10/10/2016 UnderstandingCEC,BuffersoilpH,PercentSaturation

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Title
CationExchangeCapacity(CEC) UnderstandingCEC,BuffersoilpH,
PercentSaturation
CEC,asreportedbynearlyallsoiltestinglaboratories,isacalculatedvalue
thatisanestimateofthesoilsabilitytoattract,retain,andexchangecation
By
elements.Itisreportedinmillequivalentsper100gramsofsoil(meq/100g).
SpectrumAnalyticInc

Inorderforaplanttoabsorbnutrients,thenutrientsmustbedissolved.
Synopsis
Whennutrientsaredissolved,theyareinaformcalled"ions".Thissimply
BasicinformationaboutCEC,Buffer
meansthattheyhaveelectricalcharges.Asanexampletablesaltissodium
pH,andPercentSaturationofthe
chloride(NaCl),whenitdissolvesitbecomestwoionsoneofsodium(Na+) soil.
andoneofchloride(Cl ).Thesmall+andsignswiththeNaandtheCl
indicatethetypeofelectricalchargesassociatedwiththeseions.Inthis
Keywords
example,thesodiumhasapluschargeandiscalleda"cation".Thechloride
bufferpH
hasanegativechargeiscalledan"anion".Since,insoilchemistry
cation
"oppositesattract"and"likesrepel",nutrientsintheionicformcanbe
cationexchangecapacity
attractedtoanyoppositechargespresentinsoil.
CEC
pH
Soilismadeupofmanycomponents.Asignificantpercentageofmostsoil saturation
isclay.Organicmatter,whileasmallpercentageofmostsoilisalso
importantforseveralreasons.Bothofthesesoilfractionshavealarge
numberofnegativechargesontheirsurface,thustheyattractcationelementsandcontributetoahigherCEC.At
thesametime,theyalsorepelanionnutrients("like"charges).

Someimportantelementswithapositiveelectricalchargeintheirplantavailableformincludepotassium(K+),
ammonium(NH4+),magnesium(Mg++),calcium(Ca++),zinc(Zn+),manganese(Mn++),iron(Fe++),copper
(Cu+)andhydrogen(H+).Whilehydrogenisnotanutrient,itaffectsthedegreeofacidity(pH)ofthesoil,soit
isalsoimportant.Someothernutrientshaveanegativeelectricalchargeintheirplantavailableform.Theseare
calledanionsandincludenitrate(NO3),phosphate(H2PO4andHPO4),sulfate(SO4),borate(BO3),and
molybdate(MoO4).Phosphatesareuniqueamongthenegativelychargedanions,inthattheyarenotmobilein
thesoil.Thisisbecausetheyarehighlyreactive,andnearlyallofthemwillcombinewithotherelementsor
compoundsinthesoil,otherthanclayandorganicmatter.Theresultingcompoundsarenotsoluble,thusthey
precipitateoutofsoilsolution.Inthisstate,theyareunavailabletoplants,andformthephosphorus"reserve"in
thesoil.

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10/10/2016 UnderstandingCEC,BuffersoilpH,PercentSaturation

LargerCECvaluesindicatethatasoilhasagreatercapacitytoholdcations.Therefore,itrequireshigherratesof
fertilizerorlimetochangeahighCECsoil.WhenahighCECsoilhasgoodtestlevels,itoffersalargenutrient
reserve.However,whenitispoor,itcantakealargeamountoffertilizerorlimetocorrectthatsoiltest.Ahigh
CECsoilrequiresahighersoilcationlevel,orsoiltest,toprovideadequatecropnutrition.LowCECsoilshold
fewernutrients,andwilllikelybesubjecttoleachingofmobile"anion"nutrients.Thesesoilsmaybenefitfrom
splitapplicationsofseveralnutrients.TheparticularCECofasoilisneithergoodnorbad,butknowingitisa
valuablemanagementtool.

Thefollowing,isdataonhowCECiscalculatedatSpectrumAnalytic.

Milliequivalents(Meq.)ofSelectedCationsandTheirEquivalentppm
Equivalent
Cation AtomicWeight Valence Milliequivalents
ppm Lbs/acre

H+ 1 1 1 10 20

Ca++ 40 2 20 200 400

Mg++ 24 2 12 120 240

K+ 39 1 39 390 780

NH4+ 18 1 18 180 360

Al +++ 27 3 9 90 180

Zn++ 65 2 32.5 325 650

Mn++ 55 2 27.5 275 550

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10/10/2016 UnderstandingCEC,BuffersoilpH,PercentSaturation

Fe++ 56 2 28 280 560

Cu++ 64 2 32 320 640

Na+ 23 1 23 230 460

CationExchangeCapacity(C.E.C.)Calculation
OnJuly1,2005,webegantoreportK,Ca,andMginMehlich3ppmaswellasouroldmethodofreporting.When
wedidthiswekeptthesameCECcalculationsthatwedidonouroldreports.Therefore,ifyouaregettinga
reportthathasMehlich3ppmK,CaandMgreportedinppmyouwillneedtousethefollowingformulasto
recalculatetoouroldconvertedreportingnumbers.Belowyouwillfindtheformulas.

LbsK=(M3Kppm0.84)2

LbsCa=(M3Cappm0.75)2

LbsMg=(M3Mgppm0.88)2

METHOD1:UseifabufferpH(BpH)isavailable.

C.E.C.=(lbK780)+(lbMg240)+(lbCa400)+[12(7BpH)]*
*IfbufferpHis7.0orgreater,usea0valueastheremainder...Example:(7.07.1)=0

METHOD2:UseifBufferpHisnotavailable.

C.E.C.=[(lbK780)+(lbMg240)+(lbCa400)]Factor
Multiplicationfactorstouseinmethod2

IfpHis UseFactor*
7.3orhigher 1.00
7.2 1.05
7.1 1.10
7.0 1.15
6.9 1.17
6.8 1.20
6.7 1.22
6.6 1.25
6.5 1.28
6.4orless UseMethodI

*Themultiplicationfactoraccountsforothercations

PercentSaturation
BothPercentNutrientSaturationandPercentBaseSaturationrefertoameasurement,orestimateofthepercent
ofthesoilCECthatisoccupiedbyaparticularnutrient(nutrientsaturation),orthesumofagroupofnutrients
(basesaturation).Thisinformationgivesusanothertooltouseinpredictingthesoilsabilitytoprovideadequate
cropnutrients,andindicateneededchangesinfertilizerorlimeprograms.Asimplifiedexampleofpercent
saturationwouldbewhereasoiliscapableofholding100cationsandthese100"exchangesites"areoccupied
bythefollowingnutrients.

NutrientQuantity Nutrient
Nutrient BaseSaturation
(meq) Saturation

Calcium(Ca++) 67 67%
SumofnutrientsaturationofCa,Mg,
Magnesium
15 15% andK
(Mg++) 67+15+3=85%
Potassium(K+) 3 3%

Hydrogen(H+) 12 12%
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10/10/2016 UnderstandingCEC,BuffersoilpH,PercentSaturation

Others* 3 3%
Total 100 100%

*IncludesIron(Fe++),Manganese(Mn++),Copper(Cu++),Zinc(Zn++),Sodium(Na+),Aluminum(Al +++),and
others.

ThepercentNutrientSaturationisthesaturationoftheindividualelements.ThepercentBaseSaturationisthe
combinedpercentsaturationofthethreemajorcationsthathaveabasicoralkalinereaction(K+,Ca++,and
Mg++).

Sinceasoiltestreportistypicallynotmeasuringandreportingallofthecationsthatareinthesoil,itiscommon
forthesumofthemeasuredcationstoadduptolessthan100%.Also,whenthesoilpHisaboveaboutpH7.2,
thesumofthecationsaturation'smayadduptomorethan100%.Thisisbecausethereislikelytobe"free"Ca,
Mg,and/orNa(unattachedtothesoilexchangecomplex)inthesoilthatisunavoidablyextractedbythesoil
testingprocess.

OptimumPercentSaturationRanges
Thereissomedisagreementamongagronomistsaboutthevalueofusing"optimum"percentsaturationrangesof
soilcationnutrients.Oneschoolofthoughtholdsthatitisveryimportantthatthesoilcontainaspecific
saturation,orratioofsaturationsforeachofthemajorcationnutrients(Ca,Mg,andK).Practitionersofthis
approachwillmakerecommendationsdesignedtoadjustthesoiltospecificsaturationlevels.Theopposingview
isthattherecanbeawiderangeofsaturationforeachofthesemajorcations,withnosignificantbenefitto
havingparticularsaturationlevelsorratioofsaturationlevels.Theevidencesuggeststhattheprimaryneedisfor
anadequateamountofeachnutrient,regardlessoftheresultingpercentsaturation,andthatthedesired
saturationrangecanbequitebroad.Tothedegreethatthereisan"ideal"percentsaturationrangeorratioof
cationnutrients,itwouldbeaffectedbyseveralotherfactorssuchasanyuniquecharacteristicsofaplant
species,theintendeduseoftheplants,thenatureofthesoilitself,andothers.Ourexperiencesuggeststhat
boththe"poundsperacre"andthe"percentsaturation"philosophieshavesomemeritindifferentsituations,and
thatbothshouldplayaroleinmakingrecommendations.

Giventhattargetsforpercentsaturation'scanhavesomeflexibility,thefollowingtablelistssomesuggested
saturationrangesthatwouldlikelybeconsideredacceptablebymostagronomists.

SoilCEC %K %Ca %Mg

05 46 5070 1020
610 35 5070 820
1115 34 5070 820
1620 24 5070 820
2125 24 5070 820
2630 1.53 5070 520
30+ 1.53 5070 520

KeepinmindthatwhenthesoilCECisbetween0andabout3,thepercentsaturationhaslessmeaning
agronomically.Thisisbecausetheholdingpowerofthesoilissolowthatevenadeficientamountofacation
nutrientcouldresultinarelativelyhighsaturation.Inthosecases,thesoiltestistellingusthatweshould
considermakingmultiplesplitapplicationsofthosecationsneededinlargeamounts,becausethesoilinunable
toretainanysignificantamountfromasingleapplication.Oneanalogythatseemstoillustratehowpercent
saturationworksiscomparingittoanirrigationsystem.Theamountofthenutrientissimilartotheamountof
waterappliedinirrigation,whilethepercentsaturationissimilartothewaterpressureoftheirrigationsystem.
Theamountofwaterismostcritical,butthewaterpressureplaysanimportantrole.

SoilpHandBufferpH
SoilpHThisisameasureofthesoilacidityoralkalinityandissometimescalledthesoil"water"pH.Thisis
becauseitisameasureofthepHofthesoilsolution,whichisconsideredtheactivepHthataffectsplantgrowth.
SoilpHisthefoundationofessentiallyallsoilchemistryandnutrientreactionandshouldbethefirst
considerationwhenevaluatingasoiltest.ThetotalrangeofthepHscaleisfrom0to14.Valuesbelowthemid
point(pH7.0)areacidicandthoseabovepH7.0arealkaline.AsoilpHof7.0isconsideredtobeneutral.Most
plantsperformbestinasoilthatisslightlyacidtoneutral(pH6.0to7.0).Someplantslikeblueberriesrequire
thesoiltobemoreacid(pH4.5to5.5),andothers,likealfalfawilltolerateaslightlyalkalinesoil(pH7.07.5).

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10/10/2016 UnderstandingCEC,BuffersoilpH,PercentSaturation
ThesoilpHscaleislogarithmic,meaningthateachwholenumberisafactorof10largerorsmallerthantheones
nexttoit.ForexampleifasoilhasapHof6.5andthispHisloweredtopH5.5,theacidcontentofthatsoilis
increased10fold.IfthepHisloweredfurthertopH4.5,theacidcontentbecomes100timesgreaterthanatpH
6.5.ThelogarithmicnatureofthepHscalemeansthatsmallchangesinasoilpHcanhavelargeeffectson
nutrientavailabilityandplantgrowth.

BufferpH(BpH)Thisisavaluethatisgeneratedinthelaboratory,itisnotanexistingfeatureofthesoil.
Laboratoriesperformthistestinordertodeveloplimerecommendations,anditactuallyhasnootherpractical
value.

Inbasicterms,theBpHistheresultingsamplepHafterthelaboratoryhasaddedalimingmaterial.Inthistest,
thelaboratoryaddsachemicalmixturecalledabufferingsolution.Thissolutionfunctionslikeextremelyfast
actinglime.EachsoilsamplereceivesthesameamountofbufferingsolutionthereforetheresultingpHis
differentforeachsample.Todeterminealimerecommendation,thelaboratorylooksatthedifferencebetween
theoriginalsoilpHandtheendingpHafterthebufferingsolutionhasreactedwiththesoil.Ifthedifference
betweenthetwopHmeasurementsislarge,itmeansthatthesoilpHiseasilychanged,andalowrateoflime
willsuffice.IfthesoilpHchangesonlyalittleafterthebufferingsolutionhasreacted,itmeansthatthesoilpH
isdifficulttochangeandalargerlimeadditionisneededtoreachthedesiredpHforthecrop.

ThereasonsthatasoilmayrequiredifferingamountsoflimetochangethesoilpHrelatestothesoilCECandthe
"reserve"aciditythatiscontainedbythesoil.Soilacidityiscontrolledbytheamountofhydrogen(H+)and
aluminum(Al +++)thatiseithercontainedin,orgeneratedbythesoilandsoilcomponents.SoilswithahighCEC
haveagreatercapacitytocontainorgeneratethesesourcesofacidity.Therefore,atagivensoilpH,asoilwitha
higherCEC(thusalowerbufferpH)willnormallyrequiremorelimetoreachagiventargetpHthanasoilwitha
lowerCEC.

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