Soil matrix

The '''soil matrix''' is the solid phase of [[soil]]s, and comprise the solid particles that make up soils. Soil particles can be classified by their chemical composition ([[mineralogy]]) as well as their size. The [[particle-size distribution]] of a soil, its [[soil texture|texture]], determines many of the properties of that soil, in particular [[hydraulic conductivity]] and [[water potential]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saxton |first1=Keith E. |last2=Rawls |first2=Walter J. |journal=[[Soil Science Society of America Journal]] |volume=70 |issue=5 |title=Soil water characteristic estimates by texture and organic matter for hydrologic solutions |url=https://fr.1lib.sk/book/96297374/64187b |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902183902/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5e63/c886c4f68af5e5c242c006d2d882f0a65bfe.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=2 September 2018 |year=2006 |pages=1569–78 |doi=10.2136/sssaj2005.0117 |access-date=10 July 2025 |bibcode=2006SSASJ..70.1569S }}</ref> but the mineralogy of those particles can strongly modify those properties. The mineralogy of the finest soil particles, clay, is especially important.<ref>{{cite web |last=College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources |title=Soil Mineralogy |url=https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/mauisoil/a_factor_mineralogy.aspx |publisher=[[University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]] |accessdate=27 November 2022}}</ref>

The '''soil matrix''' is the solid phase of [[soil]]s, and comprise the solid particles that make up soils. Soil particles can be classified by their chemical composition ([[mineralogy]]) as well as their size. The [[particle-size distribution]] of a soil, its [[soil texture|texture]], determines many of the properties of that soil, in particular [[hydraulic conductivity]] and [[water potential]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saxton |first1=Keith E. |last2=Rawls |first2=Walter J. |journal=[[Soil Science Society of America Journal]] |volume=70 |issue=5 |title=Soil water characteristic estimates by texture and organic matter for hydrologic solutions |url=https://fr.1lib.sk/book/96297374/64187b |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902183902/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5e63/c886c4f68af5e5c242c006d2d882f0a65bfe.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=2 September 2018 |year=2006 |pages=1569–78 |doi=10.2136/sssaj2005.0117 |access-date=10 July 2025 |bibcode=2006SSASJ..70.1569S }}</ref> but the mineralogy of those particles can strongly modify those properties. The mineralogy of the finest soil particles, clay, is especially important.<ref>{{cite web |last=[[College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources]] |title=Soil mineralogy |url=https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/mauisoil/a_factor_mineralogy.aspx |publisher=[[University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]] |access-date=11 July 2025 }}</ref>

==Gravel, sand and silt==

==Gravel, sand and silt==

[[Gravel]], [[sand]] and [[silt]] are the larger [[Soil texture#Soil separates|soil particles]], and their mineralogy is often inherited from the [[parent material]] of the soil, but may include products of [[weathering]] (such as [[concretions]] of [[calcium carbonate]] or [[iron oxide]]), or residues of plant and animal life (such as silica [[phytoliths]]).<ref name=Russell1973>{{cite book |last=Russell |first=E. Walter |title=Soil conditions and plant growth |date=1973 |publisher=[[Longman]] |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-582-44048-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/soilconditionspl0000russ/page/67 67–70] |edition=10th |url=https://archive.org/details/soilconditionspl0000russ/page/67 |accessdate=27 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mercader |first1=Julio |last2=Bennett |first2=Tim |last3=Esselmont |first3=Chris |last4=Simpson |first4=Steven |last5=Walde |first5= Dale |journal=[[Quaternary Research]] |volume=75 |issue=1 |title=Soil phytoliths from miombo woodlands in Mozambique |url=https://www.academia.edu/3269735 |year=2011 |pages=138–50 |doi=10.1016/j.yqres.2010.09.008 |accessdate=27 November 2022 |bibcode=2011QuRes..75..138M|s2cid=140546854}}</ref> [[Quartz]] is the most common mineral in the sand or silt fraction as it is resistant to [[chemical weathering]], except under hot climate;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sleep |first1=Norman H. |last2=Hessler |first2=Angela M. |journal=[[Earth and Planetary Science Letters]] |volume=241 |issue=3–4 |title=Weathering of quartz as an Archean climatic indicator |url=https://geosci.uchicago.edu/~archer/deep_earth_readings/sleep.2006.archean_weat.pdf |year=2006 |pages=594–602 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2005.11.020 |accessdate=27 November 2022 |bibcode=2006E&PSL.241..594S}}</ref> other common minerals are [[feldspar]]s, [[micas]] and [[ferromagnesian]] minerals such as [[pyroxenes]], [[amphiboles]] and [[olivines]], which are dissolved or transformed in clay under the combined influence of physico-chemical and biological processes.<ref name=Russell1973 /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Banfield |first1=Jillian F. |last2=Barker |first2=William W. |last3=Welch |first3=Susan A. |last4=Taunton |first4=Anne |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |volume=96 |issue=7 |title=Biological impact on mineral dissolution: application of the lichen model to understanding mineral weathering in the rhizosphere |year=1999 |pages=3404–11 |doi=10.1073/pnas.96.7.3404 |pmid=10097050 |pmc=34281 |bibcode=1999PNAS...96.3404B|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Gravel]], [[sand]] and [[silt]] are the larger [[Soil texture#Soil separates|soil particles]], and their mineralogy is often inherited from the [[parent material]] of the soil, but may include products of [[weathering]] (such as [[concretions]] of [[calcium carbonate]] or [[iron oxide]]), or residues of plant and animal life (such as silica [[phytoliths]]).<ref name=Russell1973>{{cite book |last=Russell |first=E. Walter |title=Soil conditions and plant growth |year=1973 |publisher=[[Longman]] |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-582-44048-7 |pages=67–70 |edition=10th |url=https://fr.1lib.sk/book/58392217/f8fa79 |access-date=11 July 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mercader |first1=Julio |last2=Bennett |first2=Tim |last3=Esselmont |first3=Chris |last4=Simpson |first4=Steven |last5=Walde |first5= Dale |journal=[[Quaternary Research]] |volume=75 |issue=1 |title=Soil phytoliths from miombo woodlands in Mozambique |url=https://www.academia.edu/3269735 |year=2011 |pages=138–50 |doi=10.1016/j.yqres.2010.09.008 |accessdate=11 July 2025 |bibcode=2011QuRes..75..138M |s2cid=140546854 }}</ref> [[Quartz]] is the most common mineral in the sand or silt fraction as it is resistant to [[chemical weathering]], except under hot climate;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sleep |first1=Norman H. |last2=Hessler |first2=Angela M. |journal=[[Earth and Planetary Science Letters]] |volume=241 |issue=3–4 |title=Weathering of quartz as an Archean climatic indicator |url=https://geosci.uchicago.edu/~archer/deep_earth_readings/sleep.2006.archean_weat.pdf |year=2006 |pages=594–602 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2005.11.020 |access-date=11 July 2025 |bibcode=2006E&PSL.241..594S }}</ref> other common minerals are [[feldspar]]s, [[micas]] and [[ferromagnesian]] minerals such as [[pyroxenes]], [[amphiboles]] and [[olivines]], which are dissolved or transformed in clay under the combined influence of physico-chemical and biological processes.<ref name=Russell1973/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Banfield |first1=Jillian F. |last2=Barker |first2=William W. |last3=Welch |first3=Susan A. |last4=Taunton |first4=Anne |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |volume=96 |issue=7 |title=Biological impact on mineral dissolution: application of the lichen model to understanding mineral weathering in the rhizosphere |year=1999 |pages=3404–11 |doi=10.1073/pnas.96.7.3404 |pmid=10097050 |pmc=34281 |bibcode=1999PNAS...96.3404B |url=https://www.academia.edu/106341371 |access-date=11 July 2025 }}</ref>

==Mineral colloids; soil clays==

==Mineral colloids; soil clays==