ABSTRACT
Soil textural classes (e.g., loam, clay loam, sandy loam) are estimated in terms of size and
distribution of primary particles by sieve and sedimentation analysis. Field estimates of
texture are confirmed by laboratory analyses of selected samples. Particle size analysis
(PSA) is a measurement of particle size distribution. The Canadian Soil Information System
glossary defines particle size distribution as the amounts of the various soil separates in a soil
sample, usually expressed as weight percentages (Gregorich et al. 2001).
