Unit-4.

Properties of Soil

Soil is one of the most dynamic system of nature. There are various physical
properties of soil.

Some important properties areA.

B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.

Soil Texture
Soil Structure
Porosity
Soil Consistence
PH
Cation exchange capacity and
C/N ratio.

Soil texture

Soil texture is the relative proportion of sand, silt and clay in a soil. The soil texturl
class is a grouping of soils based upon these relative proportions. When you take
some moist soil in your hand and rub it between your fingers, you will feel the
texture of the soil. In particular, you will be able to detect whether the soil feels
rough or coarse, in which case it is probably a sandy soil, or whether it feels smooth
which is the feel of clayey soil.

SAND

Sand Particles are those smaller than 2mm but larger than 0.05mm. They may be
rounded or angular, depending on the extent to which they have been worn down
byre abrasive processes during soil formation. The coarsest sand particles may be
rock fragments containing several minerals, but most sand grains consist of a single
mineral, usually quartz(Si02) or other primary silicates. Sand deels gritty between
the fingers and the particles are generally visible to the naked eye. As sand
particles are relatively large, so, too, the voids between them are relatively large
and promote free drainage of water and entry of ar into the soil. Because of their
large size, particles of sand have relatively low specific surface area. Therefore,
sand particles can hold little water and soils dominated by sand are preone to
drought. Sand particles are considered non cohesive; that is, they do not tend to
stick together in a mass.

Silt

Particles smaller than 0.05mm but larger than 0.02 mm in diameter are classified as
silt. Individual silt particles are not visible to the unaided eye, nor do they feel gritty
when rubbed between the fingers. These are essentially micro sand particles. With
quartz generally the dominant mineral. Where silt is composed of weather able
minerals, the smaller size of the particles allows weathering to proceed rapidly
enough to release significant amounts of plant nutrients. Although silt is composed
of particles similar in shape to sand, it feels smoth or silky, like flour. The pores
between silt particles are much smaller than those in sand. So silt retains more
water and lets less drain through. However, even when wet, silt itself does not
exhibit much stickiness or plasticity. What little plasticity, cohesion and adsorption
capacity some silt fractions exhibit is largely due to a fil of adhering clay. Because of
their low stickiness and plasticity, soils high in silt and fine sand generally are easily
washed away by flowing water in a process called piping.

Clay
Particles smaller than 0.002mm are classified as clay and have a very large specific
surface area, giving them a tremendous capacity to absorb water and other
substances. A spoonful of clay may have a surface are the size of a football field.
This large adsorptive causes clay particles to cohere in a hard mass after drying.
Water wet, clay is sticky and can be easily molded. Clay size particles are so small
that they behave as colloids if suspended in water they do not readily settle out.
Unlike most sand and silt particles tend to be shaped like tiny flakes or flat platelets.
The pores between clay particles are very small and convoluted, so movement of
both water and air is very slow. Each unique clay mineral imparts very different
properties to the soils in which it is prominent. Therefore soil properties such as
shrink-swell behivor, plasticity, water soil strength and chemical adsorption depend
on the kind of clay present as well as the amount.