Elements of Soils

The elements of the periodic chart represent the atoms, molecules and particles that make up the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and human beings. The elements found in our soils are the same found in plants and the same found coursing through our flesh and bones. Without many of these basic elements, life on earth simply would not exist.

Most of the basic elements found in soils of all kinds are in solid form. Sulphur, for instance, makes its way from the earth's crust in crystal form to our typical topsoil in a powder form. On average a person consumes about 900 milligrams of sulphur each day in the form of protein, the essential basis of amino acids. Other solids found in abundance in our soils include, Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe) and Phosphorus (P). Calcium is found in nature mostly as limestone, but in the human body as its most abundant metal.

Hydrogen and Oxygen are the two most prevalent elemental gases found in soil. In most cases Oxygen (O) appears as a compound with at least one other element, causing oxidation. This is most readily evident in the case of the second most abundant element in soil, Silicon (Si). Silicon compounded with Oxygen creates silicates, better known as sand, the gritty stuff that can be found at the playground or the beach.

The existence of different types of soils (forest, sandy, clay, and loamy) suggest variations on a similar theme in terms of the amount of each element available in the soil. The forest variety retains water and nutrients very well and appears crumbly and dark in color, while the sandy variety is a polar opposite version of soil. While the clay variety is nutrient- and water-dense, its thick, sticky appearance requires aeration, especially for gardening, an activity ideal for the loamy variety of soil, being rich in moisture and nutrients and equally silty, sandy and sticky.