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Soil particles picked up during wind erosion of soil are a major source of air pollution, in the form of airborne particulates—"dust". These airborne soil particles are often contaminated with toxic chemicals such as pesticides or petroleum fuels, posing ecological and public health hazards when they later land, or are inhaled/ingested.
Soil regeneration is the reformation of degraded soil through biological, chemical, and or physical processes. [ 2 ] When productivity declined in the low-clay soils of northern Thailand, farmers initially responded by adding organic matter from termite mounds , but this was unsustainable in the long-term.
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]
If the soil is saturated, or if the rainfall rate is greater than the rate at which water can infiltrate into the soil, surface runoff occurs. If the runoff has sufficient flow energy, it will transport loosened soil particles down the slope. [15] Sheet erosion is the transport of loosened soil particles by overland flow. [15]
Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or improper disposal of waste .
Cation-exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of how many cations can be retained on soil particle surfaces. [1] Negative charges on the surfaces of soil particles bind positively-charged atoms or molecules (cations), but allow these to exchange with other positively charged particles in the surrounding soil water. [2]
Soil disturbance like tilling increases decomposition by increasing the amount of oxygen in the soil and by exposing new organic matter to soil microbes. [ 64 ] The quality and quantity of the material available to decomposers is another major factor that influences the rate of decomposition.
In soil science, mineralization is the decomposition (i.e., oxidation) of the chemical compounds in organic matter, by which the nutrients in those compounds are released in soluble inorganic forms that may be available to plants. [1] [2] Mineralization is the opposite of immobilization.