Pore system characteristics of soil aggregates and their relevance to aggregate stability

Menon, Manoj; Mawodza, Tinashe; Rabbani, Arash; Blaud, Aimeric; Lair, Georg J.; Babaei, Masoud; Kercheva, Milena; Rousseva, Svetla; Banwart, Steven A.

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114259

Cited by 77 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Soil functionality is, to a large degree, governed by soil structure (Lal, 2001; Schlüter et al., 2020), which is understood as the arrangement of soil particles forming a complex porous material composed of soil aggregates (Aleklett et al., 2018; Hillel, 2003). Aggregates are the structural unit of soils, and their stability constitutes a cornerstone parameter of soil quality (Menon et al., 2020). In agricultural systems, the process of soil aggregation is crucial because it (a) facilitates the movement of water, gas, and solutes in the soil profile; (b) enhances soil aeration; (c) enhances soil infiltration and water storage; and (d) reduces evaporation, run‐off, and erosion, providing optimal conditions for plant growth (Carminati et al., 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the mechanical and hydraulic properties of coarse quartz sand using a water‐soluble hydrogel based on bacterial alginate for novel application in agricultural contexts

Barrientos-Sanhueza

Mondaca

Tamayo

et al. 2021

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Climate change is generating severe changes in the physical behavior of soils (i.e., soil structure, mechanical resistance, and water conductivity), causing negative impacts on different agricultural systems and, therefore, threatening food security. To cope with this situation, hydrogels based on biopolymers have been proposed to modify the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of complex porous materials such as soils, yet most of them are nonsoluble, making their application at field level laborious. In this study, we investigated the effect of a water‐soluble hydrogel based on bacterial alginate on the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of coarse quartz sand. The results from unconfined uniaxial compression test showed that the strength of the sand treated with hydrogel increased by 94.5%, whereas hydraulic conductivity decreased 33%. Interestingly, we observed that bacterial alginate and hydrogel shifted the mechanics of the fluid phase toward a Darcy regime. The aggregate stability tests showed that coarse quartz sand treated with hydrogel displays larger mean weight diameter, reaching 1.5 mm compared with 0.12 mm of the control (i.e., coarse quartz sand). Finally, transmission light microscopy imaging of the hydrogel treatment revealed a new three‐dimensional matrix between the quartz sand particles, changing the microaggregates and macroaggregates and providing a modified structure of the sand material. Our findings suggest that the use of the water‐soluble hydrogel improves the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of coarse quartz sand, allowing better soil conservation against climate change‐related phenomena, and is also potentially applicable in agricultural systems facing water scarcity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing the mechanical and hydraulic properties of coarse quartz sand using a water‐soluble hydrogel based on bacterial alginate for novel application in agricultural contexts

Barrientos-Sanhueza

Mondaca

Tamayo

et al. 2021

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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“…While a change in agronomical practices could lead to an instant change in pore geometries, it might take decades or even century for the pore geometries to reach a new statistically equilibrium state on average across the field following fertilization change or land conversion ( Lohse and Dietrich, 2005 , Lucas et al, 2019 , Neal et al, 2020a ). Therefore, for experiments using repacked soils that did not last long enough ( Crawford et al, 2012 , Kallenbach et al, 2016 , Menon et al, 2020 , Rabbi et al, 2018 ), the observed soil structural change might be a just temporary transition rather than what the soil would ultimately evolve to.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of long-term fertilizations on soil hydraulic properties vary with scales

Zhang

Neal

Crawford

et al. 2021

Journal of Hydrology

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Highlights Soil samples were taken from field under different fertilizations for 175 years. Soil permeability was calculated using X-ray tomography and pore-scale simulation. Soil was more isotropic and homogenous at aggregate scale than at core scale. Soil permeability at core scale increased exponentially with soil carbon. Soil permeability at aggregate scale increased asymptotically with soil carbon.

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“…Capillary capacity was higher in the subsoil than in the topsoil, and reached 66-80% of the total porosity. Higher total porosity and lower DBD values in the topsoil of woody and grassy plots after the flood imply higher aggregate stability and a minor effect of the flood on the breaking down of aggregates in these land-use types (Menon et al 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Changes in selected physico-chemical properties of floodplain soils in three different land-use types after flooding

Suchara¹,

Sucharová²,

Holá³

2021

PLANT SOIL ENVIRON

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This article provides information on selected physico-chemical properties, including soil colour, texture, electrical conductivity, pHH2O, pHCaCl2, content of total carbon and Q4/6 quotient, of the topsoil and subsoil of former flood sediments at three diverse vegetation plots in a floodplain and in two reference plots unaffected by floods, and changes of some soil properties caused by a new subsequent flood. Aggradation of flood sediments in the area was controlled both by local terrain morphology and vegetation type cover. Differences in the properties of sediments in the individual plot types were caused by the different production of litter, root biomass and carbon cycling before the new flood. Vertical distributions and inventories of 137Cs in soils revealed the position and proportion of modern sediments in soil profiles, man-made filling of former erosion grooves and ploughing depths. The new flood of a lower hydrological power aggraded a thin layer of organo-clay sediment on the soil surface but showed minor effects on the investigated soil properties. The lowest dry bulk density and highest total porosity values were found in the topsoil of woody and grassy plots after the flood implying no substantial break down of soil aggregates by the flood. The highest dry bulk density values in the subsoil of fields indicated soil compaction from agricultural machinery. No increased soil salinity was found after the flood. The flood did not significantly affect the pHH2O of the topsoil and subsoil; however, a significant increase in pHCaCl2 was found for the topsoil of grassy plots and for all topsoil samples from the park. No significant increases in total carbon (Ctot) contents were found in topsoils of any plot types after the flood in spite of an accumulation of thin organo-clay material on the soil surface after the flood. However, significant increases in Ctot in subsoils of all plot types indicate the vertical migration of colloidal and dissolved organic carbon in soils during the flood. Ctot contents positively correlated with electrical conductivity values and negative correlated with pH values. The relatively minor changes in soil physico-chemical properties found after the flood can be explained by the short duration and small dynamic power of the flood, and the timing of sampling when the flood had receded and soil aeration was already being restored.

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Pore system characteristics of soil aggregates and their relevance to aggregate stability

Cited by 77 publications

References 56 publications

Enhancing the mechanical and hydraulic properties of coarse quartz sand using a water‐soluble hydrogel based on bacterial alginate for novel application in agricultural contexts

Enhancing the mechanical and hydraulic properties of coarse quartz sand using a water‐soluble hydrogel based on bacterial alginate for novel application in agricultural contexts

The effects of long-term fertilizations on soil hydraulic properties vary with scales

Changes in selected physico-chemical properties of floodplain soils in three different land-use types after flooding

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