Chapter 4: Soil Physical Properties

Main Objectives
• Capable of explaining soil physical properties, their
importance, and factors influencing soil physical
properties.

• Understand the intricate relationship between soil

physical properties, soil tilth, and the relative
distribution of air, water and solids.
 Key terms and Concepts
• Texture
• Particle size distribution
• Specific surface area
• Soil structure
• Aggregate
• Particle density
• Bulk density
• Soil pore space
• soil tilth
1. Soil Color

2. Texture (size distribution of primary soil particles)

● Soil texture is a basic property of a soil, and is not

readily subject to change in hundreds of years.

● Gravels (2-75 mm), cobbles (75-250 mm), boulders

(>250 mm), and other coarse fragments are not
normally considered as part of soil texture.
 Germany Spotosol

Minnesota Spotosol

Australia Oxisol

Minnesota Mollisol
A. Soil separates (USDA):
Sand: <2 mm & >0.05 mm
Silt: <0.05 mm & >0.002 mm
Clay: <0.002 mm
B. Texture and surface area
SPECIFIC SURFACE AREA: the surface area for a given mass (or volume) of
particles. When particle size decreases, specific area increases geometrically.

Why is soil surface area important?

1). Maintain water films
2). Chemical attachment and adsorption
3). Weathering at the surfaces
4). Electromagnetic charges as forces of soil aggregation
5). Microbes tend to grow on particle surfaces.
3. Texture classes
A. Loams. Any soil not having the extreme proportion of clay, silt
and sand fractions is a kind of loam (see the triangle).
B. The soil texture triangle
 The “feel” method for approximating soil texture classes

Figure 4.8 The “feel” method for determining soil textural class. A moist soil sample is
rubbed between the thumb and forefingers and squeezed out to make a “ribbon.” (Right) The
gritty, noncohesive appearance and short ribbon of a sandy loam containing about 15% clay.
(Middle) The smooth, dull appearance and crumbly ribbon characteristic of a silt loam. (Left)
The smooth, shiny appearance and long, flexible ribbon of a clay
Figure 4.9 Flow chart for determining textural class by feel. To use the chart,
begin at the top left corner
C. Particle size analysis:

The bigger they are, the faster they fall.

V=kd2
V: settling velocity;
d: particle diameter;
k: a constant (gravity, density and viscosity of water)

So, by measuring the amount of soil particles still in suspension

after various settling time, the percentage of each size fraction can
be determined (either by the pipet method or by the hydrometer
method).
Figure 4.10 In performing particle-size analysis, a sample of soil (with organic matter
removed) is suspended in water, stirred vigorously, and then allowed to settle. A
hydrometer (right) can indicate the mass of particles remaining in suspension after
different settling times (it floats higher when more soil is in suspension). Stokes’ law is
used to calculate the smallest effective diameter of the particles still in suspension at
these times. (Left) The layers of sand and silt that have settled out after seven hours
4. Structure
● Structure relates to the
arrangement of primary soil
particles into secondary
aggregates of peds.

Why is soil structure

important?

A. Structural peds
(see figure 4.13)

Figure 4.13
Figure 4.12 Larger structural units observable in a soil profile each contain many
smaller units. The lower example shows how large prismatic peds typical of B horizons
break down into smaller peds (and so on). The upper example illustrates how
microaggregates smaller than 0.25 mm in diameter are contained within the granular
macroaggregates of about 1 mm diameter that typify A horizons. The microaggregates
often form around and occlude tiny particles of organic matter originally trapped in the
macroaggregate. Note the two different scales for the prismatic and granular structures.
B. Aggregates (>0.01 mm & <5 mm)

(a) Hierarchical organization (see Figure 4.15)

B. Aggregates (>0.01 mm & <5 mm)

(b) Processes influencing formation and stability of aggregates

Biological processes: (1) microorganisms; (2) roots; (3) fauna;

e.g., organic glues, hyphae, glomalin, all can be effective
cementing agents. In general SOM is the most important type of
agent for aggregate formation and stabilization.

Physical-chemical processes (clay flocculation, and Na+

dispersion, wet-dry cycles, and freeze-thaw cycles)
Figure 4.18 The influence of organic matter (OM) on the stability of soil aggregates against
slaking (falling apart) when wetted. The two soil samples were collected from adjacent plots
on a Beltsville silt loam (Fragiudults). The lower OM soil grew conventionally tilled corn
grain crops every year for 20 years. The higher OM soil grew bluegrass sod during the same
period, resulting in about 9 g/1000 g (0.9%) more OM in the soil. Although both soils
appeared well aggregated when dry (left), when the same amount of water was added to each
the aggregates in the low OM soil rapidly fell apart while those in the higher OM soil
remained intact. For data associated with these plots, see Weil and Magdoff (2004)
Figure 4.11 The aggregates of soils high in organic matter are much more stable than are those low in this
constituent. The low-organic-matter soil aggregates fall apart when they are wetted; those high in organic
matter maintain their stability.
Figure 4.12 Puddled soil (left) and well-granulated soil (right). Plant roots and especially humus play the major
role in soil granulation. Thus a sod tends to encourage development of a granular structure in the surface
horizon of cultivated land. (Courtesy USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Lehmann & Kleber 2015 Nature 528:60-68
5. Bulk density
A. Particle density (Dp): is defined as the mass per unit of
volume of soil solids without any pore space. For most soils
Dp may range from 2.6 to 2.75 Mg/M3.

B. Bulk density (Db): is defined as the mass of a unit volume of

dry soil with preserved pore space.

● Bulk density indirectly tells us the total pore space in a soil.

Because:
% pore space = 100 - (Db / Dp X 100)

The equation above gives the mathematical relationship between

particle density, bulk density, and total pore space in a particular
volume of a soil.
Figure 4.17 (1) Bulk density Db and particle density Dp of soil. Bulk density is
the weight of the solid particles in a standard volume of field soil (solids plus
pore space occupied by air and water). Particle density is the weight of solid
particles in a standard volume of those solid particles. Follow the calculations
through carefully and the terminology should be clear. In this particular case,
the bulk density is one-half the particle density, and the percent pore space is
50.
Figure 4.17 (2) Bulk density Db and particle density Dp of soil. Bulk density is
the weight of the solid particles in a standard volume of field soil (solids plus
pore space occupied by air and water). Particle density is the weight of solid
particles in a standard volume of those solid particles. Follow the calculations
through carefully and the terminology should be clear. In this particular case, the
bulk density is one-half the particle density, and the percent pore space is 50.
Figure 4.28 A special sampler designed to remove a cylindrical core of soil without
causing disturbance or compaction (a). The sampler head contains an inner cylinder and is
driven into the soil with blows from a drop hammer. The inner cylinder (b) containing an
undisturbed soil core is then removed and trimmed on each end with a knife to yield a core
whose volume can easily be calculated from its length and diameter. The weight of this
soil core is then determined after drying in an oven
C. Factors affecting bulk density:
Texture
Clay types
Structure
SOM content
Depth in a profile
Compaction
Tillage
Root distribution of a cotton plant. On the right, interrow tractor traffic and plowing have caused a plowpan that
restricts root growth. Roots are more prolific on the left where there had been no recent tractor traffic. The
roots are seen to enter the subsoil through a loosened zone created by a subsoiling chisel-type implement.
(Courtesy USDA National Tillage Machinery Laboratory)
6. Pore space:

A. Factors influencing pore space

All the factors influencing bulk density also affect pore space.
B. Pore size (micro <0.03 mm; meso>0.03 and <0.08; macro >0.08 )

Figure 4.19
7. Tillage and soil physical properties

A. The purposes of tillage:

(a) Accelerating SOM decomposition/soil mining
(b) Preparing seedbed
(c) Control weeds
(d) Regulate moisture
(e) Plant residue incorporation
(f) Reduce soil pests

No-till is a way of agricultural practice by growing crops without

plowing soils.

Conservation/reduced tillage is a agricultural management

regime which reduces soil plowing to a minimum level.
Figure 4.25 Contrasting tillage systems. (Left) A moldboard plow slices, twists, and partially
inverts the plow layer of soil, burying all plant residues and leaving the soil “naked.” (Right)
An extreme conservation tillage system in which tomato seedlings are being transplanted into a
mulch of killed cover crop residue with almost no soil disturbance at all. This no-tillage system
keeps a residue cover on the soil at all times, protects the soil from erosion, reduces fuel costs,
saves time, and allows operations to proceed under conditions that would be prohibitive if
tillage were required. In this case the no-till transplanter is operating in the rain with no
problems of compaction and mud. The black lines are irrigation tubing being lain down
B. Soil tilth
Soil tilth refers to the physical condition of the soil in relation
to plant growth, and is an integration of the following
properties: Texture, Aggregate formation and stability, Bulk
density, Moisture, Aeration, Water infiltration rate, Drainage,
Capillary water capacity. (see the 7 guidelines in the textbook)

C. The pros and cons of soil tillage

Soil tillage might have served the above-mentioned purposes,
but it has also produced unwanted consequences.

Have you heard about the dust bowls in North American plains
in the past?
Discussion questions:
1. Please give an example for using the knowledge in this
chapter in a real world situation?
2. Exercise to use the texture triangle to figure out the textural
class of a soil given the percent clay, silt and sand.
3. Can you describe the mathematical relationship between
particle density, bulk density and total pore space in a
particular volume of a soil?
4. Can you discuss the possible effects of organic farming on
soil aggregate formation and stability in comparison with a
nearby conventional farm?
5. Can you think of the potential effects of no-tillage practices
on soil bulk density at different soil horizons and the
implications for plant growth and environmental protection?
5. Bulk density
A. Particle density (Dp): is defined as the mass per unit of
volume of soil solids without any pore space. For most soils
Dp may range from 2.6 to 2.75 Mg/M3.

B. Bulk density (Db): is defined as the mass of a unit volume of

dry soil with preserved pore space.

● Bulk density indirectly tells us the total pore space in a soil.

Because:
% pore space = 100 - (Db / Dp X 100)

The equation above gives the mathematical relationship between

particle density, bulk density, and total pore space in a particular
volume of a soil.
Soil aggregates in a Mollisol in Iowa are larger and more stable under native prairie vegetation than where
cultivated crops had been grown for some 90 years. In this study, soil samples were taken from a prairie area
and from two nearby fields, where either corn or soybeans had been grown the previous year. Differences in
past management may in part account for differences between the corn and soybean fields, but the soil in both
of these fields shows distinct aggregate breakdown compared to the native grassland area. [Drawn from data
in Martens (2000)]
Figure 4.22 Tractors and other heavy equipment compact the soil to considerable depths, increasing bulk density
and reducing plant growth and crop yields. The effects are especially damaging if the soil is wet when trafficked.
(a) The tires of a heavy vehicle compact a sandy loam soil to about 30 cm, creating a traffic pan. Plowing
temporarily loosens the compacted surface soil (plow layer), but increases compaction just below the plowed
layer, creating a combined traffic pan and plow pan. Bulk densities in excess of 1.8 Mg/m3 prevented the
penetration of cotton roots in this case. (b) The yield of potatoes was reduced in two out of three years in this test
on a clay loam in Minnesota. Yield reductions are often most pronounced in relatively dry years when plants have
the greatest need for subsoil moisture. [Based on data from Camp and Lund (1964) and Voorhees (1984)]
Figure 4.2 General relationship between particle size and kinds of minerals present. Quartz dominates the
sand and coarse silt fractions. Primary silicates such as the feldspars, hornblende, and micas are present in
the sands and, in decreasing amounts, in the silt fraction. Secondary silicates dominate the fine clay. Other
secondary minerals, such as the oxides of iron and aluminum, are prominent in the fine silt and coarse clay
fractions.
 Both water content and bulk density affect soil strength as measured by penetrometer resistance. The data
are for the clay textured Bt horizon of a Tatum soil in Virginia (Hapludults), which was either severely
compacted (bulk density 1.7 Mg/m3) or not compacted (bulk density 1.3 Mg/m3). Note that soil strength
decreases as water content increases and is very low regardless of bulk density when the soil is nearly
saturated with water. [Unpublished data of R. Gilker, R. Weil, and D. Krizek, University of Maryland and
USDA/ARS]