Soil Properties Indicative for Quality

Even within the small territory of The Netherlands, soil properties show a considerable diversity. A number of soil types, such as clay soil, peat soil, and sandy soil can be distinguished with several transitions and mixtures in between. All these soil types can be characterized by their physical and chemical properties. As such features as structure, particle size, pore volume, organic matter content, cation exchange capacity, pH and mineral content are used. Most of these features within each soil type may change with soil water table and land use.