SOIL CHEMISTRY

Physical and Composition Soil Fertility Soil Organic

Chemical and and Nutrient Matter
Properties of Structure of Deficiency Interactions
Soil Soil

Rhoda G. Pangan
WATCH:
Soil Profile and Soil Horizons - YouTube
 SOIL CHEMISTRY
▪ Study of the chemical characteristics of soil

▪ Affected by mineral composition, organic matter,

and environmental factors

▪ Can be considered as the natural chemical
composition of a given soil
 What is Soil?
▪Provides air, water and nutrients to plants
▪Soil provides mechanical support to plants
▪A mixture of organic
matter, minerals, gases, liquids,
and organisms that together support life.
▪Consists of weathered materials, decaying
organic matter, air and water
 TYPES of
SOIL
▪ Chalk soil – can be either light or heavy but always highly alkaline due to
the calcium carbonate or lime within its structure.
▪ Peat soil – are high in organic matter and retain a large amount of
moisture.
▪ Sandy soil – are light, warm, dry and tend to be acidic and low in
nutrients.
▪ Clay soil – are heavy soils that benefit from high nutrients.
▪ Silt soil – are light and moisture retentive soils with a high fertility rating.
▪ Loam soil – are a mixture of sand, silt and clay that are combined to avoid
the negative effects of each type.
SOIL COMPOSITION
 ORGANIC MATERIAL
• Only 5% of most soil is organic material
• What makes a material organic is that it has carbon
in it
• Examples of organic material include:
▪ Living organisms (Soil biomass)
▪ Remains of microorganisms that once lived in the soil
▪ Plant and animal remains
▪ Humus: organic plant compounds that
have decomposed in the soil for thousands of years
Humus is dark, organic material that forms in soil
when plant and animal matter decays.
▪ WATCH
Humus and the chemistry of soil - YouTube
SOIL MINERALS (INORGANIC MATERIAL)
▪ About 45% of soil is minerals
▪ The surface of minerals serve as a potential place for
nutrients to be stored.
▪ minerals are very important in soil fertility
▪ The amount of nutrients a mineral can hold depends on
the type of mineral. This is why many gardeners look at the
kind of minerals they have so that they know how well it
can support life.
 WATER
• provides the nutrients that plants need to grow
• 20-30% of soil is water
• The balance of water to air in soil is important
• Water is an important aspect in managing the amount of
nutrients.
• There are three specific reasons that water is important:
1. Water keeps everything on Earth alive, including plants
and organisms in the soil
2. It has to be there for the weathering of soil to occur
3. Nutrients are absorbed by the plant through water
 AIR
▪Many of the microorganisms living in the soil
need air to survive and produce nutrients. Like
water, 20-30% of soil is air. Air and water are soils
most important properties. Air is also an
important aspect in managing the amount of
nutrients available. This is because the organisms
that release these nutrients need air to survive.
 How is soil formed?
▪ Decomposing animals and plants
▪ Fungi and bacteria feed on the material to break it
down until it is released into the soil
▪ Rocks and minerals break down through weathering
(freezing, thawing) and mechanical forces to create
soil texture.
Physical Properties of Soil
• Texture • Density
• Structure • Color
• Consistence • Temperature
• Porosity
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL
TEXTURE
• The relative proportion of sand, silt
and clay found in soil.
• “The fineness or coarseness of soil”

STRUCTURE
• There are eight structural types
commonly recognized in soil
profiles: Granular, single grain,
blocky, prismatic, columnar, platy,
wedge, and massive.
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL
CONSISTENCE
• The degree and kind of cohesion and adhesion that soil
exhibits
• the resistance of soil to deformation or rupture under applied
stress. Field evaluations of consistence usually include rupture
resistance, stickiness, and plasticity.

POROSITY
• Pore space is the volume or amount of space within a soil
that is not occupied by particles of mineral and/or organic
matter.
• Texture, structure and compaction affect amount of pore
space
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL
Density

The specific gravity of soil particles is 2.6g/cm3 This is the particle

density of soil particles. A soil that has no spaces between the particles
would weigh 2.6 g/cm3 (160lbs/ft3).

➢ Particle density is the average density of the soil particles.

➢ Bulk density is the weight of soil/unit volume of soil, including pore
space. As bulk density increases, the amount of pore space
decreases The maximum bulk density would equal particle density.

Low bulk density=loose soil

High bulk density=compaction
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL
COLOR
• Determined by: organic matter content; drainage
condition and degree of oxidation

TEMPERATURE
• affects nutrient and water movement
• Chemical processes are temperature dependent
• Cold soil temperature can inhibit elongation of roots
• Alternate freezing and thawing affects structure
formation
 Chemical Properties of Soil

CATION SOIL
EXCHANGE
CAPACITY REACTION
(CEC) (pH)
 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL
Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)
• CEC is a measure of the number of adsorption sites in a soil and is an
important indicator of the soil's ability to retain and supply cations for
plant use
• most common cations found in soils are hydrogen (H+), aluminum
(Al3+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), and potassium (K+). Most
heavy metals also exist as cations in the soil environment.
• The CEC of agricultural soils ranges from below 5 in sandy soils with
little organic matter to over 20 in certain clay soils and those high in
organic matter
 Watch:
Cation Exchange

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmEyymGXOfI
 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL

Soil Reaction (pH)

• “pH” is a measure of the active hydrogen ion (H+)
concentration. It is an indication of the acidity or
alkalinity of a soil, and also known as “soil reaction”.
 What’s pH all about?
• pH is determined by soil type
• Can effect plant growth and nutrient
availability
• Different plants have different soil pH
requirements
• Can be adjusted through soil amendments
Soil pH Ranges
Soil Fertility
• There are 17 known elements that are essential for plant growth
• Plants require nutrients that are not created through
photosynthesis: H, O, C
Macronutrients Micronutrients
• N, P, K Fe, Mn, B, Mo, Cu, Zn, Cl, Ni
• Ca, Mg, S

Plant Nutrients
• Can be added to soil through commercial fertilizer (i.e., 12-12-12),
animal manure or compost
• To know the amounts to apply, you need a soil test
• Excesses and deficiencies can cause poor plant growth or death
Nutrient Deficiencies
• Every soil is not susceptible to the same nutrient deficiencies.
• For example, coarse-textured soils low in organic matter are
susceptible to sulfur deficiencies whereas sulfur is usually in
adequate supply in clayey soils or soils high in organic matter.

Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms

• Nutrient deficiency symptoms usually appear on the plant
when one or more nutrients are in short supply.
• In many cases, deficiency may occur because an added
nutrient is not in the form the plant can use.
• Deficiency symptoms for specific elements are included on the
"Key to Nutrient Disorders".
 Macronutrient Deficiencies & Soils
Element Soil Factor Causing Deficiency
N&K Excessive leaching on coarse-textured low organic matter soils
P Acid low organic matter soils
Cold wet soils such as occurs during early spring
Newly cleared soils
S Excessive leaching on coarse-textured low organic matter soils
in areas where air pollution is low (minimal levels of SO2 in
the air)
Ca & Mg Excessive leaching on coarse-textured low organic matter soils
Soils where large amounts of K have been applied
 Micronutrient Deficiencies & Soils
Element Soil Factor Causing Deficiency
Fe Poorly drained soils, Low organic matter soils, pH>7.0, Soils high
in P
Zn Cold wet soils low in organic matter and highly leached, High pH
soils (pH>7.0), Soils high in P, Exposed subsoils
Cu Peat and muck soils, High pH, sandy soils, Soils heavily fertilized
with N
B Excessive leaching on coarse-textured low organic matter soils,
Soils with pH>7.0
Mn Excessive leaching on coarse-textured low organic matter soils,
Soil with pH>6.5
Mo Soils high in Fe oxides, high adsorption of molybdenum, Soil
cropped for a long time
Cl In areas where rainfall is relatively high and internal soil drainage
is good, it may be leached from the soil profile
 SOIL ORGANIC
MATTER
INTERACTIONS
Decomposition
● biological process that includes the
physical breakdown and biochemical
transformation of complex organic
molecules of dead material into simpler
organic and inorganic molecules.
Carbon cycling
• the continuous transformation of organic
and inorganic carbon compounds by
plants and micro- and macro-organisms
between the soil, plants and the
atmosphere.
WATCH:
Soil Pollution, a hidden reality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHcY-iFSYZM