LA EDATOLOGTA Y SUS PER§PECTWA§ AL SIGLO }O§

FUNCTIOI{AL ROLE§ OF §OIL MIl§ERAL§

Joe B, Dixon
Soil and Crop Sciences DePartment
Tems A&M Univer§tY
Cottese station,rexas,u*4, r*t{,
INTRODUCTION M dfu S
Soüs are predominantly composed of minerals that interact among ttemselves and
with
organic constitueis to control proper&es and behlvior ofthe whole mass" Since the advent ofx'ray
diffaction the mineralogy data foi soil clays has been expanding continuously (Dixon and Weed,
1977; 1989). Ott¡er instruments have haá major impact *9 ..g. electon microscope, inftared
rpr.áo*.tát and several othss until the recent advent of scanning probe microscopes anda
;i;;il6;t. ffre properties of the minerals differ ftom one §trucarral Eroup b another and within
siructural goup ü the various chemical species and morphologrcat forms' Also, the surface
;;"p,ñ;; ír-mtnerars differ grea{y from group_to group 1nd Jviütin groups. The objective of this
iuprrt ir to highlight ttre rangá of propertidand tetrivioi of uarious group§ of minerals that occu¡ in
soüs based on-recent finüngs on soils, sediments and model minerals'

SALT§
ways.
Salts are among t1¡e simptest of soil minerals yet they influence soil behavior in several
A soil *onaitt*g dfie fNact) is 1ike1y CI trave very limited utility because of the high
of these
concenEaüon3 of Ions in solltion, üei¡ meábotc effects on plane, and the corrosive effbc*
ions on metats. Soils containing áppreciable sodium as an éxchange ion are recognized.as hyins-
§€vefe consüain§.¡ecause of dTspüsion and poor süuctural prop«des. Hatite occurs in soils of
producr rire not táctre¿ away by the limited precipitation (Plate 1a)
¿esse wnere weaÉrering
I{alie has been recently í¿ántig.¿ as being deposied ffoár brine on a meEorite &om Mars offering
new evideuce of water on the Red fUnd ini youthñrl weatlrering situati¡n (Kerr, 2000)- Halite
*uut" maoy human needs yet it is geüeraly destnrctive to ¡oils fot !o{ lsiculture and engineering
üre Gulf Coast of Texas is a concern
iñ;ü.r-dóri ,r.s. lccu*utatirn óf salts in shrimp ponds on as a medium for futr¡re plant Srowttr
iü *ri-niguú"" effecrs on shrimp producdon and bn ttre soU
(Riwo and Dixon, 1998).

In contrast to Na sal§, Ca salts have a favma,ble irfluence on roil structure. Yet, excessive
gypro* *nk s tre soll subje6 to slumping from dissolution tufirels during inigAtion aad gyp§lrm
ñá*ot r cofrosioa of meials an6 corisá¡e. Gypsum is one of the ñrst minerals formed when
iiá-*¿ fiprc overburdá (or oths rock containing pyrire) is exposed tofhe aünospher€ as shorryn
; Fü.1b."1¡. growrh or suirr crystals is a particuta¡ üoUem when theyvery lifta concreE floor beneatlt
exPosei Gypsum forms large cry§tals qqtol-oSy
u ¡uf¿ing *hoé pyrite tras teen inadvertenify
*utoidittut *.t iom.times exposed in soil excávation diate 1d). The g¡rysiferous soils of San Luis
Poto§i state, Mexico deserve special considaation well beyond this report'

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