Glossary

 

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Calcification

Process whereby the soil is kept sufficiently supplied with calcium to saturate the soil cation exchange sites.


Capillary water

Water in capillary pores influenced by forces that hold water in soils against a tension usually greater than 60cm. Capillary water can move upwards against gravity.


Carbon cycle

Sequence of transformations whereby carbon dioxide is converted to organic forms by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, recycled through the biosphere (with partial incorporation into sediments), and ultimately returned to its original state through respiration or combustion.


Cation

Particle with positive charge; reactions between anions and cations create electrical forces.


Cation exchange

Interchange between a cation in solution and another cation in the boundary layer between the solution and surface of negatively charged material such as clay or organic matter.


Clay

Soil particle smaller than 0.002mm or 2µm, with high specific area mainly influencing soil colloidal properties (see also colloid) as well as stability of soil structure: high stability in both wet and dry conditions; also a soil texture class.


Clay coating/film

Coatings of oriented clay on the surfaces of peds and mineral grains and lining pores, also called clay skins, clay flows, illuviation cutans, or argillans.


Clay loam

Soil texture class. See also soil texture.


Clay minerals

Clay-sized hydrous aluminium silicates having a large interlayer space that can hold significant amounts of water and other substances; they have large a surface area allowing swelling and shrinking; examples are montmorillonite or smectite and kaolinite.


Coating

Layer of a substance completely or partly covering a surface of soil material; coatings can comprise clay, calcite, gypsum, iron, organic material, salt, etc.


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