Estimating cation exchange capacity using soil textural data and soil organic matter content: A case study for the south of Iran

Abstract

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is an important soil property that is used as an input data in soil and environmental models. Although CEC can be measured directly, its measurement is expensive and time-consuming, therefore pedotransfer functions can be used for estimating it from more readily available soil data. As CEC is highly dependent on soil texture, it may be successfully estimated from the soil textural data. In this study, 20 soils were selected from Fars province, in the south of Iran, and the values of CEC, soil organic matter content, and soil particle size distribution curve of each soil were measured and the geometric mean particle-size diameter (d g ), and the summation of the number of spherical particles for whole parts of the soil particle-size distribution (N) were determined for each soil. Then, five multiple linear regressions were derived between CEC and mentioned soil properties. The results showed that more applicable equation for the study area was based on the percentages of clay, sand and soil organic matter content.