Acidity

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For variable charge soils, acidity is a property that is of equal importance as the surface charge. These two properties may affect each other, with the effect of the former on the latter more remarkable than the reverse. In the previous chapters it was shown that pH affects many other properties of the soil by affecting the surface charge. Therefore, soil acidity is more significant than surface charge in some aspects. Owing to a similar reason, the importance of acidity for variable charge soils may exceed that for constant charge soils. Soil acidity generally manifests itself in the form of hydrogen ions. Actually, these hydrogen ions are chiefly the product of the hydrolysis of aluminum ions. Therefore, when examining soil acidity it is necessary to examine the properties of aluminum ions. In the previous chapter the transformation of hydrogen ions into aluminum ions has already been mentioned. In this chapter the relationship between aluminum ions and hydrogen ions will be discussed in greater detail. Another difference between variable charge soils and constant charge soils with respect to acidity is that, not only hydrogen ions, but also hydroxyl ions can participate in chemical reactions between the solid phase and the liquid phase. In constant charge soils the quantity of hydroxyl ions is an induced variable and is determined by the quantity of hydrogen ions in the solution and the ionic product of water. In variable charge soils, on the other hand, the quantity is also determined by the chemical equilibrium of that ion species itself at the solid-solution interface. Thus, hydroxyl ions can, in turn, affect the quantity of hydrogen ions in solution. In this chapter the nature of acidity of variable charge soils will be discussed mainly from these characteristics. In the field of soil chemistry, there has been an interesting history with regard to the nature of soil acidity. Soon after the recognition of the relationship between acid reaction and hydrogen ions in chemistry, this concept of the nature of acidity was introduced into soil science, and the significance of hydrogen ions was invariably associated with it whenever soil acidity was considered.