Soil Physical

• Properties

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• Organic matter
content
• Soil minerals
• Seasonal
highwater tables
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Black organic matter coating on

peds in the B horizon of a Kansas
Mollisol. (Photo courtesy of Ray R.
Weil)
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The effect of water content on soil color. The

right side of this profile was sprayed with
water. (Photo courtesy of Ray R. Weil)
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Accumulation of iron (redox Blackish coatings from

feature) and areas of manganeseoxide a
reduction (gray color) from in
Davidson soil B/C horizon
the lower subsoil). (Photo courtesy of Ray R. Weil)
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Classification of soil particles
according to their size. The
shaded scale in the center
and the names on the drawings
of particles follow the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
system, which is widely used
throughout the world and in this
book. The other two systems
shown are also widely used by
soil scientists and by highway
construction engineers. The
drawing illustrates the sizes of
soil separates (note scale).
(Diagram courtesy of Ray R. Weil)
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𝑊
𝑝 𝑠
𝐷 = 𝑉
𝑠
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𝐷𝑝 =
𝑠𝑉𝑠
150 𝑔
𝐷𝑝 =
60 𝑐𝑚3
𝐷𝑝 = 2. 50
𝑔/𝑐𝑚3
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𝑊
𝑏 𝑠
𝐷 = 𝑉𝑏
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𝐷𝑏 =
𝑠𝑉𝑏
150 𝑔
𝐷𝑏 =
95 𝑐𝑚3
𝐷𝑏 = 1.58
𝑔/𝑐𝑚 3
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𝐷𝑏
% 𝑃𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 = 1 − ×
𝐷𝑝 100
𝐷𝑏 𝐷𝑝
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 𝐹𝑊−𝑂𝐷𝑊
• %𝑀𝐶 = ×
𝑂𝐷𝑊
100
• %𝑀𝐶 = 𝐺𝑀𝐶
× 𝐷𝑝

• 𝐻𝑤 = 𝑉𝑀𝐶
× 𝐻𝑡
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 •𝐺𝑊 = 𝑆𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 −
𝐹𝐶

• 𝐴𝑊 = 𝐹𝐶 − 𝑃𝑊𝑃
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