User

Soil intermediate

Difficulty/Levels

Level 2

Data Type

• Description
• Type

What is the meaning and importance?

Soil texture is the way a soil feels in your hand and describes the percentage of sand, silt, and clay in the soil. These three types of material have different sizes (sand is the coarsest, clay is the finest).

Soil texture has a big influence on soil quality and fertility, affecting water retention, soil structure, biodiversity, and the supply and retention of nutrients.

For example, a soil with more sand does not hold water as well, and has low organic matter, whereas a soil with more clay holds water very well and often has much higher organic matter.

What is the method for collection?

The ribbon test is done on the topsoil and the subsoil (unless only one is present):

1. Take a handful of soil, around 25 grams,
2. Wet the soil and start mixing the two, until the soil feels moldable. If too wet, add some dry soil and if too dry, add some more water.
3. Try forming a ball with the moldable soil.
   • Can the soil form a ball? If not —> Sand
4. Try forming a ribbon by placing the soil between your thumb and index finger and squeezing the soil upwards to form a ribbon.
   • Can the soil form a ribbon? If not —> Loamy sand
5. The soil can form ribbons, but how long can they get?
   • If the ribbon breaks at 2.5 centimetres or below, the soil is a type of loam.
   • If the ribbon is between 2.5 and 5 cm, it is a type of clay loam,
   • If it reaches over 5 centimetres, it is a type of clay.
6. To determine the textural class of your soil, take some of the soil, wet it, handle at the palm of your hand, and determine whether the soil feels gritty, smooth or between gritty and smooth. This will help you determine to which of the textural classes below your soil can belong.

How long does it take to collect?

10-15 minutes:

• One data point if only topsoil

or