Field Analysis:How Composition

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Soil Composition
This is a description of how organic or mineral a soil or sediment is, and if appropriate the nature of any organic matter present.

Organic matter
Description of organic matter in non-peaty deposits.


 * Fresh/unaltered non woody clearly identifiable structures larger than 2 cm.
 * Woody lignified structures larger than 2 cm.
 * Humified Degraded no identifiable structure. Organic component mixed with the fine mineral fraction.

In peaty soils or sediments where there is no appreciable mineral content, following terms can also be used to describe the organic matter.


 * Fibrous peat Contains large amounts of well preserved readily identifiable plant remains less than 2 cm.
 * Semi-fibrous peat Partly decomposed peat in which plant structures are visible, but break down when rubbed between the fingers.
 * Amorphous peat Contains virtually no identifiable plant structures.

Mineral matter
Where there are clear differences in the composition of a soil in terms of the types and mix of rocks and sand grains, this should also be noted in general comments.

Field moisture content
The moisture content of the soil at the time it was recorded may also be recorded in general comments.

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