ENV234H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Nitrification, Soil Acidification, Humus
Document Summary
Lecture 11 soils: understanding basic soil properties. Important soil properties: texture, structure, organic content, density, ion exchange capacity, ph, buffering capacity. Can have coarse particles (coarse sand) and fine particles (fine sand, silt [medium], clay (very fined)) Size of each of these particles is important to how reactive they are: smaller particles have more sa for their volume, so clay particles are much more reactive than other particles, different sizes = different soil properties. Can figure which soil you have with textual triangle: way of representing (quickly) what soil looks like, shows proportion of clay, sand and silt. Qualitatively, we can also use the feel method : clays provide flexibility and cohesion in soil, if you ribbon soil and ribbon holds itself, you know you have some clay (lab 4, part 1) Don"t hold nutrients well (because particles are really big) Leach nutrients really easily (because infiltration is so good: clay does exact opposite.
