SOIL CHEMISTRY
WHAT IS SOIL?
Soils are complex mixtures of miner-
als, water, air, organic matter, and
countless organisms that are the de-
caying remains of once-living things.
It forms at the surface of land – it is
the “skin of the earth.” Soil is capable
of supporting plant life and is vital to
life on earth.
Soil, as formally defined in the Soil
Science Society of America Glossary
of Soil Science Terms, is:
The unconsolidated mineral or organ-
ic material on the immediate surface
of the earth that serves as a natural
medium for the growth of land plants.
The unconsolidated mineral or organ-
ic matter on the surface of the earth
that has been subjected to and shows
effects of genetic and environmental
factors of: climate (including water
and temperature effects), and macro-
and microorganisms, conditioned by
relief, acting on parent material over
a period of time.
WHAT IS SOIL
CHEMISTRY?
Soil chemistry involves the chemical
reactions and processes between
these components and particularly fo-
cuses on investigating the fate of con-
taminants and nutrients within soils.
SOIL PH
The soil pH is a measure of soil acidity or al-
kalinity. pH can range from 1 to 14, with val-
ues 0-7 being acidic, and 7-14 being alkaline.
Soils usually range from 4 to 10. The pH is
one of the most important properties involved
in plant growth, as well as understanding how
rapidly reactions occur in the soil. .For exam-
ple, the element iron becomes less available to
plants a higher the pH is. This creates iron de-
ficiency problems. Crops usually prefer values
between 5.5-8, but the value depends on the
crop. The pH of soil comes from the parent
material during soil formation, but humans can
add things to soils to change them to better suit
plant growth. Soil pH also affects organisms.
ION EXCHANGES
Ion exchange involves the movement of cati-
ons (positively charged elements like calcium,
magnesium, and sodium) and anions
(negatively charged elements like chloride, and
compounds like nitrate) through the soils. In
the United States, cation exchange is much
more common.
Cation exchange is the interchanging between
a cation in the solution of water around the soil
particle, and another cation that is stuck to the
clay surface. The number of cations in the soil
water solution is much smaller than the num-
ber that is attached to soil particles.
The total amount of positive charges that the
soil can absorb is called the cation exchange
 SOIL CHEMISTRY
capacity (CEC). CEC impacts how
quickly nutrients move through the
profile. A soil with a low CEC is
much less fertile because it cannot
hold on to many nutrients, and they
usually contain less clays. If your soil
has a low CEC, it is important to ap-
ply fertilizer small doses so it does
not infiltrate into the groundwater. A
soil with a low CEC is less able to
hold spilt chemicals.
WHAT ARE
EXCHANGEABLE
CATIONS?
o calcium (Ca2+)
o magnesium (Mg2+)
o sodium (Na+)
o potassium (K+)
o NH4+
SOIL BUFFERNG
In chemistry, buffer capacity is the
amount of acid or base a buffered so-
lution can soak up before its pH will
start to change significantly. The
buffer capacity of a soil is important
in determining how its pH will
change. A higher buffer capacity
means that the soil can absorb more
acid and/or base without a significant
change in pH. In general, clay soils
have higher buffer capacity than
sandy soils, and a higher organic mat-
ter content tends to increase buffering
capacity. Buffering capacity is im-
portant because it helps to stabilize
the pH. Changes in pH can affect plants in a
variety of ways, especially by diminishing the
fraction of nutrients in soil that are available to
the plants and increasing uptake of undesirable
minerals like aluminum.
PARTICLE SIZE
Soil particles vary greatly in size, and soil sci-
entists classify soil particles into sand, silt, and
clay. Starting with the finest, clay particles are
smaller than 0.002 mm in diameter. Some clay
particles are so small that ordinary micro-
scopes do not show them. Silt particles are
from 0.002 to 0.05 mm in diameter. Sand rang-
es from 0.05 to 2.0 mm. Particles larger than
2.0 mm are called gravel or stones. Most soils
contain a mixture of sand, silt and clay in dif-
ferent proportions. The size of soil particles is
important. The amount of open space between
the particles influences how easily water
moves through a soil and how much water the
soil will hold. Too much clay, in proportion to
silt and sand, causes a soil to take in water
very slowly. Such a soil gives up its water to
plants slowly. These soils are sticky when
wet.
 REACTIONS ON AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
A solution is a homogeneous mixture of
two or more substances.
The solute is the substance present in a
smaller amount, and the solvent is the sub-
stance present in a larger amount.
A solution may be gaseous (such as air),
solid (such as an alloy), or liquid
(seawater, for example). All solutes that
dissolve in water are either :
o Non-electrolyte- does not conduct elec-
tric current when dissolved in water
o Electrolyte- when dissolved in water,
results in a solution that can conduct elec-
tricity; solution is a good electrical con-
ductor ; Strong/weak electrolyte
PRECIPITATION
REACTIONS
Precipitation reactions occur when cations
and anions in aqueous solution combine to
form an insoluble ionic solid called
a precipitate. Whether or not such a reac-
tion occurs can be determined by using
the solubility rules for common ionic sol-
ids. Because not all aqueous reactions form
precipitates, one must consult the solubility
rules before determining the state of the
products and writing a net ionic equa-
tion. The ability to predict these reactions
allows scientists to determine which ions
are present in a solution, and allows indus-
tries to form chemicals by extracting com-
ponents from these reactions.
ACID-BASE REACTION
An acid–base reaction is a chemical reac-
tion that occurs between an acid and a base.
Several theoretical frameworks provide al-
ternative conceptions of the reaction mech-
anisms and their application in solving re-
lated problems; these are called acid–base
theories, for example, Brønsted–Lowry ac-
id–base theory. Their importance becomes
apparent in analyzing acid–base reactions
for gaseous or liquid species, or when acid
or base character may be somewhat less
apparent.
ACID a substance that provides hydro-
gen ions (H+ or H3O+) in aqueous solu-
tion. Aqueous acid solutions conduct elec-
tricity. Acid is derived from the word
acidus (sour)
-sour taste (e.g. citric acid makes citrus
fruits sour)
-reacts with some metals (Zn, Mg, Fe) to
form hydrogen gas 2HCl(aq) + Mg(s) →
MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)
-Reacts with carbonates to produce CO2(g)
2HCl(aq) + CaCO3(s) →CaCl2(aq) +H2O
(l) + CO2(g)
-Changes litmus paper from blue to red
BASE is a substance capable of produc-
ing hydroxide ions (OH-) in aqueous solu-
tions .Aqueous base solutions conduct elec-
tricity.
 REACTIONS ON AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
It has a bitter taste, slippery feel, and it
changes litmus paper red to blue.
 Strong base : dissociates completely
in water solution and yields OH- ions
o NaOH(aq) → Na+(aq) + OH-(aq)
o KOH(aq) → K+(aq) + OH-(aq)
 • Weak base: not completely ionized
in solution o NH3(aq) + H2O ↔
NH4+(aq) + OH-(aq)
NEUTRALIZATION
A neutralization reaction is when an acid
and a base react to form water and a salt
and involves the combination of H+ ions
and OH- ions to generate water. The neu-
tralization of a strong acid and strong base
has a pH equal to 7. The neutralization of a
strong acid and weak base will have a pH
of less than 7, and conversely, the resulting
pH when a strong base neutralizes a weak
acid will be greater than 7.
acid + base → salt + water
NEUTRALIZATION
REACTIONS
o HF(aq) + KOH(aq) → KF(aq) + H2O
o H2SO4(aq) + 2NaOH(aq) → Na2SO4
(aq)+ 2H2O(l)
o HNO3(aq) + NH3(aq) → NH4NO3(aq)
REDOX REACTION
An oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction is
a type of chemical reaction that involves a
transfer of electrons between two species.
An oxidation-reduction reaction is any
chemical reaction in which the oxidation
number of a molecule, atom, or ion chang-
es by gaining or losing an electron. Redox
reactions are common and vital to some of
the basic functions of life, including photo-
synthesis, respiration, combustion, and cor-
rosion or rusting.
OXIDATION STATE
Oxidation numbers or oxidation states al-
low us to identify elements that are oxi-
dized and reduced at a glance.
o Increase in oxidation state → element is
oxidized
o Decrease in oxidation state → element is
reduced
RULES FOR ASSIGNING
OXIDATION STATES
The oxidation state (OS) of an element cor-
responds to the number of electrons, e-, that
an atom loses, gains, or appears to use
when joining with other atoms in com-
pounds. In determining the oxidation state
of an atom, there are nine guidelines to
follow:
1. The oxidation state (OS) of an individual
atom in a free element (uncombined with
other elements) is zero.
2. The oxidation number of a simple ion is
equal to the charge on the ion.
3. For an electrically neutral compound, the
sum of the positive and negative oxidation
numbers of all elements in the compound
equals zero.
4. For a complex ion, the sum of the posi-
tive and negative oxidation numbers of all
elements in the ion equals the charge on the
ion
5. In their compounds the Group 1A metals
have an OS of +1 and the Group 2A metals
have an OS of +2
6. In its compounds, the OS of fluorine is –
1. ,, .
7. In its compounds, hydrogen has an OS of
+1.
8. In its compounds, oxygen has an OS of -
2.
9. In their binary (two-element) compounds
with metals, the Group 7A elements have
an OS of 1; the Group 6A elements, -2; and
the Group 5A elements, -3.
 BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE
Biogeochemical cycles are pathways that
let elements move through ecosystems.
Because you cannot create or destroy mat-
ter, they help explain how all living and
nonliving things cycle through nature.
Earth acts as a closed system for the move-
ment of matter, and a biogeochemical cy-
cle includes the chemical, geological and
biological pieces of this pathway. There
are many different types of biogeochemi-
cal cycles, but the most common ones in-
clude water, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and
phosphorus. The carbon cycle is the series of processes
by which carbon compounds are intercon-
verted in the environment, involving the
WATER CYCLE incorporation of carbon dioxide into living
tissue by photosynthesis and its return to
the atmosphere through respiration, the de-
cay of dead organisms, and the burning of
fossil fuels.

NITROGEN CYCLE

The water cycle describes how water evap-

orates from the surface of the earth, rises
into the atmosphere, cools and condenses
into rain or snow in clouds, and falls again
to the surface as precipitation. The water
falling on land collects in rivers and lakes,
soil, and porous layers of rock, and much
of it flows back into the oceans, where it
will once more evaporate. The cycling of
water in and out of the atmosphere is a sig- Getting nitrogen into living organisms is
nificant aspect of the weather patterns on difficult. Plants and phytoplankton are not
Earth. equipped to incorporate nitrogen from the
atmosphere (where it exists as tightly bond-
ed, triple covalent N2) even though this
CARBON CYCLE molecule comprises approximately 78 per-
cent of the atmosphere. Nitrogen enters the
 BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE
living world through free-living and sym-
The oxygen cycle is the cycle that helps
biotic bacteria, which incorporate nitrogen
move oxygen through the three main re-
into their organic molecules through spe-
gions of the Earth, the Atmosphere, the Bio-
cialized biochemical processes. Certain
sphere, and the Lithosphere. The Atmos-
species of bacteria are able to per-
phere is of course the region of gases that
form nitrogen fixation, the process of
lies above the Earth’s surface and it is one
converting nitrogen gas into ammonia
of the largest reservoirs of free oxygen on
(NH3), which spontaneously becomes am-
earth. The Biosphere is the sum of all the
monium (NH4+). Ammonium is converted
Earth’s ecosystems. This also has some free
by bacteria into nitrites (NO2−) and then
oxygen produced from photosynthesis and
nitrates (NO3−). At this point, the nitrogen-
other life processes. The largest reservoir of
containing molecules are used by plants
oxygen is the lithosphere. Most of this oxy-
and other producers to make organic mole-
gen is not on its own or free moving but part
cules such as DNA and proteins. This ni-
of chemical compounds such as silicates and
trogen is now available to consumers.
oxides.
Organic nitrogen is especially important to
the study of ecosystem dynamics because
many ecosystem processes, such as prima- PHOSPHOROUS
ry production, are limited by the available
supply of nitrogen. As shown in Figure 4 CYCLE
below, the nitrogen that enters living sys-
tems is eventually converted from organic
nitrogen back into nitrogen gas by bacte-
ria. The process of denitrification is when
bacteria convert the nitrates into nitrogen
gas, thus allowing it to re-enter the atmos-
phere.

OXYGEN CYCLE
The phosphorus cycle refers to the biogeo-
chemical cycle by which phosphorous
moves through the biosphere, hydrosphere,
and lithosphere. The atmosphere doesn’t
play a substantial role in the cycling of
phosphorous. This is because phosphorous
and phosphorous-based compounds cannot
be found in the air in the gas state.