• Soil pH
• Cation exchange
o Cation Exchange
capacity
o Base saturation
Reading Materials:
•Brady NC, 1990. The Nature and Properties of Soils
•Supardi, 1989. Sifat dan Ciri Tanah
H2 O 2 H+ + O-2
pH = - log [ H+ ]
+ OH -
H OH-
H + OH -
H+
H+
K+ K+
• Silicate clays & other Ca2+
Ca2+ Ca2+
sec. Minerals (Si, Al, Mg2+
Mg2+ Mg2+
Fe, O, OH & other K+
Na+ Na+
cations) Al3+
H+ H+
• Humus (mostly C, H, Ca2+ H+ K+ H+
O & nutrient cations) Mg2+ Ca2+ Ca2+
K+ Mg2+
Mg2+
Al3+ K+
Coloidal fraction Semirigid framework Adsorbed cations Soil solutions
(cations slowly available) Exchangeble (readily available)
(moderately available)
Cation Exchange Capacity, CEC
(KAPASITAS TUKAR KATION, KTK)
• Sum total of the exchangeable
cations ( K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, NH4+)
that a soil can adsorb
• Unit: cmolc kg-1 used to be me/100 g
of soil
• Measurement:Extraction of 1 M
NH4Oac., pH 7.0
CEC of soil, clay mineral type & humus
Clay Mineral Type CEC,cmolc kg-1
Kaolinite 1:1 30-150
Halloysite 1:1 60-100
Hidrous mica 2:1 200-400
Montmorilonite 2:1 800-1200
Vermiculite 2:1 1000-1500
Iron Hydroxide 30-50
Aluminium oxide
Humus 2000-4500
Why is CEC important?
• Kation dilepaskan salama proses
mineralisasi
• Kation dapat dipertukarkan (misal K+,
aplikasi pupuk KCl) dapat melepaskan kation
lain ke larutan tanah
• Penyangga (buffer) hara mengurangi
kehilangan hara akibat pencucian
• Indikasi kapasitas tanah menahan hara
• Menentukan berapa banyak / sering
diperlukan pengapuran
• Menentukan bagaimana cara aplikasi
Level of Soil Fertility based on its CEC
Category Ca Mg K Na KTK
--------------cmolc kg-1-----------------
atau
jumlah kation basa
KB = x 100%
KTK
Kejenuhan Basa
20
H+
18 H+
16 &
CEC, cmol kg-1
14 Al3+
12
10
Base-forming
H+
Base-forming
cations
cations
forming
cations
Base-
4
2
0
Base saturation: 50 % 80 % 80 %
pH: 5.5 6.5 6.5
(Brady, 1990, p 220)
Symptom
of Nutrient
Deficiency