Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Summary
• Soil texture is simply the proportion of sand, silt and clay in the soil, while soil
structure is what results when the soil is manipulated by microbes, plants and an-
imals.
• The soil texture, structure and organic matter content give us clues as to the soil's
ability to infiltrate, drain and hold water and provide sufficient air, as well as to the
soil's inherent fertility, CEC and nutrient-holding capacity.
• This is all important, but we still don't know the quantity and balance of nutrients
in the soil, how available these nutrients are, or the quality and quantity of the soil
food web, which is why we need to do some detective work — coming up next.
