2.

5 Types of soil and soil properties

Soil can be described in many different ways, such as heavy, light, sandy,
clay, loam, poor or good. Scientists typically describe soil according to
its:

1. Color
2. Compaction
3. Moisture content
4. Organic content
5. pH
6. Profile
7. Structure
8. Temperature, and
9. Texture

Although each of these factors is important, three factors (texture, organic content and pH) are more
important than the others. Regardless, we will provide a brief overview of all nine factors below.

1- Colour
The easiest property of soil to spot is its color. Color tells us about a soil's nutrients. For the most part, the
darker a soil is, the more nutrients it has to support plant growth.
The dark color comes from decaying organic matter, materials from living things. Think about what
happens to a banana as it starts to rot. The yellow peel turns black. This is the same process that happens
to the organic matter in soil.

Color
Condition
Dark Moderately dark Light
organic matter high medium low
erosion factor low medium high
aeration high medium low
available nitrogen high medium low
fertility high medium low
 2- Compaction
 To be healthy, a soil needs to be able to breath and water needs to be able to move through it
reasonably easily.
 Compacted soils don't allow much air to circulate to the root zone and water (rainfall or irrigation)
tends to just run-off.
3- Moisture
 The amount if moisture found in soil varies greatly with the type of soil, climate and the amount of
humus (organic material) in that soil.
 The types of organisms that can survive in your soil is largely determined by the amount of water
available to them

4- Organic content
 The organic content of soil greatly influences the plant, animal and microorganism populations in
that soil.
 Decomposing organic material provides many necessary nutrients to soil inhabitants.
 Without fresh additions of organic matter from time to time, the soil becomes deficient in some
nutrients and soil populations decrease.
 Organic material is made of carbon compounds, which when heated to high temperatures are
converted to carbon dioxide and water.

5- Soil pH
 Most people think that rainwater has a pH of 7, so it comes as something of a shock when they
learn that rainwater (if it's not polluted) has a normal pH of about 6 - 6.5, which is slightly acidic.
 This is due to dissolved carbon dioxide from the air, which reacts with water to form a dilute acid
(carbonic acid), much like the carbon dioxide in soda.
 It should then come as no surprise that most plants grow their best at around the same pH*.

6- Soil structure

 Soil structure describes the way particles in soil

are stuck together to form shapes called peds,
and the way those peds are arranged.
 There are many different soil structures. Some
soils have blocky peds shaped like cubes, while
others have platy peds shaped like flatsheets of
paper.

Just like texture, soil structure affects the way water and
air move through soil. Different types of peds fit together
in different ways- some soil structures have large spaces for water
 Blocky (the blocks of soil are large, with the same number of cracks going horizontal as vertical)
 granular (the blocks of soil are small, with the same number of cracks going horizontal as vertical)
 columns (the blocks of soil and related cracks are generally longer in the vertical direction than in
the horizontal)
 plate-like (the blocks of soil and related cracks are generally longer in the horizontal direction than
in the vertical),

7- Soil temperature

Soil temperature has a significant role in helping to determine the rate of plant growth, and
whether a plant will even survive. The temperature in your soil changes greatly with depth.

8- Soil Texture

The size of the particles that make up a soil

are its texture.
A soil's texture determines how easily water
can move through it. The larger the
particles making up a soil are, the larger the
pores (spaces) between the particles are.
Large pores make it easy for air and water
to move through soil. If water can move through soil easily, it is not stored for plants to use. This is
bad news for most plants that need water around to grow.
 Sandy soil absorbs more than two inches of water per hour. It is very porous, with large spaces
between soil particles. Little water is retained and the sandy soil dries out quickly.

 Loam soil absorbs from .25 inches to 2 inches per hour. The soil is loose and porous and holds
water quite well. Clay soil absorbs less than .25 inches of water per hour.
 Clay soil is dense with few air spaces between particles and holds water so tightly that little water is
available for plants.
Points of comparison Sand soil Silt soil Clay soil

1-Main components Sand particles Sand ,gravel ,silt, clay Clay and silt particles
and more humus
2-color Yellow Grey Dark(black)
3-the size Large Medium Small
4-compactness Weak(loose) Medium High

5-aeration Good Medium Poor

6-drainage of water Fast and great Medium Slow

7-water absorption Low Medium High

8-fertility Less High Fertile

9- Holding of water Less medium More
( retain water )
10- suitable plants Potatoes Cotton ,wheat Strawberry lemon -oranges
sweet potatoes peanuts- sugarcane vegetables pomegranates
cactus
 Unit 2. Rocks & weather

Type of Soil Example of Test Jar

 Sandy soils comprised of approximately 80 - 100% sand, 0 - 10% silt and

0 - 10% clay by volume. Sandy soils are light and typically very free draining,
usually holding water very poorly due to very low organic content.

 Loam soils comprised of approximately 25 - 50% sand, 30 - 50% silt and

10 - 30% clay by volume. Loam soils are somewhat heavier than sandy
soils, but also tend to be fairly free draining, again, due to typically low
organic content.

 Clay soils comprised of approximately 0 - 45% sand, 0 - 45% silt and 50 -

100% clay by volume. Clay soils are not typically free draining, and water
tends to take a long time to infiltrate. When wet, such soils tend to allow
virtually all water to run-off. Clay soils tend to be heavy and difficult to
work when dry.
 Unit 2. Rocks & weather

Learner should be able to investigate the properties of soil( texture – compaction - structure – pH
 Unit 2. Rocks & weather

Learner should be able to investigate the properties of soil( texture – compaction - structure – pH)
 Learner should be able to investigate the properties of soil( texture – compaction - structure –
pH)
2.5Questions
Learner should be able to describe the properties of soil (texture – compaction - structure – pH)
b) Look at the soil samples below. Each one has been taken from one of the places below. One is a peat soil
and one is a sandy soil. Match the soil with its location and say how and why you made your choice. (2
marks)
 Learner should be able to describe the properties of soil( texture – compaction - structure – pH),
differentiate between the three types of soil
1-

2-

3-

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