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Characteristics of Silica Sorption and Solubility as Parameters to Evaluate the Surface Properties of Tropical Soils: II. The Index of Silica Saturation¹

ABSTRACT

Silica solubility of some Alfisols and Ultisols from southern Nigeria was studied. The concentration in soluble silica obtained after a 3-day contact with a NaCl solution appears to be controlled by the most soluble silicate mineral present in the clay fraction. The index of silica saturation (ISS) is defined as the ratio of the amount of silica soluble in the NaCl extract and the index of silica reactivity of a given sample. ISS appears as a parameter which can be used to describe the surface properties resulting from the processes of silication and desilication taking place within the pedons and along the slopes in toposequences. In this study, ISS ranges from 9 x 10^–4 to 685 x 10^–4. The interest of ISS as a criterion for soil taxonomy is discussed.

¹ Contribution of Int. Inst. of Tropical Agric., Ibadan, Nigeria and Section de Physico-Chimie Minérale du Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Place Croix du Sud 1, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. IITA Journal Paper no. 88.

² Scientist, M.R.A.C. Tervueren and Professor, Catholic Univ. of Louvain, Research Fellow IITA, and Soil Scientist, IITA, respectively.

Received for publication May 16, 1977. Accepted for publication July 20, 1977.