CIVE 425: Unit 1: Soil-Water Relationships

Week 1: Understanding soil Soil as a medium for plant growth, Some important physical properties, Soil classification for plant growth. Week 2-3: Soil-water relations Water retention, soil-water holding capacity Water availability for plant growth Water movement and uptake by plants.

The Soil
Loose surface of the earth as distinguished from the solid bedrock.

Material that supports and nourishes growing plant life.

Soil is a loose physical mixture of mineral solids consisting of sand, silt and clay; organic matter derived from decaying plant and animal life; water and air.

Typical Soil Profile

Profile: a vertical section of a soil, with distinct horizontal layers or horizons. Weathering of parent rock results in unconsolidated material consisting of sand, silt and clay. Decaying plant and animal life at the surface contributes organic matter to the top horizon. The top A horizon consisting of mineral solids (sand, silt and clay) and organic matter is called the soil.

Soil Profile through Bedrock

Desirable Soil
Has coarser particles (sand, silt) covered with clay/organic matter that act as a binder,

Soil Mass

Individual particles then would be bound together to form aggregates; and the aggregates combine together to form the total soil mass. With such structural arrangement, we get: 1) a large amount of pore space, 2) Non-uniform pore space; primary (small) and secondary (large size) pore space. This is very important since in primary pore space, due to high capillary pressure, water will be retained.
Whereas in large pores water will drain, and its place taken by air.

Soil Composition
A loam soil, with good structure, will have 50% solids and by 50% pore space, by volume.

Of solids, 45-47% will be inorganic or mineral solids (sand, silt and clay) and 3-5% organic matter (partially decaying and resynthesized plant and animal residues).
For ideal plant growth, the pore space will be half filled with water and half with air. All these soil constituents exist in intimately mixed conditions.

Important Physical Properties

Soil Texture: Refers to the relative proportion of various mineral size groups; % of sand, silt and clay in the soil. Important since it determines the amount and nature of pore space. Basic soil property since it cannot be changed. Sands: soil groups where sand content > 70%. Sand and loamy sand. Clays: clay content > 35%. Sandy clay, silty clay, clay loam. Loams: Soils that exhibit light and heavy properties of sand and clay in equal proportions. Most ag soils are loams.

Defining Mineral & Organic Fractions

Primarily based on physical size. Sands:
Coarse 2.0 to 0.5 mm Med 0.5 to 0.25 mm Fine 0.25 to 0.0.05 mm

Silt: Clay:

0.05 to 0.002 mm less than 0.002 mm.

Organic matter has the same size as clay and exhibits the same properties large surface area, large porosity, small pore size, binding agent.

Grain Size Distribution

Lab exercise to determine relative percentage of sand, silt and clay in a soil sample.
Coarser particles, consisting of sand and gravel are separated by mechanical Sieve Analysis, Finer particles consisting of silt and clay are separated by suspending the soil sample in a solution and determining the speed at which individual particles settle (Hydrometer Analysis) The rate at which particles settle is related to ther mass and the size. The two result sets can be displayed as the Grain-Size Distribution Curve on a semi-log paper.

Knowing the % of sand, silt and clay, the soil textural name is assigned by using the U.S.D.A Classification figure.

Field Method for Estimating Soil Texture

Soil Structure
Arrangement of individual soil particles into aggregates of desirable shape and size.

Factors that affect soil structure: Amount and type of clay Amount of organic matter Freezing and thawing Wetting and drying Action of burrowing organisms Growth of root systems of plants Most important: management practices including tillage, cultivation, mulching and liming.

Defining Soil Structure

Very important as it influences the amount and nature of pore space, A property that can be modified through proper management practices (unlike texture), Most physical changes imposed by farmers including plowing, cultivating, liming and mulching are structural in nature. No direct way of measuring/determining structure, Some soil properties are used as indicators of structure

Particle and Bulk Density

 Expressing soil density

Soil Density

Bulk density, d = dry wt/volume = Wd/V Particle density dp = Wd/Vs

o o o o Since total Volume V = 2Vs It follows that dp = 2 d Since Particle density of inorganic soils = 2.65 g/cm3 Bulk density of most field soils = 1.33 g/cm3

Some Loose Ends !!!

In addition to the physical properties, soils have chemical properties that affect soil-water relationships. Most important is the Cation Exchange Capacity (meq/L). Because clay and humus carry negative charge at their surface, they can attract and hold +ve ions (adsorption). These adsorbed cations can be exchanged with cations absorbed in the soil solution.

Composition of Soil Minerals

Sand is mostly Quartz (Sio2) and some primary minerals e.g micas (iron and aluminum silicates) and feldspars (aluminum silicates). Clay has less quartz and more secondary silicates. All mineral constituents weigh about the same, i-e 2.65 g/cm3

Soil Profile Depth Around the Globe