• BeefPiano@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I don’t understand how to read the top one.

    So the “a” in “loam” in the middle-bottom, it’s at an intersection of 3 lines. If I follow those lines to each side I see that loam is 60% clay, 40% silt, 60% sand, and 40% sand.

    Ok, maybe I’m not supposed to follow the grey lines, but the cardinal directions? To the left, loam is 20% clay, to the right 80% silt, and below 50% sand.

    The more I try to understand this chart the more confused I get.

    • agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Follow the orientation of the numbers. On the left, horizontal lines. On the bottom SE to NW lines (\) On the right, NE to SW lines (/)

      So, loam is 20% clay, 40% sand, 40% silt.

    • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      It has to do with classification of the soil type. Soils with high clay content function similarly in regard to the soil chemistry and in most fields: hydraulic flow. Soils with such a clay component to be designated as just “Clay” will have consistent structure characteristics and act as a restrictive layer.