Patent ID: 8784681

Claim:
A soil additive comprising particles having a first polymer structure having a mean particle diameter (D 50 ) of from about 0.1 micrometers to about 200 micrometers, the first structure comprising permanent cross-links and non-permanent ionic cross-links, the particles having a property such that only upon contact with a monovalent stimulus selected from the group consisting of sodium ions, potassium ion, ammonium ions and any combination thereof present in soil, the non-permanent ionic cross-links become at least partially removed from the first structure via ion exchange with the monovalent stimulus, resulting in a second structure having a D 50 of from about 1 micrometer to about 5000 micrometers and a volume greater than the first structure, the ratio of volume of the first structure to the second structure being from about 1:3 to 1:500, wherein the ionic cross-links are derived from a cation selected from the group consisting of calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, ferrous, barium, and any combination thereof.