Surface Charge

The surface of soil colloids carries electric charges, and these surface charges are the basic cause for soil to possess a series of surface properties. Soil surface charges affect the chemical properties of the soil through varying the quantity of electric charge and the surface charge density. For example, adsorptions of cations and anions are caused by negative and positive surface charges of the soil, respectively. The amount of ions adsorbed is determined by the quantity of surface charge, whereas the tightness of adsorption is related to charge density. In addition, the migration of ions in soil, the formation of organo-mineral complexes,and the dispersion, flocculation, swelling, and shrinkage are all affected by surface charge properties of the soil. Therefore, surface charge properties have an important bearing on soil structure and plant nutrition. Variable charge soils are characterized by the high content of iron and aluminum oxides. The clay mineralogical composition is dominated by 1:1-type minerals, such as kaolinite. These two factors make the surface charge properties of variable charge soils distinctly different from those of constant charge soils of temperate regions which chiefly containin 2:1-type clay minerals. However, unlike the case for pure variable charge minerals, in variable charge soils there is generally the presence of a certain amount of 2:1-type clay minerals. Therefore, as a mixture of variable charge minerals and constant charge minerals, the surface charge properties of variable charge soils is more complicated. In this chapter, the origin and factors affecting surface charges of the soil as well as the relationship between these charges and soil type will be discussed. Despite the complexity in composition, a soil may be regarded as a mixed system consisting of constant charge surface materials and constant potential surface materials in different ratios (Anderson and Sposito, 1992; Gillman and Uehara, 1980). Examples of the former type such as montmorillonite and vermiculite carry permanent negative charges, while those of the latter type such as iron oxide and aluminum oxide carry variable charges. Commonly found constant charge clay minerals in soils include those layer silicates such as hydrous mica, vermiculite, montmorillonite, and chlorite.