Buffer capacity and lead retention in some clay materials

The link between buffer capacity and the ability of clays to retain Pb in interactions between Pb contaminant leachate and the clays, has been studied, using a natural clay from Quebec and laboratory-prepared clays (kaolinite, illite, and smectite). The retention of Pb in the clay suspensions as they received increasing amounts of acid was investigated, and the results examined in terms of the buffer capacity of the clays. As the clays receive increasing amounts of acid (e.g. akin to addition of acid leachate), high amounts of Pb can be retained if the buffer capacity prevents the pH from dropping to values where precipitation mechanisms are not operative. The high carbonate content in the illite gave it a higher buffer capacity than the smectite and natural clay, and permitted it to retain high amounts of Ph. High Pb uptake by the clays can affect the buffer capacity and the Pb retention capacity.     

Biochar amendment to coarse sandy subsoil improves root growth and increases water retention

Crop yields and yield potentials on Danish coarse sandy soils are strongly limited due to restricted root growth and poor water and nutrient retention. We investigated if biochar amendment to subsoil can improve root development in barley and significantly increase soil water retention. Spring barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. Anakin) was grown in soil columns (diameter: 30 cm) prepared with 25 cm topsoil, 75 cm biochar‐amended subsoil, and 30 cm un‐amended subsoil lowermost placed on an impervious surface. Low‐temperature gasification straw‐biochar (at 0, 0.50, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 wt%) and slow pyrolysis hardwood‐biochar (at 2 wt%) were investigated. One wt% can be scaled up to 10² Mg/ha of char. After full irrigation and drainage, the in‐situ moisture content at 30‐80 cm depth increased linearly (R² = 0.99) with straw‐biochar content at a rate corresponding to 0.029 m³/m³/%. The lab determined wilting point also increased linearly with char content (R² = 0.99) but at a much lower rate (0.003 m³/m³/%). Biochar at concentrations up to 2% significantly increased the density of roots in the 40–80 cm depth interval. Addition of 1% straw‐biochar had the most positive effect on root penetration resulting in the highest average root density (54% coverage compared to 33% without biochar). This treatment also resulted in the greatest spring barley grain yield increase (22%). Improving the quality of sandy subsoils has global potentials, and incorporation of the right amount of correctly treated residues from bioenergy technologies such as straw‐biochar is a promising option.     

Effect of moisture content on ethylene glycol retention by clay minerals

For the accurate determination of ethylene glycol retention by soil minerals, precision in moisture removal is extremely important. One percent decrease in moisture appears to increase the ethylene glycol retention by 10 to 12 mg/g of sample. Drying samples over P₂O₅ is tedious and requires considerable care. An alternate method that is precise and easy is presented. By this method, an air-dried Ca-saturated subsample suspected of containing irreversibly dehydrating clays is saturated and equilibrated with ethylene glycol. The retention values are determined on a moisture-free weight basis calculated from a duplicate subsample dried in an oven at 105°C. Ethylene glycol retention of samples that do not contain irreversibly dehydrating clays is determined directly by saturation and equilibration of 105°C oven-dried samples.     

Soil‐aggregate formation as influenced by clay content and organic‐matter amendment

Naturally occurring wetting‐and‐drying cycles often enhance aggregation and give rise to a stable soil structure. In comparatively dry regions, such as large areas of Australia, organic‐matter (OM) contents in topsoils of arable land are usually small. Therefore, the effects of wetting and drying are almost solely reliant on the clay content. To investigate the relations between wetting‐and‐drying cycles, aggregation, clay content, and OM in the Australian environment, an experiment was set up to determine the relative influence of both clay content (23%, 31%, 34%, and 38%) and OM amendments of barley straw (equivalent to 3.1 t ha^–1, 6.2 t ha^–1, and 12.4 t ha^–1) on the development of water‐stable aggregates in agricultural soil. The aggregate stability of each of the sixteen composite soils was determined after one, three, and six wet/dry cycles and subsequent fast and slow prewetting and was then compared to the aggregate stabilities of all other composite soils. While a single wet/dry cycle initiated soil structural evolution in all composite soils, enhancing macroaggregation, the incorporation of barley straw was most effective for the development of water‐stable aggregates in those soils with 34% and 38% clay. Repeated wetting‐and‐drying events revealed that soil aggregation is primarily based on the clay content of the soil, but that large straw additions also tend to enhance soil aggregation. Relative to untreated soil, straw additions equivalent to 3.1 t ha^–1 and 12.4 t ha^–1 increased soil aggregation by about 100% and 250%, respectively, after three wet/dry cycles and fast prewetting, but were of less influence with subsequent wet/dry cycles. Straw additions were even more effective in aggregating soil when combined with slow prewetting; after three wet/dry cycles, the mean weight diameters of aggregates were increased by 70% and 140% with the same OM additions and by 160% and 290% after six wet/dry cycles, compared to samples without organic amendments. We suggest that in arable soils poor in OM and with a field texture grade of clay loam or finer, the addition of straw, which is often available from preceding crops, may be useful for improving aggregation. For a satisfactory degree of aggregate stability and an improved soil structural form, we found that straw additions of at least 6.2 t ha^–1 were required. However, rapid wetting of straw‐amended soil will disrupt newly formed aggregates, and straw has only a limited ability to sustain structural improvement.     

Use of organic manures for amendment of compacted clay soils II. Effect of carbon to nitrogen ratio

Abstract

The effect of the carbon:nitrogen ratio (C/N) of organic amendments on soil structure modification was studied in laboratory incubation experiments. Variable C/N ratios were obtained through application of carbonaceous substrates (cellulose, starch and wheat straw) and different levels of urea. Optimal responses of soil density and soil aggregate stability were found for the C/N range of 20–40. The levels of sugars extracted with boiling water and those of uronic acids were highest for the same C/N range. The preference of this C/N range substrates is also justified theoretically, considering microbial carbon and nitrogen budgets.     

黏土矿物和化学添加剂对牛粪堆肥过程氮素固持的影响

为对比分析在等质量添加下,不同化学和黏土矿物添加剂对氮素保存能力的差异,以鲜牛粪为主料,玉米秸秆为辅料,分别添加质量分数2.5%的化学物质（氧化钙、氧化镁、硫酸亚铁、明矾）或黏土矿物（蛭石、沸石、麦饭石、膨润土）作为添加剂进行为期35 d的堆肥试验,研究其对堆肥过程氮素损失和理化特性的影响。结果显示：各处理在50 ℃以上的高温期持续了10 d以上,达到粪便无害化标准（GB 7959-2012）。和对照相比,添加氧化钙和氧化镁未对氨挥发和总氮损失产生明显影响,添加硫酸亚铁和明矾分别降低氨挥发43.7%、30.0%和总氮损失33.8%、26.5%;添加蛭石、沸石、麦饭石和膨润土分别降低氨挥发24.4%、29.9%、7.1%和20.1%,降低总氮损失15.4%、22.9%、2.2%和13.4%。所有添加剂均未对堆肥过程EC值变化产生明显影响,添加氧化镁明显提高了堆体pH值,堆肥结束时pH值为9.36,使堆肥未达到基本腐熟水平（发芽率指数GI>50%）,其他处理对pH值影响较小,且可以达到基本腐熟。综上,硫酸亚铁和明矾对氮素保存的效果优于黏土矿物,但黏土矿物价格低廉,在实际应用中可根据需求选择添加剂类别。     

十六烷基三甲基氯化铵改性黏土固沙保水性能

为解决沙漠公路施工和养护中固沙难的问题,利用十六烷基三甲基氯化铵(Cetyltrimethyl Ammonium Chloride,CTAC)制备了一种改性黏土材料。研究了材料的力学性能、抗老化性能和保水性能,并利用X射线衍射仪、红外光谱分析仪和扫描电子显微镜对其固沙保水机理进行分析。结果表明:当CTAC与黏土的质量比为5:4时,固沙材料力学性能和耐老化性能较好,其透气保水性能较为均衡,草籽发芽率达到最高,为47%。微观分析表明:CTAC通过插层作用将松散的黏土颗粒连接,黏土间隙变为憎水性,水分运移阻力增大,因此改性黏土固沙保水性能较好。研究结果可为固沙材料的改进应用提供参考。     

Water retention models for fractal soil structures

A review of water retention functions based upon fractal soil structures is presented. We consider the modelling approach for a fractal fabric, a fractal pore boundary and a fractal pore space, identifying the latter case as one of particular complexity. In each case, the water retention function is derived from the pore volume distribution arising from the structural model in question. We examine published models and highlight problems, namely lack of generality and inconsistency with the assumed fractal structure. The models considered in this paper do not account for the effects of pore connectivity, and as such their validity as a necessary condition for the existence of fractal structure is questionable.     

Water dispersible clay in calcareous soils of southwestern Spain

Water dispersible clay (WDC) is a good indicator of the risk of soil erosion by water and the consequent losses of nutrients and contaminants in overland flow. We measured the content and studied the properties of WDC in 26 samples of calcareous Xeralfs, Xerepts and Xererts of southwestern Spain collected from fields under different crop and tillage management; the soils ranged widely in total clay content (60–455 g kg^− 1), calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) (< 1–559 g kg^− 1) and active calcium carbonate equivalent (ACCE; 2–135 g kg^− 1), and were poor in organic carbon and soluble salts. The WDC content was determined by shaking 10 g of soil in 1 L of simulated rainwater for 4 hours. Non-carbonate WDC contents were found to be strongly correlated with the total clay content of the soils and ranged from 1 to 92 g kg^− 1 soil (mean = 29 g kg^− 1), the non-carbonate WDC/total clay ratio ranging from 0.01 to 0.29 (mean = 0.12). Based on regression analyses, illite was more dispersible than smectite and iron oxides decreased dispersion of clay. Carbonate WDC contents ranged from 1 to 27 g kg^− 1 (mean = 8 g kg^− 1) and were averaged one third the non-carbonate WDC contents; also, they were strongly correlated with the soil ACCE. WDC was rich in phosphorus (P) relative to the bulk soil. The enrichment ratio (ER) for total P (i.e. the ratio of total P in WDC to total P in soil) ranged from 0.2 to 29 (mean = 5) and was inversely related to the total clay content. On average, about one tenth of the soil total P was exported in the WDC and about one fifth of the total P in WDC was in the form of bicarbonate-extractable P (i.e. relatively soluble or ‘labile’ P). Part of the P in WDC seemingly occurred as metal phosphate particles formed by reaction of P fertilizers with soil. In summary, significant amounts of P can be exported via WDC, even though the proportion of total clay that is water dispersible is substantially lower in these soils than in cultivated soils of other semiarid regions.     

Water retention characteristics of soils with double porosity

A soil with double porosity is modelled as a collection of aggregated particles, in which a single aggregate is made up of discrete particles bonded together. Separate fractal distributions for pore sizes around and within aggregates are defined. The particle size distribution of the double porosity soil is also modelled using a fractal distribution, which may have a fractal dimension very different to those defining the pore sizes. The surface areas of the particles and the pores within the aggregates are assumed to be equal, enabling an expression linking two fractal dimensions to be defined. It is necessary to introduce ratios between maximum and minimum particle and pore sizes into the expression. A theoretical soil‐water characteristic curve is then derived for a double porosity soil. The curve, and the underlying assumptions regarding the distributions of pore and particle sizes, showed good agreement with experimental data for a range of soils having double porosity. A discontinuity is observed in the soil‐water characteristic curve at a second air entry value related to the maximum pore size within the aggregates, a feature also observed in experimentally obtained soil‐water characteristic curves for double porosity soils.     

Soil-water retention behavior of compacted biochar-amended clay: a novel landfill final cover material

Purpose

Biochar has long been proposed for amending agricultural soils to increase soil-water retention capacity and therefore promotes crop growth. Recent studies revealed the potential use of biochar-amended soil in landfill final covers to promote methane oxidation and odor reduction. However, the effects of biochar application ratio, compaction water content (CWC), and degree of compaction (DOC) on soil-water retention characteristics of biochar-amended clay (BAC) at high soil suction (dry condition) are not well understood. The present study aims to overcome this knowledge gap.

Materials and methods

Soil suction was induced using vapor equilibrium technique by a temperature- and humidity-controlled chamber, and the water desorption (drying) and adsorption (wetting) water retention curves (WRCs) of compacted pure kaolin clay and peanut shell BAC with different biochar application ratios (0, 5, and 20 %, w/w), DOCs (80, 90, and 100 %), and CWCs (30 and 35 %) were measured. The correlations between these factors and the gravimetric water content were analyzed by three-way ANOVA followed by the Tukey HSD test. The soil micro-structure was studied by scanning electronic microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Results and discussion

Measured WRCs of BAC suggest that the soil-water retention capacity at high suction range (48.49–124.56 MPa) was in general increased, upon biochar application. The BAC compacted with CWC of 35 % at low (80 %) and high (100 %) DOCs for the 5 % BAC were increased by 7.30 and 9.77 %, when compared with clay, while the increases of 20 % BAC were 39.89 and 59.20 %, respectively. This is attributed to the embedded effects of clay particles in biochar pores, which reduce the total pore space of BAC. The soil-water retention capacity of BAC was also increased with CWC and decreased with DOC. The results of three-way ANOVA analysis show that the effects of DOC and biochar ratio on soil gravimetric water content was significant (p?<?0.05) only at 48.49 MPa on drying path. For other induced suctions, only effects of CWC were significant (p?<?0.05).

Conclusions

Biochar application increases soil-water retention capacity of the BAC at high soil suction (48.49–124.56 MPa) (dry condition) at both low (80 %) and high DOC (100 %). The soil-water retention capacity of 20 % BAC was much higher than that of 5 % BAC. BAC is a potential alternative landfill final cover soil with a higher soil-water retention capacity to be used in dry areas or regions with a long period of evaporation event.

     

砒砂岩风化物对土壤水分特征曲线及蒸发的影响

运用高速离心机法和室内模拟蒸发的方法,对比研究了红色(RS)、灰色(GS)和白色(WS)三种颜色砒砂岩风化物在不同添加比例条件下对沙黄土和风沙土水分特征曲线、供水能力和干旱过程中失水过程的影响。研究表明:砒砂岩风化物的添加对沙黄土和风沙土水分特征曲线有较明显的影响。砒砂岩风化物的持水能力均高于沙黄土和风沙土,砒砂岩风化物添加提高了风沙土和沙黄土的持水能力,降低了沙黄土和风沙土失水速率;较低比例的砒砂岩风化物提高了沙黄土和风沙土的比水容量,但对风沙土和沙黄土低吸力段供水能力的提高作用并不明显。整个蒸发期间,砒砂岩风化物降低了沙黄土的标准蒸发量,而对于风沙土,其作用是蒸发前期降低,中后期增加。红色、灰色、白色三种砒砂岩风化物分别使风沙土的蒸发失水比提高了11.59%、10.14%和0.01%,添加三种砒砂岩风化物后的处理的最终平均含水量分别是风沙土的4倍、2.33倍、1.33倍,使沙黄土的蒸发失水比降低了13.33%、13.33%、29.52%,最终含水量降低了45.83%、54.17%、66.67%。因此,从提高土壤持水能力方面考虑,砒砂岩可以用于当地矿区和排土场区土壤改良,以促进生态修复。     

The influence of soil macroporosity on water retention, transmission and drainage in a clay soil

Abstract. Reductions in hydraulic conductivity and specific yield (drainable porosity) of large cores of Evesham clay soil were observed for periods up to 40 days under continuous ponding. A strong linear relationship ( r ²= 0.94) found between these two variables was used as parameter input to a layered drainage model for mole drained soils. Model results indicated that soils of lower drainable porosity and hydraulic conductivity produced higher peaked hydrographs widi faster recessions. These results are discussed in relation to the effects of soil loosening on drain response in heavy clay soils.     

生物炭改性黏土的渗水渗气特性及其函数关系

黏土中施加生物炭可改变土体的孔隙结构。生物炭掺量和干密度均会对土体的渗透系数产生影响,准确确定生物炭-黏土混合土的渗透系数对满足填埋场上覆层的功能需求就显得格外重要。采用自主研发设计的柔性壁水-气联合渗透测试装置,测定不同生物炭掺量和干密度的生物炭-黏土混合土的饱和渗透系数和渗气系数,得到生物炭掺量、干密度与渗气系数和渗水系数间的关系曲线。建立生物炭掺量和干密度双变化条件下的渗气渗水函数,并通过验证组验证该函数的适用性。研究结果表明：在干密度较小时,对比纯黏土的渗水率,添加5%、10%、15%和20%生物炭处理后的土样渗水系数k_w值分别为8.25×10^-17、8.89×10^-17、10.40×10^-17和18.25×10^-17 m²,掺20%生物炭土样的渗透率增加了将近一个数量级。渗气渗水函数基于易测定的渗气率作为自变量,同时又考虑了干密度和生物炭掺量的影响,能快速、准确地确定土样的渗水系数。结合验证组试验得出,利用该函数计算得到的渗水系数和试验实测值吻合程度较好,表明该函数具有一定的适用性。本研究结果可为快速、准确确定渗水系数,定量描述非饱和土孔隙中水气运动之间的相互影响提供理论支撑。     

土壤持水力与盐含量的相关性

The soil moisture retention capability of Chao soil and coastal saline Chao soil in Shandong and Zhejiang provinces were measured by pressure membrane method. The main factors influencing soil moisture retention capability were studied by the methods of correlation and path analyses. The results indicated that < 0.02mm physical clay and soil salt content were the main factors influencing soil moisture retention capability. At soil suction of 30~50 kPa, the soil salt content would be the dominant factor.     

Water repellency of organic growing media related to hysteretic water retention properties

With respect to soils, most growing media can exhibit hysteresis during drying/wetting cycles, which greatly affects their hydraulic properties. In the case of organic substrates, hydrophobicity during desiccation could be considered as one of the main factors leading to hysteretic behaviour. The purpose of this study was to estimate the influence of changes in wettability on the water retention properties, θ(ψ), of peat and pine bark during a drying/wetting cycle. Major differences in the hydraulic behaviour of the two organic materials studied were observed. For peat, hysteresis was found in the water retention curve (21%) and also in the contact angle/water potential relationship, (α(ψ), 20%), whereas in pine bark, this phenomenon was less pronounced in the water retention curve (10%) and even more limited in the α(ψ) curve (> 5%). Water retention hysteresis was successfully modelled using a modified van Genuchten‐Durner approach (VG_α model), which took into account the local hydrophobicity of each poral domain of the porous media, regardless of the extent of hysteresis. Incorporating the parameters of the VG_α water retention model into a α(ψ) equation to characterize overall or average changes in the hydrophobicity of the material during desiccation resulted in values very similar to those of the contact angles calculated with the capillary rise method. These results indicate that water retention properties of these organic substrates are strongly influenced by hydrophobicity.     

Wear of spring tine cultivator points in sandy loam and light clay soils in southern Poland

Correct evaluation and forecasting of durability of soil cutting parts are the decisive factors for proper operation of agricultural machinery. During operation of cultivators, over two-fold difference in wear of cultivator points is observed, which makes establishing of their exchange periods extremely difficult. So, there is a need to conduct some research aimed for determination of relationship between arrangement of the points in individual cultivator rows and their wear. The presented experiments were performed under authentic farm conditions during spring soil loosening and levelling operations before sowing and planting, in sandy loam and light clay soils. Changes in length and thickness of the spring tine points, wear patterns and weight loss were measured. Loss in length of spring tine points was described by a complex function of the distance travelled or by an exponential function of the distance from the measuring point to the symmetry axis of a spring tine point; loss in thickness was described by a linear function. It was found that soil type, as well as arrangement of the points in individual cultivator rows and their position in relation to the tractor wheel track, significantly influenced their wear. It was also observed that wear of spring tine points was 40–100% higher in the sandy loam soil than in the light clay soil, and that wear within a tractor wheel track was 17–40% higher than outside the track. Moreover, wear of points positioned in the first row on the cultivator frame was 26–100% higher than wear of those in the third row. The research results emphasise the need for field experiments at compare wear of spring tine points made of different materials or of different designs to take into account differences in wear due to positioning of the points on cultivator frames.     

微咸水灌溉条件下含黏土夹层土壤的水盐运移规律

黏土夹层影响着土壤水盐运移及分布,为了研究在含黏土夹层的土壤中进行微咸水灌溉时土壤的水盐运移规律,进行了春小麦微咸水灌溉大田试验,并在此基础上运用数值模型对土壤盐分累积趋势进行了模拟预测。结果表明,黏土夹层对土壤水盐运移具有显著的阻碍作用,黏土夹层以上土壤平均含水量、含盐量呈随灌溉水矿化度增大而增加的趋势,黏土夹层以下各处理土壤水盐分布几乎不受微咸水灌溉的影响;大定额冬溉洗盐后,各处理0～70 cm土层最大积盐率仍高达65.7%,部分盐分滞留在黏土夹层以上;土壤盐分分布预测结果表明,微咸水连续灌溉5 a后,灌溉水矿化度为4和5 g/L的处理土壤盐渍化倾向明显,不宜在含黏土夹层地区长期使用矿化度>3 g/L的微咸水进行灌溉,否则将对土壤环境产生严重危害。     

Water retention characteristics of coarse porous materials to construct purpose-designed plant growing media

ABSTRACT

Among potential components to construct Technosols for urban greening purposes, the commercially available geogenic coarse porous materials (CPMs) are mainly used in practice because of their high porosity. However, the knowledge of the hydraulic behavior of CPMs as well as of their mixtures with other substrates is limited, provoking their suboptimal usage. Therefore, we determined the water retention characteristics, including the available water capacity (AWC) of six geogenic CPMs: porlith, expanded shale, expanded clay, tuff, pumice, and lava. In order to obtain the water retention characteristics of the CPMs as well as of their mixture with sand (1:4 per volume), the following methods adapted from soil physics were applied over a wide range of pressure heads: Equi-pF apparatus, ceramic tension plates, pressure plate extractors, WP4C apparatus, and water vapor adsorption. The results were used to parametrize the modified Kosugi model (using SHYPFIT 2.0). Porlith and tuff have the highest AWC (0.37 m³ m^?3 and 0.17 m³ m^?3, respectively) and are the only ones which can be recommended as effective water-retaining materials. Further materials exhibit an AWC less than 0.10 m³ m^?3. The CPMs exhibit a bimodal pore size distribution, which can be well described by the applied model, except for pumice and expanded shale. The mixtures present overall low AWCs up to 0.07 m³ m^?3, with the pure sand having less than 0.03 m³ m^?3. For practical application a quite high ratio of CPM is needed, and the mixing material must be adapted to the hydraulic properties of the CPMs. The water inside the CPMs may be easily available for plant roots able to penetrate in the CPMs’ coarse pores.