that is recorded in different years is approximately 50% of the mean annual rainfall (Schwabe 76). The ephemeral annuals are plants that appear after the rains and complete their life cycles in a short season of about 8 weeks. Succulent perennials accumulate and store the absorbed water. These are cacti. Nonsucculent perennials make up the majority of vegetation or plants in the arid regions. They include hardy grasses, shrubs and woody herbs that can endure the harsh environmental conditions in the arid zones (Ribot, Antonio 95). It goes without noticing the adaptive features of the vegetation that thrive in the arid zones. For instance, some have extensive root systems that run deep beneath the surfaces to reach the relatively