Soil chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical composition, reactions, and processes occurring in soils, with emphasis on the solid phase (minerals and organic matter), soil solution, and exchange sites at particle surfaces. It examines speciation, sorption–desorption, precipitation–dissolution, redox transformations, and complexation of nutrients, contaminants, and trace elements. Central topics include cation exchange capacity, pH buffering, carbon and nitrogen cycling, and interactions among clay minerals, soil organic matter, and metal ions. Soil chemistry underpins models of nutrient availability, contaminant mobility, and biogeochemical cycling, and provides a mechanistic basis for agronomy, environmental remediation, and ecosystem functioning.
Between 2023 and 2025, more than 30 million hectares burned in Canada due to wildfires. The threat from increasingly frequent and intense wildfires goes beyond fire and smoke—the heat can also transform naturally occurring ...
Environment
Mar 5, 2026
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Accurate measurement of soil NO₃⁻-N is essential for precision fertilization and stable crop yields. Real-time monitoring of NO₃⁻-N has long been a challenge in agriculture. Conventional soil nutrient testing relies ...
Biotechnology
Feb 10, 2026
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A research team led by Prof. Wang Kelin from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered microbial mechanisms that restrict phosphorus (P) cycling in farmland soils, revealing ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 9, 2026
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If you've watched a giraffe browsing in the tree canopy, a white rhino meandering across open grassland, or a warthog shuffling around on its knees in South Africa's Kalahari desert, you know what they eat: leaves, grass, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 4, 2026
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Researchers led by Yasunori Ichihashi at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan recently examined how different kinds of pesticides and fertilizers affect mandarin oranges across Japan. Their study, ...
Biotechnology
Jan 30, 2026
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A new global study shows that increasing soil salinity is systematically reshaping the storage and distribution of soil inorganic carbon (SIC), a key but often-overlooked part of terrestrial ecosystems. The findings, published ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 22, 2026
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Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, with soil microorganisms playing the main role. As a result, the global soil carbon cycle—by which carbon enters, moves through, and leaves soils worldwide—exerts ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 19, 2026
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Wildfires may disappear from the landscape within weeks, but their hidden effects on the soil can persist for decades. An international research team led by the University of Göttingen, together with partners in Tübingen, ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 19, 2025
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While scientists have long known that iron oxide minerals help lock away enormous amounts of carbon—sequestering it from the atmosphere—a new Northwestern University study now reveals exactly why these minerals are such ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2025
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Plants absorb not only nutrients but also toxic metals such as cadmium through their roots. It was previously unclear whether the toxic metals came from the soil or the fertilizers applied. Under the leadership of the Helmholtz ...
Agriculture
Dec 1, 2025
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