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Global variation in soil pH. Red = acidic soil. Yellow = neutral soil. Blue = alkaline soil. Black = no data. Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics.
Circumneutral is a descriptor for soils which have a pH that is close to neutral. Circumneutral soils have a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. [1] A soil’s pH affects whether minerals dissolve in the soil and how quickly they dissolve. This causes circumneutral soils to have unique chemical qualities. [2]
Acid-neutralizing capacity or ANC in short is a measure for the overall buffering capacity against acidification of a solution, e.g. surface water or soil water.. ANC is defined as the difference between cations of strong bases and anions of strong acids (see below), or dynamically as the amount of acid needed to change the pH value from the sample's value to a chosen different value. [1]
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Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) or limestone (calcium carbonate) may be worked into soil that is too acidic for plant growth. Fertilizers that improve plant growth are made by neutralizing sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4) or nitric acid (HNO 3) with ammonia gas (NH 3), making ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate. These are salts utilized in the fertilizer.
Soil pH is a function of many soil forming factors, and is generally lower (more acidic) where weathering is more advanced. [43] Most plant nutrients, with the exception of nitrogen, originate from the minerals that make up the soil parent material.
In terms of soil pH, there is a well-known pattern of bacterial dominance in neutral or slightly alkaline soils, though clear evidence for the differential growth of bacteria in soils with different pH is scarce. [citation needed] Compared to fungi, bacteria are considered more competitive in degrading easily available substrates.
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