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For example, if a soil is 70 percent sand and 10 percent clay then the soil is classified as a sandy loam. The same method can be used starting on any side of the soil triangle. If the texture by feel method was used to determine the soil type, the triangle can also provide a rough estimate on the percentages of sand, silt, and clay in the soil.
Soil types by clay, silt and sand composition as used by the United States Department of Agriculture. Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > 63 micrometres (0.0025 in)), silt (particle size > 2 micrometres (7.9 × 10 −5 in)), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < 2 micrometres (7.9 × 10 −5 in)).
Soil components larger than 2.0 mm (0.079 in) are classed as rock and gravel and are removed before determining the percentages of the remaining components and the textural class of the soil, but are included in the name. For example, a sandy loam soil with 20% gravel would be called gravelly sandy loam.
Both extremes in soil have their advantages and shortcomings. Sand particles are relatively large (by definition from 2- to 5-hundredths of a millimeter across). Clay particles are very small (by ...
The Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) is a soil classification system used in engineering and geology to describe the texture and grain size of a soil. The classification system can be applied to most unconsolidated materials, and is represented by a two-letter symbol. Each letter is described below (with the exception of Pt):
Soil texture triangle showing the USDA classification system based on grain size. For soil resources, experience has shown that a natural system approach to classification, i.e. grouping soils by their intrinsic property (soil morphology), behaviour, or genesis, results in classes that can be interpreted for many diverse uses.
About 1,000 soil subgroups are defined in the United States. [6] A soil family category is a group of soils within a subgroup and describes the physical and chemical properties which affect the response of soil to agricultural management and engineering applications. The principal characteristics used to differentiate soil families include ...
The amount of water remaining in a soil drained to field capacity and the amount that is available are functions of the soil type. Sandy soil will retain very little water, while clay will hold the maximum amount. [29] The available water for the silt loam might be 20% whereas for the sand it might be only 6% by volume, as shown in this table.