ESTIMATION OF THE INORGANIC AND ORGANIC pH-DEPENDENT CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY OF THE B HORIZONS OF PODZOLIC AND BRUNISOLIC SOILS

Abstract

Heating in hydrogen peroxide, dilute oxalic acid, and dilute aluminum oxalate did not change the effective cation exchange capacity (CEC) or the pH-7 CEC of Wyoming bentonite and Alberni clay soil containing excess Al(OH)x. This indicated that treatment of soils with H2O2 to oxidize organic matter and the possible production of oxalates during oxidation did not change the CEC values of the inorganic fraction of soils even if some clay exchange sites were blocked by hydrous oxides of Al.With soils of pH less than approximately 5.4, oxidation of organic matter did not change the effective CECs although the pH-7 CEC values were decreased. Thus, organic matter in acid soils appeared to have little or no effective CEC. Because of this and the negligible effect of H2O2 oxidation on the CEC values of clays, the difference of the pH-7 CEC of soils before and after H2O2 oxidation provided a simple means of estimating the amount of organic pH-dependent CEC in acid soils.The amount of organically derived pH-dependent CEC was determined in a number of soils by means of peroxide oxidation. The technique provided a useful indication of the quantities of sesquioxide–organic matter complexes accumulated in medium- and fine-textured soils.