The relative ability of soils to store one particular group of nutrients, the cations, is referred to as cation exchange capacity or CEC. Soils are composed of a mixture of sand, silt, clay and organic matter. Both the clay and organic matter particles have a net negative charge.

CEC affects many aspects of soil chemistry, and is used as a measure of soil fertility, as it indicates the capacity of the soil to retain several nutrients (e.g. K +, NH 4+, Ca 2+) in plant-available form. It also indicates the capacity to retain pollutant cations (e.g. Pb 2+).

Nov 7, 2011 · Soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a significant number for an important soil characteristic. It comes into play when applying water, nutrients and herbicides, but do you really know why?

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is the total capacity of a soil to hold exchangeable cations. CEC is an inherent soil characteristic and is difficult to alter significantly. It influences the soil’s ability to hold onto essential nutrients and provides a buffer against soil acidification.

Jul 24, 2022 · The soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) is the ability of soils to bind and store a particular group of nutrients by electrical attraction, those that form positively charged cations, such as calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), potassium (K+), and nitrogen in the form of ammonium (NH4+).

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a fundamental soil property used to predict plant nutrient availability and retention in the soil. It is the potential of available nutrient supply, not a direct measurement of available nutrients.

Feb 26, 2014 · Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of the total negative charges within the soil that adsorb plant nutrient cations such as calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+) and potassium (K+). As such, the CEC is a property of a soil that describes its capacity to supply nutrient cations to the soil solution for plant uptake.

Soils have a CEC primarily because clay particles and organic matter in the soil tends to be negatively charged. New York soils have silicate clay minerals (clay minerals that contain silica). Each silicate clay particle is made up of individual layers or “sheets”.

Jul 2, 2024 · Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) is a fundamental soil characteristic that quantifies the soil’s ability to retain and exchange cations, or positively charged ions. This property is crucial because it affects the soil’s capacity to supply essential nutrients to plants.

CEC is a measure of the total amount of negative charges on soil surfaces that are available to hold cations, usually plant nutrients. This is based on the organic matter and clay minerals, along with the pH of the soil.