Soil chemistry

Soil chemistry studies the chemical characteristics of soil. Soil chemistry is affected by mineral composition, organic matter and environmental factors.

Overview

Until the late 1960s, soil chemistry focused primarily on chemical reactions in the soil that contribute to pedogenesis or that affect plant growth. Since then concerns have grown about environmental pollution, organic and inorganic soil contamination and potential ecological health and environmental health risks. Consequently, the emphasis in soil chemistry has shifted from pedology and agricultural soil science to an emphasis on environmental soil science.

A knowledge of environmental soil chemistry is paramount to predicting the fate, mobility and potential toxicity of contaminants in the environment. The vast majority of environmental contaminants are initially released to the soil. Once a chemical is exposed to the soil environment a myriad of chemical reactions can occur that may increase/decrease contaminant toxicity. These reactions include adsorption/desorption, precipitation, polymerization, dissolution, complexation, and oxidation/reduction. These reactions are often disregarded by scientists and engineers involved with environmental remediation. Understanding these processes enable us to better predict the fate and toxicity of contaminants and provide the knowledge to develop scientifically correct, and cost-effective remediation strategies.

Concepts

Anion and cation exchange capacity
Soil pH
Mineral formation and transformation processes
Clay mineralogy
Sorption and precipitation reactions in soil
Oxidation-reduction reactions
Chemistry of problem soils

References

Sonon, L. S. , M. A. Chappell and V.P. Evangelou (2000) The History of Soil Chemistry. Url accessed on 2006-04-11

Bibliography

Alexander, 1977, Soil Microbiology, 2nd Ed., Wiley Interscience
Bohn, McNeal, and O'Connor, 1985, Soil Chemistry, 2nd Ed, Wiley Interscience
Bolt and Bruggenwert, 1976, Soil Chemistry. A. Basic Elements, Elsevier
Cresser, Killham, and Edwards, 1993, Soil Chemistry and its applications, Cambridge
Davis and Hayes, 1986, Geochemical Processes at Mineral Surfaces, American Chemical Soc.
Dixon and Weed, 1989, Minerals in Soil Environments, Soil Sci. Soc. America
Harter, 1986, Adsorption Phenomena, Van Nostrand Reinhold
Lindsay, Willard L. 1979, Chemical Equilibria in Soils, Wiley Interscience
McBride, Murray M. 1994. Environmental Chemistry of Soils, Oxford
Sparks, D.L. 1989, Kinetics of Soil Chemical Processes, Academic Press
Sparks, D.L. 1999, Soil Physical Chemistry, CRC Press
Sparks, D. L. 2003, Environmental Soil Chemistry, Academic Press
Sposito, G. 1984, The Surface Chemistry of Soils, Oxford Press
Sposito, G., 1989,The Chemistry of Soils, Oxford University Press
Tan, Kim H., 1993, Principles of Soil Chemistry, 2nd Ed., Marcel Dekker
Wild, 1988, Russell's Soil Conditions and Plant Growth, 11th Ed., Longman
Wolt, Jeffrey D. 1994, Soil Solution Chemistry: Applications to Environmental Science and Agriculture, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

External links

SSSA - Div. S-2 Soil Chemistry
Council of Soil Science Examiners (CSSE): Minimum Competencies in Soil Chemistry and Mineralogy Q. & A.
Soil Chemistry in Encyclopedia of Soil Science