Field Moisture Capacity

Another name for Field Capacity.

  Fine Earth

All mineral particles (sand, silt and clay) which pass through a 2mm sieve. Particles greater than this are often called the Coarse Tail.

  Fines

Soil particles which are 0.125mm in diameter and less. This includes Clay, Silt, and Very Fine Sand. Fines help to retain water within a soil, but too many fines contribute to a poor drainage capability.

  Flocculation

The coming together of small soil particles into larger aggregates to provide an improved soil structure. Adding sulphur to an alkaline soil, or lime to an acid soil can encourage flocculation.

  French Drain

A trench which has a drainage pipe at the base and is infilled with gravel to the surface. These might typically be installed around field perimeter areas and especially at the base of embankments.

  Friable

A soil that is easily worked. It crumbles into a fine texture, without forming clods of soil.

  Gley Soil

A type of soil which is saturated / waterlogged for long periods during the year. These soils will often have a high content of clay particles with poor aeration and drainage. Gley soils will often smell due to wet decaying organic matter and from anaerobic decomposition. Gley soils are often a mottled colour being blue-grey to grey, with included orange mottling where iron is oxidised within the soil. Typically, the bluish colour is more related to longer or permanent periods of saturation, whilst the orange-brown mottling is more prevalent where saturation is more limited, primarily over

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  Gradation Index

This is often abbreviated to G.I. and is a numerical value based which identifies the uniformity of sand particles in a sample of sieved soil. A G.I. value is a ratio of the larger to smaller diameter particles and is based on the selected D values used. A uniform sand reduces the potential for the particles to be compacted, with a more open pore space being able to be retained, improving drainage and root growth potential. The lower the G.I. value the more uniform the particles and the more suitable they are for sports turf situations. A larger G.I. value will see much more interpacking of th

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  Gradient [1]

A slope. It might be an incline (going uphill) or a decline (going downhill). A gradient is typically expressed either as a ratio, for example 1 in 100, or as a percentage, for example a 1% gradient. Each of these examples mean that there is a 1-unit difference over 100 units; so over 100m this will mean a difference in height of 1m. Also called a Fall or Slope.

  Grading

The action of moving soil around to achieve desired levels of uniform evenness. There are two main techniques used in grading: 1. Cut and Fill Technique 2. Strip and Replace Technique