Talk:Alkali soil

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Why is the title "Alkali" and not the adjective "Alkaline"? Why is the title "soils" and not "soil"? Badagnani (talk) 02:33, 23 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It is customary to use the term "alkali soil" instead of "alkaline soil" even though "alkaline soil" should be better. I do not know why it is like that, but it is a historical fact. Not all alkali soils are the same, that's why it is perhaps better to use the plural "soils" instead of single "soil", but in principle it does not matter, either option seems OK to me R.J.Oosterbaan (talk) 10:12, 23 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Some definitions have been re-defined R.J.Oosterbaan (talk) 21:33, 23 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This article treats sodium as the only or main cation contributing to soil alkalinity. What happened to calcium? Most people are familiar with the relationship between lime in soils or bedrock and alkalinity, but there are few circumstances where sodic alkaline soils occur, except in regions like the African Rift Valley. Why? Because sodium is rapidly leached from soils and sources of sodium (e.g. feldspars) are comparatively insoluble. Calcium, not sodium is the dominant cation in alkaline soils. Plantsurfer (talk) 21:12, 29 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I am curious to learn the reference to a study finding that calcium is dominant in alkaline soils and the cause of alkalinity. In chemistry, sodium is called an alkali metal and the name alkaline soil is related to this. The hydroxide NaOH is a highly soluble and strong base. R.J.Oosterbaan (talk) 19:59, 30 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Needs sorting out =

Calcareous soil redirects here rather than to Calcareous If Oosterbaan's description above is correct then that redirect should be changed. A paragraph on the distinction may also help for lay people like me. 71.236.26.74 (talk) 13:51, 28 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]