Soil chemistry

Soil chemistry is the study of the chemical characteristics of soil. Soil chemistry is affected by mineral composition, organic matter and environmental factors. Back in the early 1850's a consulting chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society in England, named J. Thomas Way, performed many experiments on how soils exchange ions. As a result of his diligent and strenuous work, he is considered the father of soil chemistry. But after him, many other big-name scientists also contributed to this branch of ecology including Edmund Ruffin, Linus Pauling, and many others.
History.
Until the late 1960s, soil chemistry focused primarily on chemical reactions in the soil that contribute to pedogenesis or that affect plant growth. Since then, concerns have grown about environmental pollution, organic and inorganic soil contamination and potential ecological health and environmental health risks. Consequently, the emphasis in soil chemistry has shifted from pedology and agricultural soil science to an emphasis on environmental soil science.
Environmental soil chemistry.
A knowledge of environmental soil chemistry is paramount to predicting the fate of contaminants, as well as the processes by which they are initially released into the soil. Once a chemical is exposed to the soil environment myriad chemical reactions can occur that may increase or decrease contaminant toxicity. These reactions include adsorption/desorption, precipitation, polymerization, dissolution, complexation and oxidation/reduction. These reactions are often disregarded by scientists and engineers involved with environmental remediation. Understanding these processes enable us to better predict the fate and toxicity of contaminants and provide the knowledge to develop scientifically correct, and cost-effective remediation strategies.
Key Concepts.
Soil Structure.
Soil structure refers to the manner in which these individual soil particles; are grouped together to form clusters of particles called aggregates.
Formation of Aggregates:.
Types of Soil structure: The classification of soil structural forms is based largely on shape.
"I.)" Spheroidal Structure-
Its characteristics are being Sphere-like or rounded in shape. All the axes are approximately of the same dimensions, with curved and irregular faces. These are found commonly in cultivated fields.
a.)Crumb structure being small and are like crumbs of bread due to them being porous
b.)Granular structure is less porous than crumb structure aggregates and are more durable than crumb structure aggregates
"II.)" Platy Structure-
its characteristics are being mainly horizontally aligned along plant based areas, with thin units being laminar and the thick units of the aggregates are classified as platy. Platy structures are usually found in the surface and sometimes in the lower sub-soils.
"III.)" Block-like Structure-
It is characterized by particles that are arranged around a central point are enclosed by surfaces that may be either flat or somewhat rounded. These types are generally found in subsoil.
a.)Angular blocky- have angular corners present
b.)Sub angular blocky- corners are more rounded than the angular blocky aggregates
"IV.)" Prism-like Structure-
It is characterized by particles that are longer than they are wide with the vertical axis being greater than horizontal axis. They are commonly found in subsoil horizon of arid and semi-arid region soils. They may be further divided into two sub-groups.
a.)Prismatic- more angular and hexagonal at the top of the aggregate
b.)Columnar- particles that are rounded at the top of the aggregate
Soil Pores.
The interactions of the soil's micropores and macropores are important to soil chemistry as they allow for the provision of water and gaseous elements to the soil and the surrounding atmosphere. Macropores help transport molecules and substances in and out of the micropores. Micropores are comprised within the aggregates themselves.
Air/Atmosphere.
The atmosphere contains three main gases, namely oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. In the atmosphere, oxygen is 20%, Nitrogen is 79% and CO2 is 0.15 to 0.65% by volume. CO2 increases with the increase in the depth of soil due to decomposition of accumulated organic matter and abundance of plant roots. The presence of oxygen in the soil is important in the since that it helps in the process of breaking down of insoluble rocky mass into soluble minerals and organic humification. The atmosphere of the soil can provide ideas about its aeration capabilities. Air in the soil is comprised of gases that are present to those found in the atmosphere but they are not at the same levels. These gases provide microorganisms to proceed with chemical reactions. The accumulation of soluble nutrients in the soil makes it more productive. If the soil is deficient in oxygen, the rates of microbial activities are slowed down and may be eliminated. The important factors, which bring about changes in the soil atmosphere are temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind/aeration and rainfall.
Soil Texture:.
Soil Texture influences the soil chemistry pertaining to the soil's ability to maintain its structure, the restriction of water flow and the contents of the particles in the soil. Soil texture considers all particle types and a soil texture triangle is a chart that can be used to calculate the percentages of each particle type adding up to total 100% for the soil profile. These soil separates differ not only in their sizes but also in their bearing on some of the important factors affecting plant growth such as soil aeration, work ability, movement and availability of water and nutrients.
Sand.
Sand particles range in size ( about 0.05mm-2mm).Sand is the most coarse of the particle groups. Sand has the largest pores and soil particles of the particle groups It also drains the most easily. These particles become more involved in chemical reactions when coated with clay.
Silt
Silt particles range in size (about 0.002mm-0.5mm).Silt pores are considered a medium in size compared with the other particle groups. Silt has a texture consistency of flour. Silt particles allow water and air to pass readily, yet retain moisture for crop growth. Silty soil contains sufficient quantities of nutrients both organic and inorganic.
Clay.
Clay has particles smallest in size ( about <0.002mm) of the particle groups. Clay also has the smallest pores which give it a greater porosity and it does not drain well. Clay has a sticky texture when wet. Some kinds can grow and dissipate or in other words shrink and swell.
Loam.
A combination of sand, silt and clay that encompasses soils. It can be named based on the primary particles in the soil composition, ex. sandy loam , clay loam , silt loam, etc.
Biota:.
These organisms along with organic matter help comprise the biological system of the soil.
(SOM) Soil Organic Matter.
Other associated concepts:
Methods of investigation.
New knowledge about the chemistry of soils often comes from studies in the laboratory in which soil samples taken from undisturbed soil horizons in the field are used in experiments that include replicated treatments and controls. In many cases, the soil samples are air dried at ambient temperatures (e.g., 25oC) and sieved to a 2 mm size prior to storage for further study. Such drying and sieving soil samples markedly disrupts soil structure, microbial population diversity, and chemical properties related to pH, oxidation-reduction status, manganese oxidation state, and dissolved organic matter; among other properties. Renewed interest in recent decades has led many soil chemists to maintain soil samples in a field-moist condition and stored at 4oC under aerobic conditions before and during investigations.
Two approaches are frequently used in laboratory investigations in soil chemistry. The first is known as batch equilibration. The chemist adds a given volume of water or salt solution of known concentration of dissolved ions to a mass of soil (e.g., 25 mL of solution to 5 g of soil in a centrifuge tube or flask. The soil slurry then is shaken or swirled for a given amount of time (e.g., 15 minutes to many hours) to establish a steady state or equilibrium condition prior to filtering or centrifuging at high speed to separate sand grains, silt particles, and clay colloids from the equilibrated solution. The filtrate or centrifugate then is analyzed using one of several methods, including ion specific electrodes, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, ion chromatography, and colorimetric methods. In each case, the analysis quantifies the concentration or activity of an ion or molecule in the solution phase, and by multiplying the measured concentration or activity (e.g., in mg ion/mL) by the solution-to-soil ratio (mL of extraction solution/g soil), the chemist obtains the result in mg ion/g soil. This result based on the mass of soil allows comparisons between different soils and treatments. A related approach uses a known volume to solution to leach (infiltrate) the extracting solution through a quantity of soil in small columns at a controlled rate to simulate how rain, snow meltwater, and irrigation water pass through soils in the field. The filtrate then is analyzed using the same methods as used in batch equilibrations.
Another approach to quantifying soil processes and phenomena uses "in situ" methods that do not disrupt the soil as occurs when the soil is shaken or leached with an extracting soil solution. These methods usually use surface spectroscopic techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Mossbauer spectroscopy, and X-ray spectroscopy. These approaches aim to obtain information on the chemical nature of the mineralogy and chemistry of particle and colloid surfaces, and how ions and molecules are associated with such surfaces by adsorption, complexation, and precipitation.
These laboratory experiments and analyses have an advantage over field studies in that chemical mechanisms on how ions and molecules react in soils can be inferred from the data. One can draw conclusions or frame new hypotheses on similar reactions in different soils with diverse textures, organic matter contents, types of clay minerals and oxides, pH, and drainage condition. Laboratory studies have the disadvantage that they lose some of the realism and heterogeneity of undisturbed soil in the field, while gaining control and the power of extrapolation to unstudied soil. Mechanistic laboratory studies combined with more realistic, less controlled, observational field studies often yield accurate approximations of the behavior and chemistry of the soils that may be spatially heterogeneous and temporally variable. Another challenge faced by soil chemists is how microbial populations and enzyme activity in field soils may be changed when the soil is disturbed, both in the field and laboratory, particularly when soils samples are dried prior to laboratory studies and analysis.