Surface charge in some New Zealand soils measured at typical ionic strength

Abstract

The positive and negative surface charges of some New Zealand soils used for horticulture were measured at different pH values using 0.002 M CaCl2 solutions, Which have a similar ionic strength to soil solutions in New Zealand. The surface negative charge increased with pH for all soil samples including those containing mica and smectite. This behaviour was mainly due to the presence of organic matter and allophane both of which had an appreciable amount of variable negative charge. Allophanic soil B horizons had a higher positive charge than that of the Oxidic soils, which was less than 1 cmol kg-1 at pH 5.