THE POTASSIUM STATUS OF SIX LOESSIAL SOILS OF CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND, IN RELATION TO RAINFALL AND RATE OF LOESS ACCUMULATION |
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| Authors: | M. J. M. HAY T. W. WALKER A. F. R. ADAMS A. S. CAMPBELL |
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| Affiliation: | (Soil Science Department, Lincoln College, Canterbury, New Zealand) |
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| Abstract: | A selection of greywacke-derived loessial soils in Canterbury, New Zealand, was examined to test the hypothesis that soil K status is a function of soil-forming factors. Soils were selected such that factors besides loess accumulation and rainfall were relatively constant and the effects of each variable could be isolated. Soil K status was evaluated by plant, chemical, and X-ray diffraction techniques. With increasing rainfall and decreasing rate of loess accumulation soil K status decreased; there was a concurrent decrease in illite and increase in interstratified mineral content of the clay fraction. |
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