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Soil consists of a solid phase of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and water (the soil solution). [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Accordingly, soil is a three- state system of solids, liquids, and gases. [ 3 ]
Soil particles can be classified by their chemical composition as well as their size. The particle size distribution of a soil, its texture, determines many of the properties of that soil, in particular hydraulic conductivity and water potential, [1] but the mineralogy of those particles can strongly modify those properties. The mineralogy of ...
Plants obtain minerals from soil. [8] Animals ingest plants, thus moving minerals up the food chain. Larger organisms may also consume soil (geophagia) or use mineral resources such as salt licks to obtain minerals. Finally, although mineral and elements are in many ways synonymous, minerals are only bioavailable to the extent that they can be ...
The mineral material from which a soil forms is called parent material. Rock, whether its origin is igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic, is the source of all soil mineral materials and the origin of all plant nutrients with the exceptions of nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon.
Soil is made up of a multitude of physical, chemical, and biological entities, with many interactions occurring among them. It is a heterogenous mixture of minerals and organic matter with variations in moisture, temperature and nutrients.
Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matter and usually extends to a depth of 5-10 inches (13–25 cm). Together these make a substrate capable of holding water and air which encourages biological activity.
In soil science, mineralization is the decomposition (i.e., oxidation) of the chemical compounds in organic matter, by which the nutrients in those compounds are released in soluble inorganic forms that may be available to plants. [1] [2] Mineralization is the opposite of immobilization.
The physical properties of soil, in order of decreasing importance for ecosystem services such as crop production, are texture, structure, bulk density, porosity, consistency, temperature, colour and resistivity. [1] Soil texture is determined by the relative proportion of the three kinds of soil mineral particles, called soil separates: sand ...