Microtomographic analysis of pore space in a virgin soddy-podzolic soil

The method of X-ray microtomography was applied to study pore space of a virgin soddy-podzolic soil at the natural soil water content. The morphometric parameters of the pores of more than 100 μm in diameter were determined in the vertically oriented undisturbed soil monoliths (d = 3 cm, h = 3–4 cm) from the genetic horizons of the most differentiated part of the soil profile (the AY, AEL, EL, BEL, BT1, and BТ2 horizons). A tendency for the horizontal orientation of these pores was found in all the horizons, except for the humus (AY) horizon. Isolated vesicular pores of different sizes were abundant in the eluvial part of the profile. Numerous recent and relict phytogenic channels were found in the intraped mass of the BT2 horizon. Differently directed interfaces of structural units in the soil horizons were visualized. Cluster analysis was applied to estimate differences between the genetic horizons with respect to their textures, aggregate sizes, and shapes of pores as seen in vertical two-dimensional X-ray images.     

The anisotropy of the structure and the microspatial pattern of the pores at the aggregate level of texturally differentiated soils

The anisotropy of the soil pores in texturally differentiated soils is an important soil-genetic index. The morphological study of thin soil sections with vertical and horizontal orientation showed that the pore space of a texturally differentiated light gray forest soil at the aggregate level of organization has isotropic, anisotropic, and partially anisotropic structures in the different horizons. In the horizons with a platy structure, the anisotropy of the pore space is largely determined by the anisometry of the structural units. In the horizons with a massive structure not separated into aggregates, the anisotropic indices can be related to the structural features of the recent and relic biogenic pores. To reveal the total anisotropy of the soil pore space, the most informative and genetically determined indices should be studied: the shape, area, and orientation of the pores. In the soil studied, the variation of the pore sizes in the vertical thin sections was higher than in the horizontal thin sections, which agreed with the concept of the anisotropy of the entire soil profile. The fixed vertical and horizontal orientation of the soil thin sections allowed the obtained results to be integrated into the full-profile anisotropy of the soil properties. The vertical thin sections were found to be of greater information value for the profile-genetic analysis of the structure and variability of the soil pore space than their horizontal analogues.     

THE MEASUREMENT AND CHARACTERISATION OF VOIDS IN SOIL THIN SECTIONS BY IMAGE ANALYSIS. PART II. APPLICATIONS

Image analysis was used to measure and characterise the voids in two sets of soil samples; (i) a surface water gley soil of the Deighton series and (ii) soils from a compaction experiment. The results show that the Deighton soil contains two impervious horizons separated by a much more porous horizon. In all the horizons most of the pore space is due to pores >180μm diam. In the case of the soils from the compaction experiment compaction was shown to change the shape, orientation and size distribution of the pores considerably. The range of measurements demonstrates that image analysis is applicable to several areas of soil research.     

Micromorphometric features of pore space in the plow horizons of loamy soils

A computer-based analysis of thin sections has been applied to study pore space in the plow horizons of loamy soils in European Russia and Ukraine. Differences in the morphology of soil macro-and mesopores are shown. It is argued that agrogenic impacts result in the convergence of the shape and orientation of macropores in plowed loamy soils of the forest, forest-steppe, and steppe zones. At the same time, this convergence is not observed for the soil mesopores.     

Descriptive field symbols for inped soil macropores

Abstract

A short hand notation for depicting inped soil macropores is presented. By utilizing symbols for macropore diameter, facial shape, pore length, inped shape and pore orientation; it is possible to quickly portray inped field macropores. Circles, ellipses, and triangles of differing dimensions are used to symbolize round, elliptical, and irregular facial shaped pores of different diameters. The pore length and orientation are symbolized by line length and line direction. The inped shapes (spherical, tubular, and elongated) are respectively represented by one line, two parallel lines, or three parallel lines within or intersecting the pore shape symbols. Field application of this methodology saves time and is valuable when numerous inped pores need to be depicted.     

Lessivage and its relation to the hydrological regime of soils

By the examples of four typical catenas in the East European Plain, the role of lessivage in the development of automorphic and hydromorphic loamy and clayey soils with light-colored acid eluvial horizons and with different degrees of gleyzation has been studied. It is found that characteristic features of lessivage are often observed in the soils without hydrological barriers hampering or preventing the vertical migration of soil water and mass transfer processes. The hydrological barriers may be represented by the shallow horizons of temporarily perched water, or by the ascending capillary fringe of the ground water, or by the water-saturated horizons, in which the volume of free pores does not exceed 2–4%. It is shown that light-colored acid eluvial horizons may be formed in the profiles of loamy and clayey soils without any signs of lessivage. The development of strongly gleyed soils (gleyed soddy-podzolic soils and pseudogley soils (Stagnosols)) is not related to colmatage (silting of their illuvial horizons through lessivage); it is conditioned by the actual hydrological regime of these soils. The role of lessivage, podzolization, and gleyzation in the development of clay-differentiated soils is discussed.     

Changes in the geometric structure of pores and aggregates as indicators of the structural degradation of cultivated soils

As shown by the example of loamy soils of the European territory of Russia, the geometric parameters of soil structure, along with the agrophysical soil parameters, should be taken into account for the comprehensive assessment of the physical degradation of cultivated soils. Different variants of the geometric transformation of soil structure in the plow horizons are analyzed. The shape and orientation of soil pores in thin sections prepared from undisturbed oriented soil samples are considered to be the main diagnostic indices. A computer-aided analysis of soil pores in thin sections made it possible to distinguish and characterize different levels of the geometric transformation of soil structure upon soil compaction: (a) without the disturbance of the shape and orientation of the aggregates, (b) with the transformation of soil aggregates from the crumb (granular) to the angular blocky shape, (c) with the development of a platy structure characterized by the predominantly horizontal orientation of the pores and aggregates, and (d) the complete disappearance of separate aggregates with the formation of a massive soil structure. The validity of the assessments of the geometric transformation of the soil pore space against the background of a considerable spatial variability in the geometric properties of soil structure in the plow horizon is discussed. The structural-functional specificity of the distinguished levels of the geometric transformation of soil structure is outlined.     

Rheological Properties and Tomographically Determined Pore Space of Undisturbed Samples of Typical Chernozems and Soddy-Podzolic Soils

Coupled studies of pore space and rheological behavior of undisturbed samples from soddypodzolic soils (Albic Glossic Retisols (Loamic, Aric, Cutanic)) of Moscow oblast under forest and under cropland and from typical chernozems (Haplic Chernozems (Loamic, Aric, Pachic)) of Kursk oblast under oak forest, shelterbelt, and cropland were conducted. Soil pore space was investigated using a Bruker SkyScan 1172 G (Belgium) microtomograph, and 3D models of pore space were constructed. The total pore space (in percent of the volume of analyzed samples) and the volumes of open and closed pores were determined from these models. The nondestructive tomographic method made it possible to analyze the rheological properties of soils for the same samples using the amplitude sweep method on an MCR-302 (Anton Paar, Austria) rheometer. The following parameters of the rheological behavior were determined: storage modulus in the range of linear viscoelastic behavior, the range of linear viscoelastic behavior, and the range of plastic behavior. A joint analysis of the rheological properties and morphometric characteristics of the undisturbed samples of soddy-podzolic soils and chernozems demonstrated the dependence of the rheological behavior of these soils on their physicochemical properties and pore space structure reflecting the differences in the genesis and physical and chemical properties of soil horizons. The correlation analysis attested to direct (positive) relationships between the values of the total and open tomographic porosities, the range of linear viscoelastic behavior, and the deformation upon the destruction of soil structure. Negative relationships were found between the values of open and total porosity and the structural strength of the soil monoliths. A hypothesis about an increase in the range of plastic behavior of soils and a decrease in the strength of soil structure with an increase in porosity was suggested.     

运用同步辐射显微CT揭示红壤团聚体内孔隙形态与空间分布

团聚体内部复杂的孔隙系统及其空间分布决定土壤团聚体的主要功能,以及发生在团聚体内的各种物理、化学和生物学过程。应用同步辐射X射线显微成像技术(SR-mCT),对第四纪红土发育的红壤团聚体内部孔隙形态、连通性、各向异性、大小分布和空间分布进行了研究。结果表明,红壤团聚体内部的孔隙形态、孔隙生长方向、大小分布存在明显差异。稳定性较好的团聚体表现为团聚体孔隙含有较多大孔隙、孔隙形态各异、各向异性、多联通孔隙等特征,团聚体内>30 ?m大孔隙分布比较均匀,中心部位较高,呈中间向圆周减小趋势;反之,稳定性较差的团聚体中,孔隙以小孔隙为主,分布密集,孔隙生长方向均匀,团聚体孔隙空间分布为大孔隙,主要分布在团聚体外围,中心部分分布较少。团聚体内部孔隙的空间分布模式能够很好地解释土壤团聚体结构和稳定性差异的原因。同步辐射显微CT结合图像处理技术能够系统地表征团聚体内孔隙的多样性和空间变异规律,为预测土壤团聚体中各种物理过程提供新途径。     

Solods of the Baraba Lowland and the Priobskoe Plateau: Their properties and genesis and the methods of their diagnostics

The properties, hydrological features, and genesis of the solods occurring in the Baraba Lowland and Priobskoe Plateau were studied. Methods for determining the hydromorphism degree are considered; the features of the similarity and differences between the solods and other soils with textural profile differentiation are shown. Depending on the reasons for the waterlogging, the solods should be divided into two groups: the solods of groundwater waterlogging and the solods of surface waterlogging. Criteria for their discrimination are suggested: the ratio between the contents of the clay fraction in the parent rock (or in the B2 horizon) and that in the A2 horizon, the changes in the pH values along the soil profiles, and the content of nonsilicate iron compounds. The solods studied are shown to be formed under the conditions of a stagnant-percolative regime and gleying. This circumstance is an obligatory and sufficient reason for the formation of the light-colored acid eluvial (A2) horizons. According to some basic properties of the soil solid phase (the acidity, the total chemical composition, and the clay pattern in the eluvial part), the gleyed solods are close or identical to the gleyed soddy-podzolic and gleyed chernozem-like podzolic soils. At the same time, the solods differ from the gleyed chernozem-like podzolic soils by their thicker A1 (or Ap) horizon and their higher humus content (5–7%).     

Consequences of slotting on the pore characteristics of a sandy soil in northeast Thailand

In the sandy soils of northeast Thailand, root development is generally limited to the topsoil (0–20 cm depth) but a simple slotting intervention (20–40 cm) significantly increased the root frequency in the slotted material (E_slot) compared with the undisturbed subsoil (E horizon). The aim of this study was to investigate the consequences of slotting on the soil structure by analysing at different scales the pore characteristics of the original soil profile and of the soil material inside the slot. These characteristics were studied using bulk density measurements, image analysis of thin sections and mercury porosimetry. Our results showed that the total porosity of the E horizon and E_slot material was similar when measured in 100 cm³ cylinders, but that the pore size distribution had been changed by slotting. The unaltered E horizon contained mainly small pores characterized by a narrow distribution related to close packing of the sand grains, associated with some biological macropores probably with poor continuity as they did not contain roots despite their size. On average, pores were larger in the E_slot material, with a broader distribution resulting from looser packing of the sand grains but with fewer biological macropores. Although slotting reduced the number of biological pores, the looser packing appeared to be more favourable to root development than the presence of macropores in the E horizon. Finally, the comparison of the porosity in the different horizons with the porosity of the E_slot material, indicated the significance of the closeness of the sand packing on root development.     

3D-visualization and analysis of macro- and meso-porosity of the upper horizons of a sodic, texture-contrast soil

The lower E and upper B horizons of sodic, texture-contrast soils are a formidable barrier to most annual and many perennial crops. The research presented here is part of a wider study into the nature of subsoil constraints to root exploration. The aim of this study was to characterize in three dimensions the macro- and meso-porosity across the E horizon–Btn horizon interface of a sodic, texture-contrast soil using X-ray computed tomography (CT). Intact soil cores of 50-cm length and 15-cm diameter were scanned with a medical CT X-ray machine. The pore volume reconstructed from these scans had a resolution of 0.3 × 0.3 × 0.4 cm (in the x, y, z dimensions, respectively). This resolution allowed visualization and quantification of the macroporosity of the intact cores. Undisturbed samples of 1.5-cm diameter and 4-cm length were carefully excised from the interface and scanned with micro-CT X-ray equipment. The reconstructed pore volumes had an isotropic resolution of 19 μm that allowed analysis of the mesoporosity just on the boundary between the E and Btn horizons. Mesoporosity decreased across the interface and increased lower in the Btn horizon. The distribution of the pores at the macro- and meso-scales showed the importance of the smaller pores in the A and E horizons, whereas most of the porosity in the Btn horizon was attributed to the larger pores. Pores in this sodic, texture-contrast soil were not distributed homogeneously at either the macro- or meso-scale. A greater proportion of the pores in the E–B interface were horizontal than in the upper A1, upper E and lower Btn horizons. Some 'coiling' of the pores was also apparent in the interface. The shape of some pores (long tubular pores) suggested formation by roots as they drilled through the soil. The orientation of these pores was a function of physical (and possibly chemical) impedance at the interface.     

Calculation of hydraulic conductivities of horizons in some major soils in Wisconsin

Hydraulic conductivity between saturation and a tension of 100 cm water was calculated with moisture-retention data for nine soil horizons and compared with results from in situ measurements with the crust test. Agreement was good for sandy, apedal soil horizons with simple packing voids but only if matching factors were used. Results were unreliable in clayey, pedal soil horizons in which a few relatively large planar and tubular pores determine K in the measured tension range, whereas the greatest fraction of total porosity is composed of fine pores inside peds that hardly contribute to flow. Varying the number of pore classes (n) and the water-filled porosity at saturation made no significant difference in the calculations for the apedal soils, but drastically changed the shape of the calculated curves for the pedal soils. Matching factors based on K_sat measurement had to be used for all studied soil horizons, indicating that Marshall's pore-interaction model never predicted K_sat accurately.     

Factors of the development of taiga and tundra soils with differentiation of Fe and Al oxides in the profile

Statistical data on the bulk contents of iron and aluminum oxides in iron-depleted and iron-enriched horizons of a wide range of taiga and tundra soils were compared. It was found that the soils could be arranged into the following sequence characterized by an increase in the relative contribution of iron oxides and a decrease in the relative contribution of aluminum oxides to the differentiation of sesquioxides in the soil profiles: sandy podzols—soddy-podzolic soils—loamy micropodzols and iron-illuvial svetlozems—cryogenic ferruginated gleyzems. It was concluded that the bleaching of eluvial horizons and the depletion of sesquioxides from them, as well as the accumulation of sesquioxides in the illuvial horizons, are controlled by different processes in different soils. In sandy podzols, the differentiation of sesquioxides is due to the Al-Fe-humus podzolization; in loamy micropodzols and iron-illuvial svetlozems, due to the redox-Al-Fe-humus podzolization; in podzolic and soddy-podzolic soils, due to the selective podzolization and lessivage; and, in cryogenic ferruginated gleyzems, due to the reduction-oxidation processes.     

Pore-size distribution in loamy soils: A comparison between microtomographic and capillarimetric determination methods

Pore-size distribution in a soddy-podzolic silt loamy soil developing from mantle loesslike loam (Eutric Albic Retisol (Loamic, Cutanic)) was calculated from the water retention curve according to Jurin’s equation and directly determined in microtomographic experiments. Rounded macropores with the diameter of their sections from 75 to 1000 μm predominate in horizontal sections if the studied soil samples. A larger part of the soil pores (>30–35%) belongs to micro- and nanopores, and they cannot be quantitatively determined by the tomographic method, because their sizes are smaller than the detection limit of the applied X-ray microtomography (8.75 μm per pixel). This leads to a significantly larger pore volume determined from the water retention curve in comparison with the “tomographic” pore volume. A comparative analysis of pore-size distribution curves obtained by these methods shows that the major regularities of the pore-size distribution in the range from 30 to 5000 μm are similar in both cases. Fine macropores and, partly, mesopores predominate. Common characteristics of the pore-size distribution curves obtained by these methods, including the coincidence of the peaks, attest to the validity of classical approaches, according to which the hydrology of soil pore space can be perceived as a physical model of cylindrical capillaries of different sizes with capillary-sorbed water.     

红壤性水稻土可溶态稀土分布特征及与酸度调控的关系

测定了具有代表性的4种母质发育、3种水育型的红壤性水稻土及起源土壤的可溶性稀土(REEs)和稀土总丰度(∑REE),分析了REEs的分布特征及与∑REE的相关,研究了经酸碱调节后土壤REEs与pH值的关系,结果表明:(1)不同母质发育的供试土壤REEs平均值依石英闪长岩母质土壤系列、凝灰岩母质土壤系列、黑云母花岗岩母质土壤系列、玄武岩母质土壤系列顺序递减。(2)供试土壤REEs与∑REE的相关不显著。(3)起源土壤剖面中REEs具有明显自上而下增大的趋势,而不同水育型水稻土剖面的REEs分布各有特征,但总的趋势是自上而下减少。(4)经酸度调节后供试土壤的REEs随着土壤pH值的提高而下降,呈显著的幂函数相关。     

Verformungsverhalten künstlicher Makroporen unter variierenden Druck‐ und Bodenfeuchtebedingungen

Structural deformation of artificial macropores under varying load and soil moisture In the present study, the stability and deformation behavior of artificial macropores under varying load and soil moisture levels was investigated by means of X‐ray computed tomography (CT). The results should be a reference for similar studies on soil samples from field trials. The soil tested was a well structured humic silt loam with a bulk density of 1 g cm^—3. Round‐shaped pores of vertical and 45 degree angle orientation were drilled into the samples with a plastic needle (∅︁ 5 mm). These samples were compacted in an uniaxial compression device at four different moisture levels and four pressure stages each. Stepwise CT imaging and its 3‐dimensional reconstruction enabled us to study systematically the mode and intensity of pore deformation. As a result four different deformation stages could be identified in dependence from load, soil moisture, and pore orientation. The deformation stage ”︁stable” was characterized by mostly unaffected pore dimensions and shapes. Increasing load and/or moisture content led to prominent bottle necks within the pores which was named ”︁structure deformation”. Due to the shape and size of these bottle necks it seems to be most likely that still intact aggregates were moved into the inner pore space, reducing the mean cross sectional areas. The deformation stage ”︁total deformation” appeared with further increase of load and/or moisture. The aggregated structure disappeared while the inner roughness of the pores became smoother again. This represents a viscoplastic deformation. Cross sectional areas, pore lengths, and volumes significantly decreased. The stage ”︁extinction” was finally reached at water contents around the liquid limit, where the pore structure was completely lost, at least on CT resolution level. The deformation stages could be attributed to load stages depending from pore orientation. Unexpectedly, all pores kept their originally round shape over all stages until extinction.     

Mikromorphologische untersuchungen an einer nordwestdeutschen parabraunerde-psuedogley-sequenz aus löss

Four loess-derived soil profiles (southwest of Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany) with increasing influence of impeded water (Hapludalf to Humaquept) have been investigated micromorphologically. The nature of the different micromorphological features, as well as their distribution within the horizons of the profiles are described and quantitatively represented. Observations on the soil fabric in B-horizons show that tubular macropores have been filled either by clay skins, pure silt grains and/or clay-rich silty material. The breakdown of macropores and/or iron/manganese-enrichment may cause the occurrence of involved systems of “generations” of macropores, whose development cannot be reconstructed exactly. Semi-quantitative investigations indicate that numbers of these latter features decrease in going from well-drained soils to wetter soils.     

Composition and structure of aggregates from compacted soil horizons in the southern steppe zone of European Russia

The composition and structure of aggregates from different agrogenic soils in the southern steppe zone of European Russia have been studied. It is shown that the multi-level study (from the macro- to microlevel) of these horizons makes it possible to identify soil compaction caused by different elementary soil processes: solonetz-forming, vertisol-forming, and mechanical (wheel) compaction in the rainfed and irrigated soils. The understanding of the genesis of the compaction of soil horizons (natural or anthropogenic) is important for the economic evaluation of soil degradation. It should enable us to make more exact predictions of the rates of degradation processes and undertake adequate mitigation measures. The combined tomographic and micromorphological studies of aggregates of 1–2 and 3–5 mm in diameter from compacted horizons of different soils have been performed for the first time. Additional diagnostic features of negative solonetz- forming processes (low open porosity of aggregates seen on tomograms and filling of a considerable part of the intraped pores with mobile substance) and the vertisol-forming processes (large amount of fine intraaggregate pores seen on tomograms and a virtual absence of humus–clay plasma in the intraped zone)—have been identified. It is shown that the combination of microtomographic and micromorphological methods is helpful for studying the pore space of compacted horizons in cultivated soils.     

Microstructure of Soils of Different Geneses and Its Transformation in Constructozems of Moscow

The transformation of microstructure of constructozems was studied in a four-year-long (2012–2016) field experiment with the use of rheological and electron microscopy methods. Field studies were performed in the area of Moscow State University on three variants of artificial human-made soils (constructozems) differing in the structure of their profiles: (1) the control variant with the upper part composed of a homogenized Ap horizon, (2) the layered constructozem composed of a sequence of layers (Ap–peat–sand–Ap), and (3) the constructozem consisting of a mixture of the above-mentioned horizons. Electron microscopy attested to an increase in differentiation of the pore space in the upper Ap horizons in variants 1 and 2: new pores and chambers of different sizes appeared. In the loose porous mass of the peat layer in variant 2, more compact cohesive microstructures were formed. Microaggregation was identified in the upper layer of variant 3. Changes in the spatial arrangement of the solid phase of the soils were reflected in their rheological properties. A gradual increase in stability of structural bonds in the Ap horizon (variant 1) was detected. In variant 2, the underlying peat layer affected the shape of rheological curves in the Ap horizon. In variant 3, changes in strength properties of the mixed soil mass resulted in the formation of rheological behavior of fluid bodies typical of the plowed humus horizons.