Comparison and Methods For Estimating Soil Surface Area

Abstract

Soil Surface Area is important when analyzing land management and agriculture practices. Indirect methods of measuring Soil Surface Area are usually done through clay content. For this research I have compared both the Hydrometer method and Laser Particle Size Analyzer (LPSA) method as a means of analyzing soil texture. I then compared the Clay Content given from the Hydrometer and compared it to the Soil Surface Area data from the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. I found out that the LPSA didn't correlate to the Hydrometer method when analyzing soil texture. This means we can't use it as a reliable means of soil texture analysis. There needs to be further research on this subject before proving of it. The clay content given from the Hydrometer soil texture data correlated well with the BET SSA data. This means that the clay content does correspond to the soil surface area, this means that it can be used as a cheaper method to predict soil surface area. This discovery will be useful for future research within the soil science field.