Particle with positive charge; reactions between anions and cations create electrical forces.

Interchange between a cation in solution and another cation in the boundary layer between the solution and surface of negatively charged material such as clay or organic matter.

Soil particle smaller than 0.002mm or 2µm, with high specific area mainly influencing soil colloidal properties (see also colloid) as well as stability of soil structure: high stability in both wet and dry conditions; also a soil texture class.

Coatings of oriented clay on the surfaces of peds and mineral grains and lining pores, also called clay skins, clay flows, illuviation cutans, or argillans.

Soil texture class. See also soil texture.

Clay-sized hydrous aluminium silicates having a large interlayer space that can hold significant amounts of water and other substances; they have large a surface area allowing swelling and shrinking; examples are montmorillonite or smectite and kaolinite.

Layer of a substance completely or partly covering a surface of soil material; coatings can comprise clay, calcite, gypsum, iron, organic material, salt, etc.

Particle, which may be a molecular aggregate, with a diameter of 0.1 to 0.001µm; clay and soil organic matter are often called soil colloids because they have particle sizes that are within, or approach, colloidal dimensions.

Pertaining to material or processes associated with transportation and/or deposition by mass movement (direct gravitational action) and local, unconcentrated runoff on slopes and/or at the base of slopes.

Unconsolidated, unsorted colluvial material.