Question

Which elements determine the texture of soil?

Answer 1

The texture of a soil is based on the percentage of sand, silt, and clay found in that soil.

A soil is simply a porous medium consisting of minerals, water, gases, organic matter, and microorganisms.

Answer 2

The relative ‘amount of sand’, silt, clay determines the soil texture.

Explanation:

• PSA - Particle Size Analysis can be used for determining the relatable amounts of sand, clay, and silt in a soil.

• The size fractions can be considered as the mineral component of a provided soil which joins together in determining the texture of the soil.  

• This PSA method can be considered as an alternative to the field texturing and provides more reliable determination in distribution of the particle sizes.  

• There is an approximate correlation between the hand and PSA texturing.