Explain the relationship between soil clay and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of a soil.

Discuss the importance of CEC in soil. Why most soils in the tropics have low CEC in contrast to temperate soils. What are the practical methods of increasing soil CEC? Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a useful indicator of soil fertility because it shows the soil's ability to supply three important plant nutrients: calcium, magnesium and potassium.What CEC actually measures is the soil's ability to hold cations by electrical attraction. Cations are positively charged elements, the positive charge indicated by a + sign after the element symbol. The number of + signs indicates the amount of charge the element possesses. The five most abundant exchangeable cations in the soil are calcium (Ca ++ ), magnesium (Mg++), potassium (K+), sodium (Na+) and aluminium (Al+++). Cations are held by negatively charged particles of clay and humus called colloids. Colloids consist of thin, flat plates, and for their size have a comparatively large surface area. For this reason they are capable of holding enormous quantities of cations. They act as a storehouse of nutrients for plant roots. As plant roots take up cations, other cations in the soil water replace them on the colloid.If there is a concentration of one particular cation in the soil water, those cations will force other cations off the colloid and take their place.The stronger the colloid's negative charge, the greater its capacity to hold and exchange cations, hence the term cation exchange capacity (CEC).

Figure 3: Flat Plate-Like Structure Of A Colloid

Clay has a great capacity to attract and hold cations because of its chemical structure. However, CEC varies according to the type of clay. It is highest in montmorillonite clay, found in chocolate soils and black puggy alluvials. It is lowest in heavily weathered kaolinite clay, found in krasnozem soils, and slightly higher in the less weathered illite clay. Low CEC values can be improved by adding organic matter.

Why most soils in the tropics have low CEC in contrast to temperate soils? Rainfall affects soil pH since there is a lot of heavy rainfall in the tropics. Water passing through the soils leaches basic cations such as calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+) and potassium (K+) into drainage water. These basic cations are replaced by acidic cations such as aluminum (Al3+) and hydrogen (H+). For this reason, soil formed under high rainfall conditions are more acid than those formed under arid conditions. Below is the graph showing relationship between soil pH and heavy rainfall.

Figure 4: Soil (pH) vs Annual Rainfall (cm) Graph Under these conditions there has been a gradual depletion of soil bases (such as Ca, Mg and K) and the soil become acidic. Many acid soils have poor fertility due to deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and molybdenum. The soil clays often contain coatings of Fe and hydroxy Al. These materials significantly affect the retention and availability of fertilizer cations in acid soils. As a result, the acidic soil is low in fertility. Practical Methods Of Increasing Soil CEC The most common amendment to increase soil pH is lime (CaCO3 or MgCO3), usually in the form of finely ground agricultural lime. The amount of lime needed to change pH is determined by the mesh size of the lime (how finely it is ground)and the buffering capacity of the soil. A high mesh size (60 - 100) indicates a finely ground lime, that will react quickly with soil acidity. Buffering capacity of soils is a function of a soils cation exchange capacity, which is in turn determined by the clay content of the soil, the type of clay and the amount of organic matter present. Soils with high clay content, particularly shrink-swell clay, will have a higher buffering capacity than soils with little clay. Soils with high organic matter will also have a higher buffering capacity than those with low organic matter.

Soils with high buffering capacity require a greater amount of lime to be added than a soil with a lower buffering capacity for the same incremental change in pH. Other amendments that can be used to increase the pH of soil include wood ash, industrial CaO (burnt lime), and oyster shells. White firewood ash includes metal salts which are important for processes requiring ions such as Na+ (Sodium), K+ (Potassium), Ca2+ (Calcium), which may or may not be good for the select flora, but decreases the acidic quality of soil. These products increase the pH of soils through the reaction of CO32- with H+ to produce CO2 and H2O. Calcium silicate neutralizes active acidity in the soil by removing free hydrogen ions, thereby increasing pH. As its silicate anion captures H+ ions (raising the pH), it forms monosilicic acid (H4SiO4), a neutral solute.