The physical properties

of soil
• Soil color
• Soil Texture
• Soil structure
• Soil density
• Soil moisture
• Soil temperature
 Significance of physical properties of soils

The soil physical properties profoundly influence how

soil functions in an ecosystem and how they can be
best managed
The success and failure of agricultural and engineering
projects is often hinged on the physical properties of
the soil
 1. Soil Color
• - it is the property of the soil that depend on the
wavelength of light it reflects or emits.
• Colors are derived from the color of Fe oxides and
organic matter that coat the surfaces of soil particles
high OM – Dark color
High Fe oxides- Red to yellow
Measurable variables in color
1. Hue- most dominant spectral color
2. Value – degree of darkness or lightness (zero is black)
3. Chroma – intensity or brightness (zero is neutral
gray)
Hue - The dominant color
• 10 R is red; 2.5YR has some yellow, 7.5YR are tans
and browns, 2.5 Y is yellow, G is green).
• As soils age they oxidize and change from yellow to
brown to red (e.g., 2.5Y to 10YR to 7.5YR to 5 YR to
10R).
Value - The relative darkness or lightness
• from 1 (dark) to 8 (light). The value is often a
function of the amount of humic organic
material in the soil. Darker soils have more
organic material. Very black horizons may be
buried charcoal or accumulations of MnO2
. Whiter horizons may be the result of leaching as in an E
horizon, or the accumulation of carbonate or gypsum.
Chroma - The strength or intensity
the color from 0 (least with none of the hue) to 8 (most
vivid). This is indicative of the amount pigmenting material
present, but it is strongly influenced by the texture of the
soil.
• Example: a soil with color 10YR5/6 is 10YR hue, 5 value,
and 6 chroma,
Interpreting soil color variations
 A- horizon is usually darker than B horizon due to
OM
 Dry soils generally have lighter color than moist
soil
 Bright colors throughout the profile indicates
well drainage
 Gray, bluish green denotes anaerobic condition
 Red soils are typical of tropical and subtropical
areas while dark gray and brown are typical of
temperate regions
 2. Soil Texture
• It is defined as the relative proportion of sand, silt
and clay in the mineral matter fraction of the soil
• Most permanent physical property

Soil textural class

1.Sandy soils/coarse textured soils/light soils
2.Loamy soils/medium textured
3.Clayey soils/fine textured/heavy soils
 Table 1. Some characteristics of soil separates
Name Diameter (mm) Diameter (mm) Number of Surface area
ISSS USDA particles/gram (mm²/g)

Coarse gravel 15 - - -
Fine gravel 2-15 2-1 90 11.3
Coarse sand 0.2-2 1-0.5 722 22.4
Medium sand - 0.5-0.25 5777 45.4
Fine Sand 0.02-0.2 0.25-0.1 46,213 90.7
Very fine sand - 0.1-0.05 722,074 226.9
Silt 0.002-0.02 0.05-0.002 5,776,674 453.7
clay ≤0.002 ≤0.002 50,260,853,860 11,342.5
Table 2. Generalized influence of soil separates on
some properties and behavior of soils

Property/ Behavior Rating Associated with Soil Separates

Sand Silt Clay
Water holding capacity Low Medium to high High
Aeration Good Medium Poor
Drainage rate High Slow to medium Very slow
Soil OM Low Medium to high High to medium
Decomposition of OM Rapid Medium Slow
Warming up in spring Rapid Moderate Slow
Compactibility Low Medium High
Susceptibility to wind erosion moderate high Low
Susceptibility to water erosion Low High Low if aggregated
Shrink-swell potential Very low Low Moderate to V high
Sealing of ponds/dams Poor Poor Good
Suitability to tillage after rain Good Medium Poor
Pollutant leaching potential High Medium Low
Ability to store nutrients Poor Medium to high High
Resistance to pH change low medium High
 Importance of soil texture
• The effect of soil texture can be beneficial or
detrimental to plants, usually high clay in the subsoil
is desirable
1. Relative resistance to root penetration – high silt
and clay may retard root growth
2. water holding capacity
sandy – low WHC
clay – high WHC
3. Soil Fertility – clayey is more fertile than sandy
4. Soil aeration – heavy soil (aggregated – high,
Non-aggregated – low)
- sandy- high
• Methods of determining soil texture
1. Feel and Roll
2. Sieve
3. Hydrometer
4. pipet
• Sand – feels gritty and rough

• Silt – feels floury or powdery

• Clay – feels sticky and plastic

Sieve method
3. Hydrometer method
3. Hydrometer method- based on Stoke’s
law

V = kd²
where: k – constant that is relative
to the acceleration due to
gravity and density and
viscosity of water
d – Diameter of particle
 Stoke’s law

V= h/t; and V = d²g(Ds-Df)/18η

where: g = gravitational force = 9.81 Newtons/kg

η = viscosity of water at 20°C= 1/1000 N-
sec/m²
Ds = Density of solid particles, 2.65 x 10³ kg/m³
Df = Density of fluid (water) = 1 x 10³ kg/m³
 (9 x 10⁵) . d²
V=
sm

V = K d²

Calculate the settling time (sec) of silt particles at a

depth of 10 cm. The diameter of silt is 2 x 10⁻⁶ m
Note: V = K d² ; h/t = K d²
Therefore:
t = h/ K d²
t = 0.1m/ (9 x 10⁵/sm) (2 x 10⁻⁶ m)²

t = 27,777 sec or 7.72 hrs

 3. SOIL STRUCTURE
- refers to the arrangement of soil particles and their
aggregates into certain well defined patterns
Types of soil structure
1. Spheroidal/Granular – soil separates combine to
form small, rounded and loose or porous aggregates.
Most surface soils have this kind of soil structure.
- This enhances aeration and drainage. Soils rich in
organic matter and calcium assumes this form of
structure
• 2. Platy – The soil separates assumes the form of
sheets one on top of the other lying horizontally .
Soils of this structure have poor drainage and root
penetration.
• 3. Blocky – Soil separates combine together to form
cube-like blocks. This kind of structure is generally
found in the subsoil and has something to do with
good soil drainage, aeration and root penetration
a) angular blocky – with distinct and sharp
angles
b) sub-angular blocky – with somewhat
rounded edges
• 4. Prism like – soil separates assume a post-like
appearance standing upright
a) columnar – with rounded tops
b) prismatic - with flat tops
• 5. Structureless – soil separates do not assume
any definite form
a) single grained – typical to most sandy
soils
b) massive – typical to most lowland rice
soils
Factors affecting aggregation
• 1. climate – alternate wetting and drying due to
rainfall causes the soil to expand and contract
allowing the particles to group or orient themselves
into aggregates
• 2. vegetation – aside from the effect of OM on
aggregation, the physical effect of plant roots assists
in the process of aggregate formation
• 3. microbial activity- microorganisms excrete
substances as by-product of metabolism and these
are very useful as cementing materials.
 Implication of desirable and undesirable
structure
• 1. Desirable structural condition – it is the one with
high proportion of medium sized particles, a low bulk
density and an appreciable large amount of large
pores
• 2. Undesirable structure – with high bulk
density, a few large pores and low content of
water -stable aggregates
 Density and Pore Spaces
Particle Density (g/cc)– weight per unit volume
of soil particles not including the pore spaces.
 the particle density of most mineral soils
varies from 2.6 to 2.75 g/cc
 the particle density of OM varies from
1.2 to 1.7 g/cc

PD = weight of soil/volume of solids

• Bulk Density– ovendry weight of a unit volume of
soil including the pore spaces

BD = ODW/total volume of soil

 The bulk density of uncultivated soil varies
from 1.0 to 1.6 g/cc.
 BD increases with compaction
 It helps in estimating the weight of soils per unit
area
Porosity – refers to the percentage of soil
volume which is occupied by pore spaces.

% pore space = 100 – (BD/PD x 100)

 Soil Moisture
• Most variable soil component
hydrology – study of the water cycle.
 The occurrence of water
• Integral part of living cell
• It occurs in great depth in earths crust
• 99% of all the earths water occurs in the
troposphere. It reaches an average height of
15 km
• The average depth to which the water occurs
in the ground is about 3 km and in some
locations about 8 km.
Forces holding water in the soil
1.Adhesion – attraction between soil and water
2.Cohesion – attraction between water
molecules
• Expression of forces holding water in the soil
1.Height of a unit column of water in cm (h)
2.Bar or atmosphere (atm)
1 bar = 1 atm
1000 cm = 1 bar = 1 atm
3. pF = log h
 Moisture Bars/atm Depth (cm) pF
constants
Ovendryness 10,000 10,000,000 7
Hygroscopic - 31,623 4.5
coefficient
Wilting point 14.8 or 15 15,340 4.18
Field 1/3 341 2.53
capacity
saturation 0.001 1 0
Soil moisture measurement
1.Gravimetric method/ovendrying method –
ovendrying a moist soil sample at 105°C for 8-
24 hrs.
%water = weight of water/ ODW of soil x 100

2. Tensiometer method – suction tensiometer

3. Gypsum block
Soil Moisture Constants
1.Saturation – a soil whose pores are completely
filled with water.
- the water in the soil is at zero tension
2. Field Capacity (1/3 atm)– Percentage of water
after the soil has been saturated and allowed
to drain for 2-3 days.
- macropores is without water but micropores
are filled
- water being used by plants
 it is approximately 1/3bar or a pF of 2.53
 soil is best tilled at a moisture of pF 2.8 to
4.4 because the soil is friable and maintains
its small aggregates
 organic soil can be tilled even wetter than pF
2.8 because they have stable aggregates
3. Wilting point –the moisture condition at which
the ease of release of water to the plant roots
is just barely too small to counterbalance the
transpiration losses.
- it is about 15 bars or a pF of 4.18
4. Hygroscopic Coefficient – the moisture
tension in which the soil water is in
equilibrium with an atmosphere of 98 percent
water vapor saturation ( 98% RH)

- this corresponds to pF of 4.5 or 30.5 atm

5. Oven dry – soil is oven dry when it has
reached equilibrium with the vapor pressure
of an oven at 105oC

- the oven dry condition corresponds to a

relative humidity of zero or a pF near 7
 Biological Classification of Soil
water
1. Superfluous water – free or drainage water
2. Available water – moisture held between FC
and PWP
3. Unavailable water – moisture held at the
PWP
• Physical classification of soil moisture
1.Free (drainage water) –loosely held, < 0.1 atm
2.Capillary water – held between FC and
hygroscopic coefficient
3.Hygroscopic water (vapor water) – held at
hygroscopic coefficient, 31 to 10,000 atm
 Classification of soil moisture
Kinds of Water pF
Water of constitution and Above pF 7
interlayer water
Hygroscopic water 7-4.5
Capillary water 4.5-2.5
Gravitational water 2.5 – 0
Groundwater Tension free
Water in relation to plant growth – water
makes up 80% of the weight of green plants

1.Absorption of water – moisture enters plant

roots thru osmosis
2. Movement of nutrients in soil moisture –
nutrients dissolved in water usually move with
it
3. Water requirement of crops – water lost
through evaporation and transpiration
(evapotranspiration)
Consumptive use – inches of water lost by
evapotranspiration in the production of a crop
4. Water-use efficiency – is defined as the
amount of carbon assimilated as biomass or
grain produced per unit of water used by the
crop.