A review of genetic classification and characteristics of soil cracks

Abstract

Soil cracks are one of the most important physical properties of soil. The formation of soil cracks is a result of interactions between the inner and external conditions of soil. Specifically, the inner conditions include physical and chemical properties of soil, and the external conditions refer to natural and anthropogenic factors. Previous studies of soil cracks mainly focus on the soil properties and the natural environment (NE), such as soil cracks produced by biotic and abiotic processes. Very few studies have focused on the soil environmental changes induced by other external conditions, such as geological processes and anthropogenic activity. To systematically illustrate the soil fissure, according to the characteristics of soil cracks, and considering the properties of soil preferential flow path, the geneses and the characteristics of soil cracks have been comprehensively analyzed and summarized in this study. Two major types of soil cracks have been proposed: one is the cracks caused by NE and the other is the cracks caused by anthropogenic activity. Additionally, based on the specific differences of these geneses, these two types of soil cracks have been further divided into six subtypes and fourteen sub-subtypes, respectively. In this article, a genetic classification method of soil cracks is systematically proposed, which provides a new approach for the related research of soil cracks.

Investigating the effect of soil cracks on preferential flow using a dye tracing infiltration experiment in karst in Southwest China

“…Large‐scale soil cracks were not found in the other study site covered by a Pinus massoniana forest, where GPR surveys were conducted during the same period. Therefore, the crack formation in this karst region may be related to the local plant root systems (Yan et al, 2021); this concept requires further investigation. Geophysical surveys can provide a reference for the crack properties before simulation experiments are performed.…”

“…Large-scale soil cracks were not found in the other study site covered by a Pinus massoniana forest, where GPR surveys were conducted during the same period. Therefore, the crack formation in this karst region may be related to the local plant root systems (Yan et al, 2021) identified from GPR envelopes because GPR envelopes directly reflect the possible occurrence of preferential flow in cracked soils during the rainfall process. This study demonstrated that isolated cracks control the preferential flow and the relationships between the envelopes and the preferential flow indices in cracked soils.…”

The Effect of Soluble Sugar Degradation on the Evaporation of Compacted Clay

“…The surface soil of the crust evaporates, loses water, and shrinks to form cracks under the influence of external forces such as light, wind energy, temperature difference, humidity difference, and other environmental forces. This natural phenomenon is called soil desiccation cracking [4,5]. The cracks cause great damage to the soil structure and have an important impact on the properties of soil mechanics, such as mechanical strength, deformation, and permeability [6], resulting in widespread environmental engineering problems.…”