Topic summary
Base saturation
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Cation-exchange capacity.
Base saturation
Base saturation expresses the percentage of potential CEC occupied by the cations Ca, Mg, K or Na. These are traditionally termed "base cations" because they are non-acidic, although they are not bases in the usual chemical sense. Base saturation provides an index of soil weathering and reflects the availability of exchangeable cationic nutrients to plants.