EESB05

Principles of Soil Science

 Lecture 3
SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

• Soil texture and structure

• Soil compaction
• Soil density
– volume and mass relationships in soil
 Practical 1: Soil physical properties

P001 (12-3pm) – Sept 29th P003 (12-3pm) – Oct 6th

P002 (3-6pm) – Sept 29th P004 (3-6pm) – Oct 6th
P005 (9-12pm) – Oct 6th
 Physical properties of soils

• Texture (sand, silt, clay)

• Soil structure
• Bulk density
• Soil compaction
• Soil colour
Why understand soil
texture?

•Most important and

nearly permanent feature
of the soil.
•Many physical, chemical
and biological properties
of soil related to texture
•Interface of root and soil
environment
Particle size distributions

Fig. 1.12
Soil texture
Particle size distributions
Composition of soil texture
classes
 Sands and silts

Clays

Note extent of chemical and physical weathering, and the end products…
Size of soil texture classes

Clay particles
 Size of soil texture classes

Sand particles
 Particle size and surface area

Sand particle Clay particles

6 sides * 64cm2 per side 6 sides*4 cm2 per side * 64 cubes

Total area=384 cm2 Total area=1536 cm2
Particle size and surface area
Interpreting particle size distributions
 Interpreting particle size distributions

<= 0.002 mm 0.002-0.05 mm

>= 0.05 mm
 Interpreting particle size distributions

Loam:
<= 0.002 mm 0.002-0.05 mm
a soil composed mostly of sand and
silt, and a smaller amount of clay

>= 0.05 mm
Determining particle size distributions

V=kd2
V = velocity
K = constant
D = diameter

Bouyoucos Hydrometer Method

Soil structure
 Soil structure

Be
Soil structure
Soil structure
Soil structure
Soil structure and water infiltration
 Soil aggregation and
stability
• Organic matter
• Roots or hyphae
• Plant and fungal debris
• Chemical abiotic processes (e.g. flocculation)
Soil aggregation and
aggregate stability

Organic matter
Roots or hyphae
Plant and fungal debris
Chemical: flocculation
• Coarse scale • Very fine scale
• Biological • Abiotic binding
binding agents agents
• More critical in • More critical in
sandy soils clayey soils
Flocculation: A major factor
influencing aggregate
formation
Particle size distributions

Fig. 1.12
Macro- and micro-pores
Porosity: influence on soil
density, soil aeration and gas
exchange, water movement in
soils, and water holding capacity.
Pore space
Soil density
Key calculation – bulk density

Example

What is bulk density of soil where:

- total volume = 1.2 m3
- wet mass = 2.45 Mg
- water mass = 0.35 Mg

Db = oven dry mass (Mg)/ volume (m3)

= (2.45 Mg - 0.35 Mg)/ 1.2 m3
= 2.1 Mg/ 1.2 m3
= 1.75 Mg/ m3
 Soil bulk density

• Mass of dry soil per unit of non-dried volume (including all

pore space).
• Ranges between 0.1-3.0 Mg/ m3.
• Differs from soil particle density (which does not include all
pore space).
Key calculation – soil particle density

Example

What is soil particle density where:

- total volume = 1.5 m3
- pore space = 0.8 m3
- soil wet mass = 2.45 Mg
- water mass = 0.20 Mg

Dp = dry mass solids (Mg)/ volume solids (m3)

= (2.45 Mg-0.20 Mg)/ (1.5 m3 – 0.8 m3)
= 2.25 Mg / 0.7 m3
= 3.21 Mg / m3
Percent pore space
Key calculation – percent pore space

Dp
Key calculation – percent pore space

Dp

Example
Based on previous calculations of bulk density and
particle density, what is the percent pore space?

% pore space = 100 – ((Db / Dp) * 100)

= 100 – ((1.75 Mg m-3 / 3.21 Mg m-3) * 100)
= 100 – (0.545*100)
= 100 – 54.5
= 45.5%
Bulk densities of
a variety of soils

Increasing
BD
Soil compaction
 Soil Colour
• Indicates the composition of the soil and the conditions
of the soil:
– degree of chemical weathering
– organic matter content
– aeration and drainage
– accumulation of salts
• Influenced by the content of:
– organic matter (dark brown or black colour)
– water (gleying, mottling)
– iron and magnesium (oxidation - yellow or red soil indicates the
presence of iron oxides)
 Munsell System
• Soil colour is determined by
comparing a soil ped to standard
colour charts using the Munsell
colour notation system.
• Colours are assigned a series of
letter-number symbols to denote:
• hue – the dominant spectral colour
• value – the lightness or darkness
of a colour
• chroma – the strength or purity of
the dominant colour
• EX: well drained soils 10YR hue.
Hue – dominant color spectra
Value – lightness/ darkness of color
Chroma – purity of dominant color
Soil Colour