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Cation-exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of how many cations can be retained on soil particle surfaces. [1] Negative charges on the surfaces of soil particles bind positively-charged atoms or molecules (cations), but allow these to exchange with other positively charged particles in the surrounding soil water. [ 2 ]
Plants move ions out of their roots in an effort to move nutrients in from the soil, an exchange process which occurs in the root apoplast. [24] Hydrogen H + is exchanged for other cations, and carbonate (HCO 3 −) and hydroxide (OH −) anions are exchanged for nutrient anions. [25]
Plants take up essential elements from the soil through their roots and from the air through their leaves. Nutrient uptake in the soil is achieved by cation exchange, wherein root hairs pump hydrogen ions (H +) into the soil through proton pumps. These hydrogen ions displace cations attached to negatively charged soil particles so that the ...
The cation exchange principle was discovered by Thomas Way and John Bennet Lawes at Rothamsted Experimental Station in the 19th century. In 1892 Oscar Loew observed that both calcium and magnesium can be toxic to plants when there is an excess of one and a deficiency of the other, thus suggesting there may be an optimal Ca:Mg ratio.
Nutrient cations, including potassium and many micronutrients, are held in relatively strong bonds with the negatively charged portions of the soil in a process known as cation exchange. Phosphorus is a primary factor of soil fertility as it is an element of plant nutrients in the soil.
The total number of cations a soil can hold, its total negative charge, is the soil's cation exchange capacity. The higher the CEC, the higher the negative charge and the more cations that can be held and exchanged with plant roots, providing them with the nutrition they require. [16] [17]
Humus is a negatively charged colloidal substance which increases the cation-exchange capacity of soil, hence its ability to store nutrients by chelation. [62] While these nutrient cations are available to plants, they are held in the soil and prevented from being leached by rain or irrigation. [52]
Cation exchange capacity is the soil's ability to remove cations from the soil water solution and sequester those to be exchanged later as the plant roots release hydrogen ions to the solution. [103] CEC is the amount of exchangeable hydrogen cation (H + ) that will combine with 100 grams dry weight of soil and whose measure is one ...