Soil is a former featured article candidate. Please view the links under Article milestones below to see why the nomination was archived. For older candidates, please check the archive.
Article milestones Date Process Result September 8, 2006 Featured article candidate Not promoted September 13, 2007 Good article reassessment Delisted October 31, 2012 Good article nominee Not listed
Current status: Former featured article candidate

This  level-3 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Civil engineering Mid‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Civil engineering, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Civil engineering on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Civil engineeringWikipedia:WikiProject Civil engineeringTemplate:WikiProject Civil engineeringCivil engineering Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale. Environment Top‑importance This environment-related article is part of the WikiProject Environment to improve Wikipedia's coverage of the environment. The aim is to write neutral and well-referenced articles on environment-related topics, as well as to ensure that environment articles are properly categorized. Read Wikipedia:Contributing FAQ and leave any messages at the project talk page.EnvironmentWikipedia:WikiProject EnvironmentTemplate:WikiProject EnvironmentEnvironment Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Materials Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Materials, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Materials on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.MaterialsWikipedia:WikiProject MaterialsTemplate:WikiProject MaterialsMaterials Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the importance scale. Geology Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Geology, an attempt at creating a standardized, informative, comprehensive and easy-to-use geology resource. If you would like to participate, you can choose to edit this article, or visit the project page for more information.GeologyWikipedia:WikiProject GeologyTemplate:WikiProject GeologyGeology Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Horticulture and Gardening High‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Horticulture and Gardening, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of articles related to Horticulture and Gardening on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Horticulture and GardeningWikipedia:WikiProject Horticulture and GardeningTemplate:WikiProject Horticulture and GardeningHorticulture and gardening High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. Soil Top‑importance Soil is within the scope of WikiProject Soil, which collaborates on Soil and related articles on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can choose to edit this article, or visit the project page for more information.SoilWikipedia:WikiProject SoilTemplate:WikiProject SoilSoil Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Sanitation Mid‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Sanitation, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Sanitation on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.SanitationWikipedia:WikiProject SanitationTemplate:WikiProject Sanitationsanitation Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.

Text and/or other creative content from this version of Soil was copied or moved into Physical properties of soil with this edit. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

Text and/or other creative content from this version of Soil was copied or moved into Soil matrix with this edit. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

Text and/or other creative content from this version of Soil was copied or moved into Plant nutrients in soil with this edit. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

Section sizes Section size for Soil (38 sections) Section name Byte count Prose size (words) Header Total Header Total (Top) 9,990 9,990 354 354 Functions 14,101 14,101 411 411 Composition 14,800 14,800 911 911 Formation 8,648 8,648 353 353 Physical properties 4,855 4,855 206 206 Soil moisture 4,037 4,037 225 225 Soil gas 14,101 14,101 490 490 Solid phase (soil matrix) 1,669 1,669 61 61 Soil biodiversity 2,638 2,638 141 141 Chemistry 2,325 42,085 204 1,863 Cation and anion exchange 11,208 19,880 351 720 Cation exchange capacity (CEC) 4,128 4,128 192 192 Anion exchange capacity (AEC) 4,544 4,544 177 177 Reactivity (pH) 10,874 15,565 540 845 Base saturation percentage 2,366 2,366 196 196 Buffering 2,325 2,325 109 109 Redox 4,315 4,315 94 94 Nutrients 9,475 9,475 478 478 Soil organic matter 12,474 12,474 569 569 Horizons 12,168 12,168 509 509 Classification 3,079 3,079 148 148 Uses 22,610 22,610 789 789 Degradation 1,507 21,380 25 1,071 Acidification 1,590 1,590 119 119 Contamination 6,565 6,565 296 296 Desertification 3,258 3,258 142 142 Erosion 5,688 5,688 340 340 Salination 2,772 2,772 149 149 Reclamation 8,952 8,952 454 454 History of studies and research 619 16,897 42 1,230 Studies of soil fertility 12,572 12,572 917 917 Studies of soil formation 3,706 3,706 271 271 See also 533 533 0 0 References 30 30 0 0 Sources 509 509 0 0 Bibliography 1,574 1,574 0 0 Further reading 1,253 1,253 0 0 External links 3,549 3,549 0 0 Total 231,407 231,407 10,263 10,263

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This article was selected as the article for improvement on 9 May 2022 for a period of one week.

The soil chart currently linked in the article appears to have an error in it; the bottom label should be %sand, not %soil (since it's all soil). Endovior (talk) 04:54, 25 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I noticed that too, I found this but it's without the comments and the example: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/USDA-Soil-Texture-Triangle_fig2_279631053 DylanLow108 (talk) 15:48, 29 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

One of the axis of the soil texture triangle plot says '%soil'. This should be '%sand', because 100% of it makes the soil sand, and the text of the image says the third soil type is sand, and every image I found on the internet, labels the axis as sand. I don't know how to edit this. Wikifan153 (talk) 09:37, 25 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't notice this before I published my other comment (sorry), I've added a link to Soil texture, the graphs there appear to be more correct. Unfortunately I'm not sure how to change the image 'professionally' yet... DylanLow108 (talk) 15:58, 29 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I've switched image files to use the correctly labelled version at Soil texture. Other versions are available such as File:SoilTexture USDA.svg, which uses colour to emphasise the different fields and I find easier to read. Mikenorton (talk) 16:28, 29 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The redirect Earthen has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 June 4 § Earthen until a consensus is reached. Steel1943 (talk) 20:21, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The redirect High phosphorus and titanium has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 June 4 § High phosphorus and titanium until a consensus is reached. Steel1943 (talk) 20:23, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The redirect Cinnamon soil has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 June 4 § Cinnamon soil until a consensus is reached. Steel1943 (talk) 20:30, 4 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]