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The Effect of Various Exchangeable Cations Upon the Physical Condition of Soils
Author(s) -
Brooks R. H.,
Bower C. A.,
Reeve R. C.
Publication year - 1956
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/sssaj1956.03615995002000030008x
Subject(s) - potassium , chemistry , magnesium , sodium , soil water , leaching (pedology) , organic matter , calcium , permeability (electromagnetism) , environmental chemistry , mineralogy , inorganic chemistry , soil science , geology , organic chemistry , biochemistry , membrane
The effect of various exchangeable cations upon soil physical conditions was studied using eight soils. The stability of structure and crusting tendency of soils were evaluated by the air‐water permeability ratio and modulus of rupture tests, respectively. The effects of exchangeable magnesium on soil physical conditions were compared with those of exchangeable sodium and potassium, which were previously reported. In addition, the results of similar tests with various combinations of exchangeable sodium and potassium are given. The effect of the various cations on the dispersion and leaching of organic matter was also studied. Although there was a slight increase in modulus of rupture with increasing exchangeable magnesium, the data strongly indicate that exchangeable magnesium and potassium are similar to exchangeable calcium in their effect on stability of soil structure. Combinations of various levels of exchangeable sodium and potassium showed that exchangeable potassium, whether alone or in the presence of exchangeable sodium, had little if any effect in increasing the permeability ratio but reduced the modulus of rupture for several soils. The fraction of organic matter that dispersed and leached from the samples saturated with the various cations was relatively small, and there was no significant difference between the amounts leached from the calcium‐ and magnesium‐saturated soils.