Soil Science 22

Laboratory Exercise No. 5

SOIL DENSITY, PORE SPACE, SOIL WATER CONTENT

Introduction

Soil is a complex and intricate system that plays a critical role in our environment. It is the
foundation for all plant growth, and as such, it is essential to understand its properties and
characteristics. Understanding the physical properties of soil is essential for many applications including
agriculture and engineering. A critical aspect of soil is measuring and characterizing soil density, pore
space, and expressions of soil water content. Soil density is defined as the mass per unit volume
occupied by the pore spaces as well as solids. Pore space refers to the voids or spaces between soil
particles that can be filled by air or water. The expression of soil water content refers to the amount of
water present in the soil relative to its total weight. To accurately measure expressions of soil water
content, it is necessary to standardize the data between different sites and types of soil. One common
method used to achieve this standardization is the calculation of water-filled pore space for each
volumetric water content measurement using bulk soil density data and particle density data. Accurate
measurement and characterization of these physical properties play an important role in managing soil
health and fertility for agriculture purposes as well as ensuring the structural integrity of buildings and
infrastructure built on the soil. Additionally, understanding soil density and pore space can help in
analyzing water infiltration rates, studying nutrient availability, predicting potential erosion risks, and
improving soil drainage systems in various engineering applications. Therefore, it is crucial to have a
good understanding of soil density and pore space when working with soil in any capacity.

Materials

balance soil samples core sampler 500 mL graduated cylinder bolo

distilled water ruler knife tin cans triple beam balance basin
metal containers
Procedure
Part I. Bulk density by core method
1. Choose a site in the field and clear the soil surface of plant debris.
2. Press or drive the metal core sampler into the soil until it is filled with soil.
3. Carefully remove the sampler from the soil to preserve a given soil volume as it existed in situ. Using
a knife, remove any excess soil adhering to the sampler.
4. Determine the oven-dried weight of the sample by drying in an oven at 110oC for about 24 hours.
5. Measure the length and inner diameter of the core sampler to compute its volume. This will be the
soil volume.
The students will be provided with a data set to use in learning how to compute the bulk density and
porosity (assume a soil particle density of 2.65 g/cm3) of the soil. The students will be provided with a
data set to use in learning how to compute the bulk density using the excavation method.

Part II. Determination of Field Capacity (FC) and Maximum Water Holding Capacity (WHC) by
Gravimetric Method
1. Collect enough soil from the field. The amount of soil to be collected will depend on the size of the
container to be used.
2. Place the soil in pre-weighed perforated tin cans lined with filter paper (3 cans for FC and 3 cans for
WHC determination)
3. Add water into a basin and immerse the cans with soil in water.
4. Allow the soil to absorb water by capillary movement and saturate it for at least 24 hours.
5. After saturation, remove 3 cans from the basin and allow it to drain for 2-3 days (48-72 hrs) then
determine the initial weight of the soil. Oven dry the soil in cans at 110oC for at least 24 hours then
determine the oven-dry weight.
6. Compute the moisture content at FC using the formula:
7. FW - ODW
% MCFC = ------------------- x 100
ODW
8. Remove the remaining 3 cans from the basin, carefully wipe it dry on the outside then immediately
determine the initial weight.
9. After weighing, place it in an oven or it may be allowed to air dry first before ovendrying.
10. Oven-dry for 24 hours or until constant weight is attained. Cool and weigh again.
11. Calculate % moisture at maximum WHC using the formula:
FW - ODW
% MCFC = ------------------- x 100
ODW
Where:
MC = moisture content (%) FW = fresh weight of soil (g) ODW = oven-dry weight of soil (g)
DATA SHEET

Part I. Bulk Density by Core Method

Disturbed soil Undisturbed soil

a. weight of tin can, g 5.93 5.93
b. weight of tin can and oven-dried soil, g 110.79 101.05
c . oven-dry weight of soil, g 104.86 95.12
d. radius of sampler, cm 2.6 2.6
e. height of sampler, cm 5.0 5.0
f. volume of core sampler, cm3 106.19 106.19
g. volume of soil, cm 3 106.19 106.19
h. Bulk density (g/cm3) 0.99 0.898
i. porosity (%); 62.64 66.03
assume : Dp= 2.65 g/cc

Part II. Determination of Field Capacity (FC) and Maximum Water Holding Capacity (WHC) by
Gravimetric Method

WHC FC
Sandy Soil Clayey Sandy Clayey
soil Soil soil
a. Wt. of tin can (g) 24.09 24.09 24.09 24.09
b. Wt. of tin can + soil (g) 74.09 74.09 74.09 74.09
c. Wt. of tin can + soil + water (g) 90.78 107.99 77.34 89.03
d. Wt. of tin can + soil (after oven-drying) 83.23 98.12 70.17 79.38
e. Wt. of oven-dry soil (d - a) 59.14 74.03 46.08 55.29
c - d 12.77 13.33 15.56 17.45
f. Moisture content (%) = ----------- x 100
e
Question:

1. From your data, how is the degree of soil disturbance related to bulk density?
Bulk density helps in determining soil effectiveness such as its water holding capacity, nutrient
retention and nutrient availability. Therefore it is necessary to consider the bulk density of the soil
when practicing farm practices, however, soil disturbances have drastic effects on soil especially its
bulk density. The further the soil disturbances, the lesser the soil compaction there is thus there is a
decrease in the bulk density of the soil. To sum it up, soil disturbances influences soil compaction
and soil compaction has a direct effect on soil density. The higher the disturbances, the less
compact the soil is making it less in bulk density as shown in the data on data sheet.

References
EMNZ. (2019, September 1). The Effect of the Soils Bulk Density. EMNZ.

Soil Quality: Indicators: Bulk Density. (n.d.).

CHAPTER 2 - SOIL AND WATER. (n.d.).

Libretexts. (2021). 5.2: Bulk Density, Porosity, Particle Density of Soil. Geosciences LibreTexts .