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Loam soils generally contain more nutrients, moisture, and humus than sandy soils, have better drainage and infiltration of water and air than silt- and clay-rich soils, and are easier to till than clay soils. In fact, the primary definition of loam in most dictionaries is soils containing humus (organic content) with no mention of particle ...
Soil formation. Soil formation, also known as pedogenesis, is the process of soil genesis as regulated by the effects of place, environment, and history. Biogeochemical processes act to both create and destroy order ( anisotropy) within soils.
The most common engineering classification system for soils in North America is the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). The USCS has three major classification groups: (1) coarse-grained soils (e.g. sands and gravels ); (2) fine-grained soils (e.g. silts and clays ); and (3) highly organic soils (referred to as "peat").
Soil chemistry is the study of the chemical characteristics of soil.Soil chemistry is affected by mineral composition, organic matter and environmental factors. In the early 1870s a consulting chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society in England, named J. Thomas Way, performed many experiments on how soils exchange ions, and is considered the father of soil chemistry. [1]
Soil bulk density, when determined at standardized moisture conditions, is an estimate of soil compaction. [3] Soil porosity consists of the void part of the soil volume and is occupied by gases or water. Soil consistency is the ability of soil materials to stick together. Soil temperature and colour are self-defining.
Soil science. A soil scientist examining horizons within a soil profile. Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils.
Gray or blue. Soil in anaerobic, saturated environments may appear gray or blue in color due to the redox reduction and/or depletion of iron. In an anaerobic soils, microbes reduce iron from the ferric (Fe 3+) to the ferrous (Fe 2+) form. Manganese may also be reduced from the manganic (Mn 4+) to the manganous (Mn 2+) form, though iron ...
The perfect soil should be 50% solid matter, 25% water, and 25% pore space (air/oxygen). After a heavy rain or irrigation, the pore space will fill up with water and the soil would become 50/50 ...