What does the term CEC shown on the report mean?
CEC stands for “cation exchange capacity.” It is a relative measure of the soil’s capacity to hold positively charged nutrients, such as potassium (K+), calcium (Ca++), magnesium (Mg++) and hydrogen (H+). As this value increases, the capacity of a soil to hold nutrients also increases. The following soils are listed in order of lowest to highest CEC values: sands, sandy loams, sandy clay loams, clay loams, clays, and organics.
