THE IMPLICATION OF CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY (CEC) ASSESSMENT FOR SOIL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT
Vladimir Ćirić, Nenad PREKOP, Srdjan SEREMESIC, Bojan Vojnov, Borivoj Pejić, Dragan RADOVANOVIC, Dragana Marinković
Abstract
Soil consists of mineral and organic matter, possessing both chemical and physical, mineralogical and biological properties that provide a medium for plant growth and is therefore one of the most important conditions for agricultural production.On the other hand, soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of the total capacity of soil to retain exchangeable cations and indicates the negative charge per unit mass of soil.Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is one of the many properties possessed by the soil, but its importance for the soil is multiple, which is particularly reflected in its ability to maintain soil fertility through binding and preventing the loss of cations from the soil due to binding to soil colloids.Cation exchange is a reversible reaction.CEC prevents the loss of nutrients and soil leaching, affects the availability of nutrients for plants, and serves as a basis for determining the required amounts of fertilizers.CEC in soil depends on the content of clay minerals and organic matter.Organic matter is the main source of CEC in sandy soils.Because of the different methods for estimating CEC, it is important to know the intended use of the data.For soil classification purposes, soil CEC is often measured at a standard pH value (pH 7).Since the value of CEC is a dependent variable property of the soil, its value depends on the content of clay minerals, organic matter, fertilization and pH value.Any change in soil properties leads to changes in CEC values, and therefore to changes in soil fertility.