Soil mineralogy

Soil mineralogy is “concerned with the inorganic minerals found in the pedosphere and
to the depth of weathering” (Finkl, 1983). Although soil mineralogy draws heavily on
the disciplines of mineralogy, geology, inorganic chemistry and crystallography—which
are scientific disciplines unto themselves—the reader is not required to have much prior
knowledge in these areas to understand the information presented herein. The general
approach taken here is based on the textural fractions of soil (sand, silt and clay) and
the mineral components contained therein.

Soil minerals play a significant role in dictating the suitability and behavior of soil for
various land uses. They provide physical support for plants, contribute to soil structural
formation, are sources of many soil nutrients, and can act as sorbents of several
environmental pollutants. Therefore, understanding soil mineralogy is essential to
understanding many facets of land use and is often a key to solving specific agricultural
and environmental problems.

Importance of the Soil Mineral Fraction

Most soils are composed of inorganic mineral materials that comprise the overwhelming
bulk of a soil. Well-structured soils are composed of about 50% solids of which most is
mineral materials (Figure 14.1), with organic soils (>30% organic matter) being the
obvious exception.

There are about 4,500 to 5,000 named minerals identified on this planet (MSA, 1997–
2020; MSA, 2004–2020; Mindat, 2020), with most being either rare or found in isolated
pockets (e.g., economic mineral deposits) deep in the Earth’s crust. Minerals are
naturally occurring inorganic crystals with a definable range of chemical composition.
For example, by far the most common terrestrial mineral found in Canadian soils is α-
quartz (α-SiO2); pronounced “alpha-quartz” where alpha refers to the crystal form. Rock
fragments are also found in soil but these differ from minerals in that rocks are “mineral
composites” made up of physical mixtures of several individual minerals. For example,
granite is an igneous rock making up the vast majority of the Canadian Shield. Granite
is commonly composed of a mixture of four types of minerals: α-quartz, feldspars,
amphiboles and micas which, due to the grinding and mixing actions in the glaciers, are
also common minerals found in our soils. Rock fragments are only found among the
larger soil particles (i.e., sand-size and larger) because as rocks are broken down into
increasingly smaller fragments, their physical breakdown typically occurs along
boundaries between adjacent minerals, which are the weakest points within rocks,
leaving the individual discrete minerals as the smaller fragments.

Most minerals found in soil are of the common variety, meaning they are ubiquitous
and present in large quantities usually with little or no economic value. The types of
minerals in soil represent only a handful (<100) compared to all the known minerals;
however, their behaviour in soil as they interact with the soil solution (soil water), the
soil atmosphere and soil organic matter have a huge bearing on the chemical
characteristics and nature of our soils.

Soil minerals are the natural source of plant nutrients that are released slowly with time
during chemical weathering. All plants require a minimum of 17 nutrient elements to
complete their life cycle (see Chapter 7). With the exception of C, H, and O, which
plants obtain from air and water, plants derive the remaining 14 elements (N, P, K, Ca,
S, Mg, Fe, B, Cl, Mn, Zn, Cu, Mo, and Ni) mainly from the soil itself and through the
addition of fertilizers, manures, and other amendments (Parikh and James, 2012; Singh
and Schulze, 2015). An additional four elements (Na, Si, V, and Se) are essential to the
growth of some plants (Havlin et al., 2005). Soil minerals also contribute to a soil’s
ability to retain plant nutrients through the processes of cation and anion exchanges.

Soil Mineralogy and Plant Nutrition

Soil clay minerals interact with elements most of which are plant nutrients, organics and
biological molecules. These interactions may affect the availability of a nutrient to
plants. For example phosphorus (P) can undergo fixation when it interact will iron
and/or aluminum oxide (non-silicate clay minerals) especially at low pH. This element
can also undergo precipitation with apatite at high pH. Soil mineralogy can therefore
regulate the availability of essential and non-essential elements like P and heavy
metals.