Determination of Chemical and Physical Soil Properties

TLDR: In this article, the water content is calculated on gravimetric (gwater /gsoil) or on volumetric basis (cmwater/cmsoil), which is a direct laboratory measurement.

Abstract: Objectives. Measures of soil water content and dry mass are needed in practically all types of soil studies, e.g., determination of water holding capacity, plant available water, infiltration, pore size distribution, permeability. With respect to soil microbial processes and biological soil remediation, determination of optimum water content for measurement of microbial parameters and activity, as well as determination of soil permeability for estimation of the success of in situ remediation, is of essential importance. Principle. Soil samples are dried at 105 ± 5 ◦C until mass constancy is reached. The differences in masses before and after drying are a measure for the water content of soils. The water content is calculated on gravimetric (gwater /gsoil) or on volumetric basis (cmwater/cmsoil). The method described below can be used for disturbed and undisturbed (sampling of soil using coring sieves) soil samples. It is a direct laboratory measurement. The procedure described can be used for the determination of dry mass on a mass basis (ISO 11465 1993).