what are different properties of soil
Answers
Answer:
Sandy soil and clay soil
Answer:
All soils contain mineral particles, organic matter, water and air. The combinations of these determine the soil’s properties – its texture, structure, porosity, chemistry and colour.Soil is made up of different-sized particles. Soil texture refers to the size of the particles that make up the soil and depends on the proportion of sand, silt and clay-sized particles and organic matter in the soil. Sandy soils feel gritty when rubbed between your fingers. Silts feel smooth – a little like flour. Most clays are sticky and mouldable. If you’ve ever used pottery clay, you’ll know the feeling.
Soils are made up of different combinations of sand, silt and clay particles. Soils that are a mixture of sand, silt and clay are called loams. The name of the soil often identifies the dominant particle, for example, Timaru silt loam describes a soil that has a predominance of silt. Other examples of New Zealand soils are Waikare clay and Te Kopuru sand.
Soil texture can influence whether soils are free draining, whether they hold water and how easy it is for plant roots to grow.
Sand particles are quite big. The pore spaces between the particles in sandy soils are also quite large. This allows water to drain quickly and air to enter the soil. Sandy soils tend not to get waterlogged in winter but can be subject to drought during summer.
Silt particles are too small for us to see with our eyes. Silt soils have much smaller pore spaces but a lot more of them.
Clay particles are smaller than 0.002 mm in diameter. Clay soils are poorly drained and hold on to the water in their pore spaces for much longer. However, they can become very hard if they dry out.