Abstract
Existing pools of soil chemical data may be used in the investigation of conceptual models about soil chemical processes. Data from more than 2000 soil samples from German forests were pooled and interpreted to establish parameter relations that are related to soil acidification. A saturated water extract and an extraction of exchangeable cations by ammonium chloride were used. Activities in the soil solution were calculated by a complexation model. The change in exchangeable cation composition with decreasing pH is shown, the main process being the displacement of Ca by Al. Cation exchange selectivity coefficients do vary less than 1 log unit between most cases. For some cation pairs and regions in Ca-saturation the coefficients are much more constant. Ion activity products for gibbsite, alunite, and jurbanite indicate that one or more of these precipitates may contribute to solution composition control between pH 3.5 and 5 at least.
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