SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES 1

Color

Soil color is determined by comparing it to colorchips in Munsell color charts

Hue
Redness or yellowness of soil.

Value
Lightness or darkness -- 0 value is black

Chroma
Intensity or brightness -- chroma 0 is neutral gray.
Soil horizons in a profile that differ in value and chroma are often
similar in hue.

Texture

The proportion of different-sized particles -

sand, silt, and clay.

Soil Separates
Diameter of soil particles ranges from boulders (1 m) to submicroscopic
clays (10-6) m). Coarse fragments greater than 2 mm in diameter are not part of
soil texture.

Name of soil separate

Diameter limits (mm)

Clay
Silt

< 0.002
0.002-0.05
0.05-0.10

Very fine sand

Fine sand
Medium sand
Coarse sand
Very coarse sand

0.10-0.25
0.25-0.50
0.50-1.00
1.00-2.00

Sand

Feel gritty between fingers

Rounded or angular and visible to naked eye
Consists of single mineral quartz (SiO2) few plant
nutrients
Large pores
o Cannot hold water against gravity
o Drain rapidly and promote entry of air into the soil
Low specific surface area (surface for a given mass of
particle)
o Little capacity to hold water or nutrient
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o Do not stick together into coherent mass

Most sandy soils are well aerated, loose, infertile and prone
to drought.

Silt
Feel smooth and silky between fingers
Small size and large surface area allows weathering
rapid enough to release significant amount of plant
nutrients
Have numerous smaller pores between particles
compared to sand retain more water
When wet does not exhibit much stickiness or plasticity
(malleability)
Prone to erosion due to low stickiness and plasticity
easily washed by flowing waterprocess called piping

Clay

Have large specific surface area

o Tremendous capacity to adsorb water and other
substances
o When wet sticky and easily molded (high
plasticity)
Fine clay particles behave as colloidstiny lakes or flat
platelets

Particle size of solid soil components

Diameter (m)

2000
200
20
2
1
0.2
0.02
0.002

Particle

(2 mm)
(0.05 mm)
(0.002 mm)
(0.001 mm)
(0.0002 mm)
(200A)
(20A)

Very Coarse Sand

Fine Sand
silt
Coarse Clay
Coarse Clay
Fine Clay/colloidal Clay
Fine colloidal Clay
Ultra Fine Clay

 Pores between particles are very small (but in huge

numbers) and convolutedslow movement of water
and air
o Hold a great deal of watermuch of it may not
available to plant
Soil properties -- shrink-swell, plasticity, water-holding
capacity, soil strength, and chemical adsorption-- depend
on the amount and kind of clay present.
Surface area and other soil properties
Particle size decreases specific area increases.
Water is retained as thin films on surface of soil particles. The
greater the surface area the greater the soils capacity

to hold water.
The greater the surface area more nutrients and
chemicals are adsorbed on the particle surface
Weathering takes place on the surface of mineral particles. The
greater the surface area the greater is the rate of nutrient
release from weathered minerals.
Surface of mineral particles have negative and positive
charges. Water films and particle surface attracts each other as
discrete aggregates
Microbes tend to grow and colonize particle surfaces. More
surface area means more microbial reactions.

Class
Specific textural

class convey a more precise distribution of particles in such

soils as sandy soils, clayey soils, and loamy soils.

Sand and loamy sand are dominated by the properties of sand. Clays,
sandy clays, and silty clays are dominated by properties of clay.
Most soils are some type of loamsmixture

of sand, silt, and clay in

about equal proportion.

Textural class of a soil is determined by the

laboratory particle size analysis.

feel method and

Structure

Arrangements of sand, silt, clay and organic particles in

soils.
Particles become aggregated together due to various forces and at different
scales to form peds or aggregates. Soil tends to break into peds along
natural zone of weakness.
Zone of weakness exhibit low tensile strength -

particles within ped

are more strongly attracted to one another than to particles of the

surrounding.

Ped - large scale structure evident (range from few mm to

about 1 m) when observing soil profile
Clod - compressed, cohesive chunks of soil formed artificially when wet soil is
plowed or excavated.
Pores network within and between aggregates constitutes a key aspect of
structure. The pore network influences:

movement of air and water

growth of plant roots
activities of soil organisms - including accumulation and breakdown of
SOM

Types

Single grained particles are not aggregated, for e.g.

loose sand in wind-blown dunes. Certain clay sedimentslarge
cohesive mass of material exhibit massive structure.

Most soils exhibit aggregation and composed of peds that can be characterized
by their shape (or type), size, and distinctness (or grade).

 Spheroidal

o Granular structure (< 1 to 10 mm in diameter) consists of

spheroidal aggregates that may be separated from each
other in a loosely packed arrangement.
Found in surface soils (A-horizon) where OM is high

Platelike
o Platy structure thin horizontal peds or plates
May be found in surface subsurface horizons
Blocklike
o Blocky peds irregular, roughly cubelike and range from 5
50 mm across. Found in B-horizon

Angular blocky sharp edges and distinct rectangular

faces

Sub-angular blocky rounded edges

Prismlike

o Vertically oriented prism or pillar-like ped (150 mm

diameter or more)
Columnar pillars with distinct rounded tops mainly
found in sub-soil high in sodium (nitric horizon)
Prismatic top is angular and flat horizontally. In
humid regions found in poorly drained soils and
fragipan

Soil scientists describe soil structure by noting the shape, size, and
strength of development of peds. Several different shapes of soil peds are
illustrated.

The common types of soil structure: A-prismatic, B-columnar,

C-angular blocky, D-subangular blocky, E-platy, F-granular
(from USDA Soil Survey Manual, 1951)

type (shape) but

also describe the relative size (fine, medium, coarse) and
degree of development or distinctness of the ped (grades such
as strong, moderate, and weak)
Soil scientists do not only describe soil structure based on

Formation
Small aggregates are more stable than larger ones.

Macroaggregates -- 0.25 to 5 mm diameter.

Microaggegates -- 2 to 25 micron.
Physical and chemical processes are associated mainly with clays.

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Processes
Physical-chemical
Flocculation

Flocculation of Clays and Role of Adsorbed

Cations
Aggregation begins with the

flocculation of clay particles into microscopic

clumps or floccules.

Clay platelets come close together cations

compressed in a layer between them will attract the
negative charges on both platelets serves as a
bridge to hold platelets together resulting in small stack of
parallel clay platelets called clay domain.
Other types of clay domain positive charges on edges of clay platelets attract
the negative charges on planar surfaces.
Ca2+, Fe2+, Al3+ -also complex with hydrophobic humus molecules allowing them
to bind to clay surfaces. Clay/humus domains form bridges that bind to each
other and to fine silt particles.
Highly weathered clays Ultisols and Oxisols the cementing action oxides and
other inorganic compounds produce stable aggregates called

pseudosand.

Volume changes in clay materials

As soil dries out, platelets in clay domains move closer together causing soil
mass to shrink in volume cracks open up.

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Biological
Organism

Activities of Soil Organisms

1. Burrowing and molding activities of soil animals.
Earthworms and termites move soil particles about
ingesting them and forming them into pellets and casts.
2. Enmeshment of particles by sticky network of roots and fungal
hyphae
Sugar-like poly-saccharide forms sticky network that
bind together individual soil particles and tiny microaggregates into larger macro-aggregates. Mycorrhizae
produce sticky sugar protein called
effective cementing agent.
3. The production of

glomalin

an

organic glues by bacteria and fungi

Organic-matter
Influence of organic matter
Energy substrate for microbes activities
Soil particles coated with decomposed plant residue
Organic polymers resulting from decay chemically interacts with
particles of silicate clays and iron and aluminum oxides orient
clays into domains binding soil particles into stable aggregates
Influence of tillage
Over longer time, loss of OM weakening soil aggregates
Wet condition crush soil aggregates loss of macroporosity and
creation of puddled condition
Influence of Iron/Aluminum oxides
Oxisols high in Fe and Al sesquioxides coat soil particles and
cement soil aggregates and prevent soil breakdown when tilled

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Density
Particle
Particle Density is the mass

per unit volume of soil solids.

1 m3 of soil solids weighs 2.6 megagrams (Mg)

1 Mg = 1 x 106 g = 1 x 103 kg
Particle density: 2.6 Mg/m3 or 2.6 g /cm3
Particle density is the same as specific gravity and is not

affected by porespace and not related to soil texture or structure

Particle densities of most mineral soils vary from 2.60 to 2.75
Mg/m3
A particle density of 2.65 Mg/m3 may be assumed if the
actual particle density is not known.
Bulk

Bulk Density, Db is the mass of a unit volume of dry

soil.
The volume includes solids and pores.
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Volume (solids + pores) = 1 m3

Weight =1.33 Mg (solids only)

If the volume can be compressed so that we have pore

space and solids:
Volume = 0.5 m3 (solids only)
Weight =1.33 Mg (solids only)

Any water present is excluded from consideration in

calculations of soil densities.
FACTORS AFFECTING BULK DENSITY
SOIL WITH HIGH

PROPORTION OF PORE

SPACE TO SOLIDS HAS LOWER BULK DENSITY.

TEXTURE
Fine textured soils (silt loam, clay, clay loam) have lower bulk
density than sandy soils. PORES exist between and within
granules in the aggregate.
Sandy soils have few FINE pores within ped PORES ---less total
porosity.
DEPTH in SOIL PROFILE

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Deeper in the soil profile, bulk densities are higher due to:
Lower OM
Less aggregation
Fewer roots and other soil dwelling organisms
Compaction due to weight of overlying layers
Very compact sub-soils may have bulk densities of 2.0 Mg/m 3.
Compaction increases bulk density and soil strength (property that
resist deformationmeasured by penetrometer).
Dense soil inhibited root growth due to:
Soils resistance to penetration
Poor aeration
Slow movement of nutrients and water
Build up of toxic gases and root exudates
If the bulk density is the same, roots penetrate easily a moist sandy
soil than a moist clayey soil.

Knowledge of bulk density is useful in estimating weight of

soil. A typical medium textured mineral soil might have a bulk
density of 1.25 Mg/m3 or 1250 kg in a cubic meter.
If we assume the bulk density of a soil to be 1.3 Mg/m3, one
hectare furrow slice 15 cm deep weighs about 2 million kg.
Intense tillage increases bulk density because it depletes soil
organic matter and weakens soil structure.
Increase in bulk density indicates:
A poorer environment for root growth
Reduced aeration
Undesirable changes in hydraulic function, such as
reduced water infiltration

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