How to calculate base saturation?

Fragment of a discussion from Course talk:APBI200

Hi Kristi

%BS = the SUM of (Ca2+ + Mg2+ + K+ + Na+) / CEC x 100%

So, for question #1 on the 2018 midterm #2 you are given the percentage of exchangeable cations, i.e. their proportion of CEC. Note these total to 100%, implying that there are no other cations in this simplified soil system. The CEC = sum of all cations (i.e. 100%). Thus you can determine part a) the % B.S.

For part b) consider what is held on the exchange sites in addition to the 4 bases. The relative proportion of base forming cations versus acid forming cations will give the answer to b) where this soil would have an acidic or alkaline pH.

SandraBrown (talk)‎18:40, 8 March 2019
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