What Are The Three Main Characteristics of Soil

Determination of Physiochemical properties of soil
What are the three main characteristics of soil?

 Composition and Characteristics of soil. The scientific study of soil is called
pedology. ...
 Mineral Particles: Mineral particles are the largest ingredient and make up approx 45%
of soils. ...
 Organic Matter: ...
 Air and Water: ...
 Texture: ...
 Color: ...
 PH Value:
Soil serves as a:
 medium for plant growth,
 regulator of water supplies,
 recycler of raw materials,
 habitat for soil organisms, and.
 landscaping and engineering medium
What are the chemical characteristics of the soil?

The soil is a chemical entity. All the materials there are chemical substances. Soils are composed
of solid, liquid, and gas; soluble and insoluble; and organic as well as inorganic substances.
There are ions and compounds, salts, acids, bases, minerals, and rock fragments.
What are the physical characteristics of soil?
Physical properties of soil include color, texture, structure, porosity, density, consistence,
temperature, and air. Colors of soils vary widely and indicate such important properties as
organic matter, water, and redox conditions.
Physiochemical properties of soil
Soil is a complex matter and comprises minerals, soil organic matter, water, and air. These
fractions greatly influence soil texture, structure, and porosity. These properties subsequently
affect air and water movement in the soil layers, and thus the soil’s ability to function.
Therefore, soil physicochemical properties have a great influence on the soil quality. Soil
texture especially can have a profound effect on many other properties. Thus, soil texture is
considered one of the most important physical properties of soil. In fact, soil texture is a
complex fraction, consisting of three mineral particles, such as sand, silt, and clay. These
particles vary by size and make up the fine mineral fraction. Generally, the coarse mineral
fraction, which consists of particles over 2 mm in diameter, is not considered in texture. But in
some cases, they may affect soil physicochemical properties such as water retention. The
textural category of a soil is decided by the relative amount of various particles sizes in a soil,
that is, whether it is clay, loam, sandy loam, or another
Why is soil testing important?
The more information you have, the better, which is why soil testing is so crucial. Essel
Environmental provides soil testing so that the composition, acidity, chemical trace
elements, and physical workability can be better assessed. Soil is not only important for
agricultural purposes, but also for building and the assessment of an area’s ability to
withstand the pressure of infrastructure and allow buildings to settle and construction to be
possible in some conditions.
An area with soil that is extremely difficult to pack together may be ideal for planting,
landscaping, or agriculture, whereas it might be a nightmare for commercial or residential
development. Some soil composition can lead to erosion or sliding of certain types of
buildings. Other types of soil might be ideal for retention of water; however, these
conditions may not be suitable for buildings which are partially built underground, or near
the water table.
Determination of Physiochemical properties

Chemical Analysis
Soil chemical properties, including heavy metal concentrations, pH, total carbon, total nitrogen,
CEC, exchangeable calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K), exchangeable Al and
hydrogen (H) and available phosphorous (P), were determined following standard laboratory
methods. Heavy metal concentrations were determined by using the aqua regia method (Karaca,
2004). Dry soil (0.5 g) was weighed into the digestion tube. Aqua regia (3 HCl:1 HNO 3) solution
was prepared, and 4 ml of this solution was added and digested at 110°C. After cooling, 10 ml of
1.2% HNO3 was added and reheated at 80°C for 30 min. After that, the solution was made up to
just under 20 ml with deionized water and reheated for another 30 min at 80°C. The solution
made up to 20 ml with deionized water. Finally, the sample was whirl mixed and filtered through
Whatman no. 42 filter paper into a plastic vial. The Cd and Cu concentrations were measured by
flame atomic absorption spectrometry (Perkin Elmer, A-Analyst 200).
Soil pH was determined in a suspension of 1:2.5 soil:water (w/v) by using a glass electrode pH
meter (Zhang et al., 2009). Total soil C and N were determined by dry combustion using a LECO
CNS 2000 analyzer (Leco, St Joseph, MI) (Moore et al., 2010). Soils with weight ranges from
0.1000 to 0.1010 g were measured using a balance and were put on a boat for each sample. The
CEC and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg and K) were determined by using the leaching method
with 1 M ammonium acetate at pH 7 (Ariyakanon and Winaipanich, 2006). Ten grammes of air-
dried soil were leached with 100 ml of 1 M ammonium acetate (NH4OAc) solution for 6 h. The
leached solution collected was made up to volume with ammonium acetate and was applied for
determination of exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg and K). The exchangeable cations were
measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (Perkin Elmer, A-Analyst 200). The soil was then
washed with 95% ethanol to measure CEC for another 5–6 h through the leaching process and
again leached with 100 ml of 0.1 M K2SO4 for 5–6 h. CEC was measured using an auto-analyzer.
The exchangeable Al and H were determined by the NaOH titration method (Perez et al., 2009).
The filtrate obtained from a pH-KCl suspension was used. Ten millilitres of the filtrate was
pipetted into a 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask. Phenolphthalein (1%) was used as an indicator. After
that, 0.01 M NaOH was added to the filtrate to reach the first permanent pink endpoint for about
2–3 min. The volume of NaOH solution used, recorded as (x). Five millilitres of 4% NaF, was
added subsequently. This solution was titrated with 0.01 M HCl until the pink colour
permanently disappeared. The volume of HCl solution used was recorded as (y). The calculation
was as follows:
y=ExchangeAland
x−y=ExchangeH.
Available P (ppm) was determined by using the Bray and Kurtz II method with a mixture of
ammonium fluoride (0.03 MNH4F) and hydrochloric acid (0.1 MHCl) (Akbar et al., 2010). One
gramme of air-dried soil (2.0 mm) was weighed into a test tube and then poured into 20 ml of
Bray II extracting reagent (0.1 M HCl + 0.03 M NH4F). After that, it was shaken well for 1 min.
The solution was filtered with Watman no. 42 filter paper, and the filtrate was collected. Finally,
the filtrate was sent to an auto analyzer for determination.

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Determination of Physiochemical properties of soil

What are the three main characteristics of soil?

 Organic Matter: ...

 Air and Water: ...

 medium for plant growth,

 regulator of water supplies,

 recycler of raw materials,

 habitat for soil organisms, and.

 landscaping and engineering medium

What are the chemical characteristics of the soil?

Why is soil testing important?

Determination of Physiochemical properties

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