Soil pH

6. measure of acidity or alkalinity of the soil ranging from 0 - 14 as an indication of number of hydrogen + ions present
8. nutrients are generally most available to plants in the pH range 5.5 to 7.0
10. alkaline soils, made of this parent material, have higher pH
13. needed to breakdown some amendments because plants can not absorb these nutrients in their applied form

1. needed to convert amendments instantly to acids to lower soil pH
2. the way individual particles of sand, silt, and clay are assembled
3. acidic soils, made of this parent material, have lower pH values
4. plants cannot absorb nutrients stored in organic matter until the broken down by microorganisms including bacteria that live in the soil
5. some metal elements become toxic to plant growth in some soil types at a pH below 5.0
7. tool to measure soil pH
9. soils at a pH between 5.0 and 7.5 rapidly lose nutrients through percolation into the soil due to heavy rainfall or irrigation
11. soil type that, with an extremely acid or extremely alkaline pH, is sticky and hard to cultivate
12. the higher the concentration of H+ ions, the more _______ it is