Mineral content of soils key to physical and chemical behavior

Many aspects of the physical and chemical behavior of soils are directly related to the minerals present. "This includes shrink-swell behavior, soil structure, availability of nutrients, and the fate of contaminants that enter the soil," according to Judith Turk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The "Soil Mineralogy" symposium at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will explore several current topics. The symposium will be held Monday, October 23, 2017, 1:30 PM. The meeting is sponsored by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America. Turk is the organizer of the symposium.

Clay Robinson, University of Illinois, will review research done on Texas soils. He studied a clay soil typical in the Texas Panhandle, where infrequent, but rapid, rainfall events occur. These soils tend to crack and form crusts. Results show the absorption of water in dried Texas soils during rapid rain events may not be as much as expected. To view more about this talk, visit https://scisoc.confex.com/crops/2017am/webprogram/Paper109377.html.

Growers often fertilize their fields with mined phosphorus. However, reserves of phosphorus are being depleted. Jibing Xiong, China University of Mining and Technology, will discuss extracting phosphorus from dolomite phosphate rock from central Florida.

Provided by American Society of Agronomy