Sand
Largest of the 3 soil components
Silt
A soil component intermediate in size
Clay
Smallest of the 3 soil components
Soil horizons
Horizontal layers of soil
O horizon
Composed of partially decomposed organic leaf litter
A horizon
Topsoil
B horizon
Subsoil
C horizon
Composed of weathered parent material sitting on top of bedrock
Soil triangle
Used to determine textural classes of soil from the percentages of sand, slit, and clay
Cation
Charged mineral ions
Cation exchange capacity
The ability of a particular soil to absorb and release cations
Base saturation
The proportion of soil basses to soil acids, expressed as a percentage