Amelioration 
The action of ameliorating one material with another. This is achieved by adding and uniformly mixing one material, such as sand, to another, such as a loam. The aim is to alter the relative proportions of the different soil particles; essentially one material is diluted by the addition of another.
A formula can be used to help determine how much sand (in kg) is needed to be mixed with one unit (kg) of an existing soil to end up with a desired sand content in a final mix:
M = (D-E)/(I-D)
Mass (in kg) of the desirable sand which is being used for amelioration;
D = The Desirable sa
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Amino Acid
A Nitrogen and Carbon compound, of which there are 20 amino acids, and which form the building blocks for proteins. They can be used as a chelating agent for micro-nutrients or within fertilisers to aid plant health and development.
Ammonification
The decay of organic matter to ammonia gas, and then to ammonium through the action of bacteria or fungi. It is the start of the Nitrification process.
Amylase
An enzyme which is present in grass seeds, is activated following water absorption (imbibition) by the seed and which is used as a catalyst to break down starch into glucose as part of the germination process, to aid development of plumule and radicle.
Anaerobic
A situation that exists in the absence of oxygen.
Anaerobic Respiration
A metabolic process that occurs in plants in the absence of oxygen. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm because it does not require any organelles for the process to occur. It produces pyruvic acid and only small amounts of energy in the form of ATP molecules. This is further broken down (via the fermentation process) to ethanol and carbon dioxide. Anaerobic respiration is a lot less efficient in the production of energy molecules (per glucose molecule) than aerobic respiration, just 2 molecules of ATP are produced compared with 38 molecules in aerobic respiration.
Waterlogged soils will cr
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Angiospermae
The group (Division) of flowering plants that have protected seeds and are within the Spermatophyte Clade (sometimes given as a superdivision), which was previously split into the two plant classes of Monocotyledon and Dicotyledon. With advances in molecular analysis the Angiosperms are now grouped into basal (3 small Orders) and the main core angiosperms consisting of the Clades: Monocots, Eudicots, and Magnoliids; and a small number of plants in two Orders.
Anion
A negatively charged atom or element. Common examples within a turf soil are nitrate; phosphate; and sulphate.
Anionic
A material that has a negative charge.
Annelid
The common name for the taxonomic phylum Annelida, to which the earthworms belong.