Soil Chemistry

Abstract

Soil chemistry deals with the chemical properties and reactions of soils. It is essentially the application of electrochemistry and colloid chemistry to soil systems. Major topics include surface charge properties of soil colloids, cation and anion sorption and exchange, soil acidity, soil alkalinity, soil salinity, and the effects of these chemical properties and processes on soil biological activity, plant growth, and environmental quality. The ability of the electrically charged surface of soil colloids to retain nutrient cations and anions is an important chemical property affecting the fertility status of the soil. There are two major sources of electrical charges on soil organic and inorganic colloids, namely, permanent or constant charges and variable or pH-dependent charges. Permanent or constant charges are the result of the charge imbalance brought about by isomorphous substitution in a mineral structure of one cation by another of similar size but differing valence (see also section 2.3.2). For example, the substitution of Mg2+ for Al3+ that occurs in Al-dominated octahedral sheets of 2:1 clay minerals results in a negative surface charge in smectite, vermiculite, and chlorite. The excess negative charges are then balanced by adsorbed cations to maintain electrical neutrality. Permanent negative charges of all 2:1 silicate minerals arise from isomorphous substitutions. The l:l-type clay mineral, kaolinite, has only a minor amount of permanent charge due to isomorphic substitution. The negative charges on kaolinite originate from surface hydroxyl groups on the edge of the mineral structure and are pH-dependent. Variable or pH-dependent charges occur on the surfaces of Fe and Al oxides, allophanes, and organic soil colloids. This type of surface charge originates from hydroxyl groups and other functional groups by releasing or accepting H+ ions, resulting in either negative or positive charges. Other functional groups are hydroxyl (OH) groups of Fe and/or Al oxides and allophanes and the COOH and OH groups of soil organic matter. Variable-charge soil colloids bear either a positive or a negative net surface charge depending on the pH of the soil. The magnitude of the charge varies with the electrolyte concentration of the soil solution.