University of Baghdad

Collage of engineering
Civil engineering department
M.Sc. Geotechnical Engineering

Organic soils

BY
Roaa Monam Fadhil
 Introduction

Soil organic matter in its broadest sense, encompasses all of

the organic materials found in soils irrespective of its origin.
Included are living organic matter (plants and microbial
biomass ), dissolved organic matter, it is highly carbonised
organic matter (charcoal and charred organic materials). The
functional definition of soil organic matter excludes organic
materials larger than 2 mm in size. Soil organic matter is made
up of significant quantities of C, H, O, N, P and S. For
practical reasons, most analytical methods used to determine
the levels of soil organic matter actually determine the content
of soil organic carbon in the soil.
Type of soil based on organic matter :

In Civil Engineering nomenclature, a soil is said to be

an organic if it has a sufficient organic content to affect
the engineering properties of the material but does not
have the spongy structure of peat or muck

1) peat soil - contains greater than 65% organic matter

2) muck soil - contains 20-65% organic matter
Table -1 Guiding values for the Classification of Soils on the Basis of Organic
content (Karlson and Hansbo, 1981)

Soil group Organic content in weight % Examples of designations

of dry material

Low organic soils 2-6 Gyttja bearing clay

Dy bearing silt
Humus bearing, clayey sand

Medium organic soils 6-20 Clayey gyttja

Silty dy
Humus rich sand

High organic soils >20 Gyttja, Dy, Peat

Humus rich top soil
 The Functions of Soil Organic Matter in Soils:

The functions of soil organic matter can be summarised as below :-

1-Physical Functions
- Improves the structural stability of soils at size scales ranging from
the < 250 m scale of micro aggregates to large aggregates (> 250
m).
- Influences the hydrological properties of soil including the water
holding capacity, infiltration properties and hydraulic conductivities of
subsoil layers.
- Improves the friability and tilth of the soil
- Improves aeration
- Alters thermal properties .
2-Chemical Functions
- Contributes to the cation exchange capacity of the soil.
- Enhances the ability of the soil to buffer against changes in pH.
- Complexes cations and anions which can:
- reduce the availability of toxic agents such as Al3+ in the soil
solution.
- maintain the availability of nutrients such as phosphorus in a
potentially available form and prevent them from becoming
unavailable.
Methods for determination of organic content:

Methods for the determination of organic matter can be

divided into two categories:
1- Direct methods include the loss on ignition method and the
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) digestion method.
2- Indirect methods include dry/wet combustion and
dichromate oxidation. The loss on ignition method is the most
common method in civil engineering.
 Organic soils

Indirect methods: Direct methods:

(1) Dry combustion (1) Hydrogen peroxide
(2) Wet combustion (2) Loss on ignition
(3) Dichromate Oxidation

Organic content (%) =

Organic Carbon (%) x Organic content (%) =
Factor Weight loss (dry-%)

Indirect versus direct approaches for determining the organic content in

soils
Effects of organic matter on geotechnical properties of
soils :
The geotechnical properties of organic soils depend on the
following factors:
(1)organic content
(2) type of organic matter
(3) degree of decomposition of the organic matter.
(4) void ratio.
GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF ORGANIC SOIL
• Geotechnical properties of soils are altered to varying
degrees by the presence of organic matter. Organic matter
absorbs water and causes clay size particles to aggregate
forming an open fabric. This causes unusually high water
content and plasticity and exceptionally low wet bulk
densities. Some of these deposits show notable increases in
shear strength, sensitivity, and degree of apparent over
consolidation.
• The increase of organic content in soil would influence not
only the chemistry of the soil but also alter the geotechnical
properties. Therefore the wet bulk density decreases as the
organic content increase.
• In general, as the organic content increases, water content,
Atterberrg limits increase, whereas specific density, bulk
density, plastic index, and efficiency of compaction decrease.

• In addition to organic content, the type of organic matter and

the degree of decomposition of organic matter are two critical
factors affecting the strength, permeability, and
compressibility of organic soils. A more fibrous structure and
the less degree of decomposition usually lead to higher
permeability and compressibility.

• The strength of organic soil is reduced with the presence of

organic matter; however, the fibrous structure, if present, may
increase the strength and some tensile strength is expected.
Void ratio is the result of organic content, type of organic
matter and degree of decomposition: a more fibrous structure,
a higher organic content, and a lower degree of decomposition
all lead to a more open structure, i.e. an increased void ratio.
Void ratio controls the major properties of organic soils,
especially the compressibility. Compressibility is the key
characteristic of organic soils in construction. The short
primary consolidation and the large secondary consolidation
(creep) always create problems in civil engineering practice
when organic soils are present.
Soil color:
1- black / dark brown : high organic matter.
2- brown :well drained
3- grey : wet , color –less
4- red : old – well established ( oxidized)
5- red or yellow : presence of iron oxides.
6- white : leached .
The soil profile with high levels of organic matter
Treatment and Improvement of Organic Soils Properties:

Treatments that can be applied on this soil for the purpose of

treatment and improve Engineering characteristics including:
1- ground improvement and reinforcement.
2- Preloading.
3- Vertical sand Drains.
4- Cement and lime columns.
5- Chemical addition.
 References
‫ "تأثير محتوى المواد العضوية على الخصائص الهندسية‬.)2009(. ‫• محمد ظافر عبد النافع‬
،‫ *كلية الهندسة‬.2010, 8 ‫العدد‬،28 ‫ المجلد‬، ‫للترب االنتفاخية " مجلة الهندسة والتكنولوجيا‬
.‫ نينوى‬/ ‫جامعة الموصل‬
Dr. Bushra S. Zbar , Mohammed A. Khan & Ahmed S. Jawad (2013).
Geotechnical Properties of Compacted Silty Clay Mixed With Different
Sludge Contents.College of Engineering, University of Baghdad/ Baghdad

• J. Hartlen & W. Wolski ," Developments in Geotechnical Engineering“

Swedish Geotechnical Institute, S-58 1 93 Linkoping, Sweden.
• Pao-Tsung Huang , Mital P.& Maria C.S.(2009)" CLASSIFICATION OF
ORGANIC SOILS" School of Civil Engineering Purdue University.