Cation Exchange Capacity of the Clay Fraction of Loess in Southwestern Iowa

The cation exchange capacity of clay-size material extracted from soil with a low organic matter content is largely dependent on the kinds of clay minerals present. If the extracted clay is composed mostly of one kind of clay mineral, the exchange capacity will indicate what that mineral is. This paper reports on cation exchange capacity determinations made on the minus 2 micron clay-size range of selected samples of loess from the southwestern Iowa area