Liming (soil)

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Prepared agricultural lime staged near a field in the UK

Liming is the application of

bacteria,[1] but oversupply may result in harm to plant life. Modern liming was preceded by marling, a process of spreading raw chalk and lime debris across soil, in an attempt to modify pH or aggregate size.[2] Evidence of these practices dates to the 1200's and the earliest examples are taken from the modern British Isles.[2]

Liming of a field in Devon

Impact on soil properties

Liming can also improve aggregate stability on

cation exchange capacity
or CEC).

Most acid soils are saturated with

soil testing laboratories to determine the "lime requirement" of soils.[6]

Soils with low CEC will usually show a more marked pH increase than soils with high CEC. But the low-CEC soils will witness more rapid leaching of the added bases, and so will see a quicker return to original acidity unless additional liming is done. Over-liming is most likely to occur on soil that has low CEC, such as sand which is deficient in buffering agents such as organic matter and clay.[7]

Effect on soil organic carbon

The net effect of soil liming on soil organic carbon is primarily the result of three processes.[8]

  1. Increased plant productivity resulting in larger organic matter inputs. As soil liming ameliorates soil conditions that inhibit plant growth, an increase in plant productivity is expected. The higher yields resulting from lime applications will produce increased returns of organic matter to the soil in the form of dying roots and decaying crop residue.[9]
  2. Increased organic matter mineralization due to a more favorable pH. Lime applications are known to have short-term stimulating effects on soil biological activity, thus favoring organic matter mineralization and very likely accelerating organic matter turnover rates in soil.[10]
  3. Amelioration of soil structure leading to a reduction of mineralization by means of protecting soil organic carbon. Liming is known to ameliorate soil structure, as high Ca2+ concentrations and high ionic strength in the soil solution enhance the flocculation of clay minerals and, in turn, form more stable soil aggregates.[9]

An agricultural study at the Faculty of Forestry in Freising, Germany, that compared tree stocks two and twenty years after liming found that liming promotes nitrate leaching and decreases the phosphorus content of some leaves.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISSN 2073-4395
    .
  2. ^
    JSTOR 40274955
    .
  3. S2CID 90603635
    .
  4. ^ Turner, R.C. and Clark J.S., 1966, Lime potential in acid clay and soil suspensions. Trans. Comm. II & IV Int. Soc. Soil Science, pp. 208-215
  5. ^ "corrected lime potential (formula)". Sis.agr.gc.ca. 2008-11-27. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  6. ^ "One Hundred Harvests Research Branch Agriculture Canada 1886-1986". Historical series / Agriculture Canada - Série historique / Agriculture Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved 2008-12-22. Note this link loads slowly
  7. ^ Soil Acidity and Liming (Overview) Archived 2007-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ISSN 0167-8809
    .
  9. ^
    S2CID 20113235
    .
  10. ISSN 0016-7061
    .
  11. ^ Huber C, Baier R, Gottlein A, Weis W. Changes in soil, seepage water and needle chemistry between 1984 and 2004 after liming an N-saturated Norway spruce stand at the Höglwald, Germany. Forest Ecology and Management, 2006; 233; 11-20.

Further reading

Further reading
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