Editing Soil (section)

==Solid phase (soil matrix)==
{{main|Soil matrix}}
Soil particles can be classified by their chemical composition ([[mineralogy]]) as well as their size. The [[Particle-size distribution|particle size distribution]] of a soil, its texture, determines many of the properties of that soil, in particular [[hydraulic conductivity]] and [[water potential]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saxton |first1=Keith E. |last2=Rawls |first2=Walter J. |journal=[[Soil Science Society of America Journal]] |volume=70 |issue=5 |title=Soil water characteristic estimates by texture and organic matter for hydrologic solutions |url=https://www.atmos.illinois.edu/~sshu3/model/saxton2006.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902183902/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5e63/c886c4f68af5e5c242c006d2d882f0a65bfe.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=2 September 2018 |year=2006 |pages=1569–78 |doi=10.2136/sssaj2005.0117 |access-date=2 February 2025 |bibcode=2006SSASJ..70.1569S |s2cid=16826314 }}</ref> but the [[mineralogy]] of those particles can strongly modify those properties. The mineralogy of the finest soil particles, clay, is especially important.<ref>{{cite web |last=[[College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources]] |title=Soil mineralogy |url=https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/mauisoil/a_factor_mineralogy.aspx |publisher=[[University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]] |access-date=2 February 2025 }}</ref>