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The Mineral Composition of the Colloidal Fraction of Some Southwestern Soils in Relation to Field Behavior
Author(s) -
Buehrer T. F.,
Robinson D. O.,
Deming J. M.
Publication year - 1949
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1949.036159950013000c0027x
Subject(s) - composition (language) , citation , soil water , chemist , relation (database) , graduate students , library science , chemistry , sociology , computer science , geology , soil science , pedagogy , art , organic chemistry , literature , database
THE development in recent years of X-ray, thermal, and chemical methods of determining the minerals composing the colloid fraction of soils has, opened up a means of studying the relationship of the clay minerals to the physical and chemical behavior of soils in the field. Significant researches have appeared in the literature which show that the clay minerals are intimately associated with such soil properties as pH, base exchange, phosphate fixation, flocculation and dispersion, swelling, aggregation and structure, and the permeability of soils to, and the. availability of, soil moisture. Peterson (16) in his studies on soil structure finds, for example, that kaolinite is inert as a binding agent and hence has no effect on soil aggregation. Montmorillonite, on the other hand, because of its greater specific surface, charge, and hydration, acts as a cementing agent and increases aggregation. He further finds (15) that kaolinite is associated with the formation of platy structures, whereas montmorillonite produces a blocky structure. Ensminger (4) finds that portions of lignin and the proteins are sorbed by montmorillonite resulting in a reduction of base exchange capacity. Ensminger and Gieseking (5) have shown that gelatin and albumin are sorbed by montmorillonite and enter the variable space between the layer packages thus reducing the swelling which normally results from the absorption of water. In studies on soil structure in relation to puddling at the Arizona Experiment Station, Buehrer and Rose (3) and Buehrer and Aldrich (2) found that the constituent minerals of the colloidal fraction were intimately associated with the process by which water became "bound". These investigations involved studies on silica, kaolinite, and montmorillonite' and demonstrated that moisture sorption by silica and kaolinite were purely surface phenomena whereas in montmorillonite it was a function of the expanding lattice. The reclamation of alkaline soils by means of gypsum is still a problem challenging the soil scientist. It is well known that gypsum applied as an amendment on certain soil types is entirely effective but fails on others. A few determinations of mineral composition of the colloidal fraction of such soils convinced the authors that the response to gypsum reclamation may be a function of the minerals composing the colloid fraction. The formation of claypans and the ease with which desert soils of low organic matter content pass into the puddled condition also appear to be related to the'colloid mineral content. A survey of the principal soils under cultivation in Arizona was accordingly undertaken with the idea of correlating the mineral content of the colloidal fraction with known field responses of these soils. Similar studies have been conducted by Kelley, Dore, and Page (9) on California soils, Kelley, Dore, Woodford, and Brown (10) on American alkali soils, Russell and Haddock (18) on Iowa soils and Hosking (8) on Australian soils in relation to the parent material from which they were developed.