Explore: Clay Soils

than silt- and clay-rich soils, and are easier to till than clay soils. In fact, the primary definition of loam in most dictionaries is soils containing humus

temperate or tropical regions. While the term is usually applied to the red clay soils of the Southern United States, Ultisols are also found in regions of Africa

silts and clay, clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by differences in size and mineralogy. Silts, which are fine-grained soils that do

prefer soils with high clay content, usually with the smectite clay families being well represented. The preference for certain types of clay or soil can

matter and clay in the soils they work. In recent years, for example, productivity has declined and soil erosion has increased in the low-clay soils of northern

mainly used on clayey or silty soils since these are the soils which expand and shrink when the moisture content varies. Clays and silts interact with water

groups: (1) coarse-grained soils (e.g. sands and gravels); (2) fine-grained soils (e.g. silts and clays); and (3) highly organic soils (referred to as "peat")

for the different soil orders include properties that reflect major differences in the genesis of soils. The orders are: Alfisol – soils with aluminium and

across the Upper Jurassic Clay Vale. In the Midlands, the clay plain surrounding the River Severn was heavily wooded. Clay soils in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire

Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH (greater than 8.5), a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard