Fundamentals
Soil texture
The relative proportions of sand, silt and clay, which govern water holding, fertility and carbon retention.
Texture shapes how soil behaves. Clay-rich soils retain water and organic matter; sandy soils drain quickly and hold less carbon. It is the most common basis for stratifying soil sampling.
Because texture is stable over management timescales, it is a useful covariate in models that predict carbon from limited sampling, improving precision without additional field cost.
Frequently asked questions
Can texture be mapped remotely?
Indirectly, through proxies such as topography, vegetation and bare-soil spectral response, always calibrated with samples.
Why does texture matter for crediting?
It predicts how much carbon a soil can hold and how fast it responds to practice change.