Thaw depth thaw line than clays. Yet another factors are the vegetation and the percentage of the soil organic matter, which influence the bulk density of the soil, and hence thermal conductivity. Thaw depth In soil science, the thaw depth or thaw line is the instantaneous level down to which the soil has warmed to zero degrees celcius. The active layer thickness is the maximum thaw depth over a period of two years. The layer of soil over the thaw depth is called the active layer, while the soil below is called permafrost. The term frost front refers to the varying position
Soil loam soil with a small amount of organic material is considered "ideal", inasmuch as fertilizers or manure are currently used to mitigate nutrient losses due to crop yields in the long term. The mineral constituents of a loam soil might be 40% sand, 40% silt and the balance 20% clay by weight. Soil texture affects soil behaviour, in particular, its retention capacity for nutrients (e.g., cation exchange capacity) and water. Sand and silt are the products of physical and chemical weathering of the parent rock; clay, on the other hand, is most often the product of the precipitation of the