Cation exchange capacity (CEC) Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of the total negative charges within the soil that adsorb plant nutrient cations such as calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+) and potassium (K+). As such, the CEC is a property of a soil that describes its capacity to supply nutrient cations to the soil solution for plant uptake. http://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C1040&title=Cation%20Exchange%20Capacity%20and%20Base%20Saturation Added to support Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) data use cases. ODM2 Variable Name Controlled Vocabulary ODM2 Working Group A vocabulary for describing the name of Variables.