Short project description

Around 60-70% of EU soils are unhealthy mainly because of unsustainable management practices. The ratio of clay to soil organic carbon (clay:OC)  may be used as an indicator of soil health. A threshold (ratio of clay to organic carbon of 10 kg kg⁻¹) has been found to be a promising constraint for a soil’s ability to maintain or regenerate functional structure

Soil has a large specific surface area, which leads to much interaction of ions and water molecules with the soil particles. Specific surface area (SA) (m²/g) determines many physical and chemical properties of soils, and many phenomena relate to SA. The measurement of soil specific SA may be a more meaningful index for characterizing a soil than the percentages of sand, silt, and clay. The magnitude of the specific surface area of a soil depends largely on the amount of clay and the type of clay minerals in the soil. Hence specific surface area has the potential to be a better comparable measure across soils in Europe, and with this project we aim to test the use of specific surface area to OC ratio.

The measurement of SA is done in the laboratory and can also be determined by NIR or water vapor sorption.