Why do soils that contain a high percentage of clay retain plant nutrients so well?
A)The ions of clay tend to be positively charged while nutrients tend to be negatively charged.
B)Water cannot penetrate through clay very well, which means that nutrients are not readily washed away.
C)Clay contains many magnetic particles, which have the effect of holding onto the nutrients.
D)Because of a lack of water, the nutrients are not dissolved, which means they adhere as a solid to the clay particles.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Clay soils have a high water-holding capacity due to the small particle size of the clay particles, which means that water cannot penetrate through clay very well. This retention of water also means that nutrients are not readily washed away, but instead are held in close proximity to the plant roots, where they are available for uptake.

Why Do Soils That Contain a High Percentage of Clay