Andy Kleinschmidt Don McClure

Extension Educator Soil Scientist

Van Wert County NRCS-USDA
 What is Soil?
A logical place to begin today
is with a definition of soil.
Soil: Unconsolidated mineral or
material on the surface of the earth
resulting from and influenced by
time, parent material, climate,
organisms, and topography.
Not all soil is created equal,
the soil vs. a soil.
 Why are soils important?
Great integrator Snapshot of
Medium of crop geologic,
production climatic,
biological, and
human history
Producer and
absorber of
gases Waste decomposer

Medium for
plant
growth Source material
for construction,
medicine, art, etc.
Home to organisms
(plants, animals and
others) Filter of
water and
Essential natural resource wastes
Objectives
Soil color
Soil texture
Soil structure
Soil pH
CEC
Microorganisms
Nutrient movement
What stands out about the landscape?
 Soil Color
Color is the most obvious characteristic of soil.

Soil color is influenced by the oxidation state of iron

and manganese.

What are some colors encouraged by well aerated

conditions?
RED BROWN YELLOW
What are some colors encouraged by poorly aerated
conditions?
GRAY BLUE
Soil Color, Soil Aeration or Drainage,
and the Oxidation State of Iron
POOR AERATION GOOD AERATION
1. Iron is reduced 1. Iron is oxidized
2. Fe++ 2. Fe+++
3. dull colors (grays, 3. bright colors
blue) (yellows, browns)
4. poorly drained 4. well drained
 Soil Color Tells A Story
Drainage on this farm?

Well Poorly
Drained Drained
Soil Horizons
Zone of highest organic matter content.
The p denotes that this soil has been
Ap plowed.

A layer of accumulation of iron and

B clays. Blocky structure is readily seen
in this layer.

Unconsolidated material. Outside the

C zone of major biological activity and is
not affected by soil forming processes.
Soil Profile
What do we see?
organic matter - surface soil is
darker due to organic matter
iron oxides - subsoil has
brighter browns and tans due
to iron oxides
drainage
horizons - layers of different
color or texture; formed from
the top down
. . . more on Soil Horizons

Ap
A

Mollisol Alfisol
USDA-NRCS National Soil Survey Center
Average Soil Composition
45% Inorganic
25% Water (mineral materials)

{ }
Pore
Solids
space
50%
50%
25% Air 5% Organic Matter
 Soil Texture
Determined by the relative
proportion of sand, silt and clay

Surface Area Charge

Sand 50 cm2/g none
Silt 500 cm2/g none
Clay 5,000,000 cm2/g negative
 Relative Size Comparison
of Soil Particles
barrel

plate

coin

Silt Clay
- feels floury - feels sticky
(< 0.002 mm)
(0.05 - 0.002 mm)
Sand
- feels gritty
(2.00 - 0.05 mm)

USDA system for determining soil separates

Coarse
Medium
Fine

Percent Clay

Clay
Silty
Sandy Clay Percent
Clay
Clay Silty Clay
Loam Loam
Silt
Sandy Clay
Loam
Loam
Silt Loam
Sandy
Loam
Sand Silt

Loamy
Sand Percent Sand
Inches water/ft soil
Plant Available Water

Sand Sandy Silt Clay Clay

loam loam loam
Available Water Holding Capacity

Storage capacity
Texture (in./ft.)

Silty clay loam 1.8

Clay loam 1.8
Silt loam 2.0
Silty clay 1.6
Sandy loam 1.4
Rhoads and Yonts, 1984.
 Texture and Pore Space
Comparison of Coarse Textured and Fine Textured Soils

Coarse Textured Soil Fine Textured Soil

Less porespace but More total porespace

more macropores
 Soil Structure
Soil structure is the combination or
arrangement of primary soil particles
into secondary units
The way soil particles are arranged to
form stable aggregates
Compare this to clods, which are
caused by disturbance (plowing or
digging)
Compaction results from implement
traffic, stable soil aggregates are
 Common Types of Soil
Structure
Plow layer
Granular
Platy
Prismatic
Columnar
Common to Ohio soils just
below Ap (> 8)
Blocky
Sand
Single Grain
Deeper in profile (>3-4)
Massive
GRANULAR
BLOCKY
A
Granular

Platy

Blocky

C
Massive
Bulk Density Determination

{ }
For our example, lets
Soil is made
1.33 assume we have 1 cubic
of solids and
centimeter of soil that
pore spaces grams weighs 1.33 grams

To calculate Bulk Density:

Volume = 1 cm3 1.33
Bulk Density =
Weight = 1.33 grams 1

Weight of Soil Bulk Density = 1.33 grams/cm3

Bulk Density =
Volume of Soil
 Bulk Density (cont.)
Bulk density (g/cm3)
Soil Cropped Uncropped

Hagerstown loam (PA) 1.25 (50%) 1.07 (57%)

Marshall silt loam (IA) 1.13 (56%) 0.93 (63%)

Nappanese silt loam (OH) 1.31 (51%) 1.05 (60%)

What impact does this have on pore space?

Data from Lyon et al.
 Some Common Bulk
Densities
Uncultivated/undisturbed woodlots
1.0 to 1.2 g/cm3
Cultivated clay and silt loams
1.1 to 1.5 g/cm3
Cultivated sandy loams
1.3 to 1.7 g/cm3
Compacted glacial till
1.9 to 2.2 g/cm3
Concrete
2.4 g/cm3
Bulk Density and Compaction
Depth Bulk Density (g/cm3)

0 inches
1.43
Plow layer
1.90
7 inches
8 inches 1.87 Compacted
9 inches 1.84 zone
10 inches
1.80
Uncompacted
1.60 subsoil

2.20 Till
Data from Camp and Lund
Influences of Soil Texture,
Soil Structure and Density

1) Water movement
2) Water retention
3) Soil temperature
4) Gas exchange
5) Erosion potential
6) Fertility
 Hydrologic Cycle and Soil
Soil properties that are part of the hydrologic cycle.

Moisture Color

Temperature
Structure
pH

Texture
Horizon
Depths
Bulk
Density
Soil pH - a master variable

A measure of the hydrogen (H+)

ion activity

Acid Neutral Alkaline

(pH=1.0) (pH=7.0) (pH=14.0)

One pH unit change = a ten fold

change in acidity or alkalinity
Why called master variable?

soil pH controls:
1) soil microbe activity
2) nutrient exchanges
3) nutrient availability
4) gaseous exchanges
5) chemical degradation
6) CEC
 pH value
10.0 Too alkaline

{
for most plants
Range of alkalinity
9.0
soils of arid and
semiarid regions
8.0
have pH greater
than 8.0
7.0

{
Range of acidity
weathered soils of 6.0
the southeastern US
coastal plains 5.0
typically have pH
4.0
Too acidic for
less than 5.0
most plants
 Soil pH
1) Methods for soil pH determination can
vary widely
2) Measure of the direct concentration of H +
ions in the soil solution
3) Buffer pH measures both H+ ions in the
soil solution and the reserve H+ ions
bound on cation exchange sites
It is used to express the acidity or
alkalinity of the soil solution, not lime
requirement
4) pH represents the equation -log[H+]
Factors Affecting Soil pH
Parent Soil Material
Precipitation
Nitrogen Applications
Cropping Sequence
Organic Matter Breakdown
 Making Acid Rain
acid rain a concern
air has carbon dioxide
(CO2)
atmospheric CO2 H2O + CO2 H2CO3
gives rain a pH of 5.6 (carbonic
fossil fuels add to acid acid)
rain, but requires only
25 lbs. limestone per
year to neutralize
acid produced by nitrogen applications
 Clay Minerals

Clay structure magnified 1,600 times

Clays are layered minerals made of . . .

. . . together they form . . .

Organic Matter

OR
Factors Influencing Organic
Matter Accumulation
1)Topography
2)Native Vegetation
3)Climate
4)Time
5)Organisms
 Forest Soil
0 Well Drained 0 Poorly Drained

4 4
8 8

Soil
12 Soil
12
Depth 16 Depth 16
in in
Inches 20 Inches 20
24 24
28 28
32 32
0 2 4 6 8 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Percent Organic Matter in Soil
Prairie vs. Forest Soil
A horizon = 4 inches

A horizon = 14 inches

Prairie Forest

Effect of Native Vegetation

 Importance of Soil Organic Matter
Physical and Chemical Properties
1) Improves physical condition
Allows for good aggregation of soil particles
because of the plant and animal residues in
the surface
2) Increased water infiltration
Allows water saturation by acting as an
absorbent
3) Improves Soil Tilth
Allows for more uniformity of the soil
aggregates in proportion to the plant, animal
and mineral residues present
 Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)

Ability of a soil to hold and exchange cations

Ions are atoms with an electrical charge
Cations Anions
Ca2+, Mg2+ SO42-, PO43-
Na+, K+ Cl-, NO3-

Negatively charged colloids (organic matter

and clay) attract and hold cations
 CEC of a soil is due to:
1)Organic Matter Content
2)Clay Content
3)Type of Clay
1)Montmorillonite high CEC
2)Illite mod. CEC
3)Kaolinite low CEC
NRCS STATSGO Database
 CEC (cont.)
Most soils are negatively charged and
hold cations.
Cations held on exchange sites may
move into the soil solution & be taken
up by roots.
Anions are not held on soil and are
subject to leaching (P is exception).
 +- -+ +- +-
NS SN NS NS
Like poles Opposite poles
(charges) repel (charges) attract

Ca2+
Na + Cl-

NO3-
SOIL
COLLOID
SO42-

Mg 2+ NH 4
+
K +
Another Schematic Look at CEC
50 CEC Common CEC 2 CEC
Heavy Range Sand
Clay CEC K+ CEC
25 Ca2+ 5
Mg2+
NH4+
Na+
K+

Sand Ca2+ K+
More Clay, More Less Clay, Fewer
Positions to Hold Cations Clay Positions to Hold
Cations
 Some practical applications
Soil CEC 11-50 Soil CEC 1-10

Higher clay content Clay content Lower clay content

Requires more lime Requires less lime

to correct a given Lime relationship to correct a given
pH pH
Nutrient
Greater capacity to Leaching more
relationship
hold nutrients likely

Higher water Water Holding Lower water

holding capacity Capacity holding capacity
 Microorganisms in the Soil *

1) Microbes live in small clumps

In fact, less than 1% of the soil surface will
support the growth of microbes
2) Do not migrate much
3) Their goal: maintain species
7,000 different species in one gram of soil!
4.5 x 1016 bacteria/acre, 3 inches deep

Microbes are hungry,

immobile and ready
to reproduce
*
Excludes nonarthropod and arthropod animals, as well as vertebrates
One final thought . . .
What do you notice about this soil core?

macropores
 Preferential Flow
Soil
Horizon

Example of
68%
Initialofstorm
leachable
of B
pesticide leaching
atrazine
season. was lost
through
to preferential
preferential flow.
Notice
flow during the
preferential
Atrazine
first flow.
applied.
storm.
C
What are the
implications from
a soil fertility
standpoint?
Calculated from Kladivco, et al. (1999); models from Cornell
 Soils
ENJOY THE
REMAINDER OF THE
TRAINING.

WERE GLAD YOU

ARE HERE.