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The porosity is a measure of the total pore space in the soil. This is defined as a fraction of volume often given in percent. The amount of porosity in a soil depends on the minerals that make up the soil and on the amount of sorting occurring within the soil structure.
Porosity is a fraction between 0 and 1, typically ranging from less than 0.005 for solid granite to more than 0.5 for peat and clay. The porosity of a rock, or sedimentary layer, is an important consideration when attempting to evaluate the potential volume of water or hydrocarbons it may contain.
Soil structure affects aeration, water movement, conduction of heat, plant root growth and resistance to erosion. [26] Water, in turn, has a strong effect on soil structure, directly via the dissolution and precipitation of minerals, the mechanical destruction of aggregates [27] and indirectly by promoting plant, animal and microbial growth.
Soil porosity consists of the void part of the soil volume and is occupied by gases or water. Soil consistency is the ability of soil materials to stick together. Soil temperature and colour are self-defining.
A plant's root may penetrate a very small volume of water that is adhering to soil and be initially able to draw in water that is only lightly held by the cohesive forces. But as the droplet is drawn down, the forces of adhesion of the water for the soil particles produce increasingly higher suction, finally up to 1500 kPa (pF = 4.2). [31]
Plant nutrition is the study of the chemical elements and compounds necessary for plant growth and reproduction, plant metabolism and their external supply. In its absence the plant is unable to complete a normal life cycle, or that the element is part of some essential plant constituent or metabolite .
However, there is also a concept of closed porosity and effective porosity, i.e. the pore space accessible to flow. Many natural substances such as rocks and soil (e.g. aquifers, petroleum reservoirs), zeolites, biological tissues (e.g. bones, wood, cork), and man made materials such as cements and ceramics can be considered as porous media ...
Plants can form new chemicals that can break down minerals, both directly [101] and indirectly through mycorrhizal fungi [25] and rhizosphere bacteria, [102] and improve the soil structure. [103] The type and amount of vegetation depend on climate, topography, soil characteristics and biological factors, mediated or not by human activities.