Comments on the mechanism of soil detachment by rainfall

The mechanisms for the detachment of soil particles by raindrops can be described by a model based on three stages. In the first stage, the soil is still dry and detachment of particles results from collisions of elastic bodies. In the second stage, the soil is fluidized and impacting raindrops cause the splash of drops of the fluidized soil. In the third stage, the fluidized soil is covered by an overland flow and drops of fluidized soil may disintegrate in the overland flow. High hydration energies of soil minerals of small particle size lead to high chemical interactions between raindrop water and soil particles and a consequent decrease of detachment of particles during the first stage. During the second and third stages, high hydration energies of minerals lead to high surface tension of fluidized soil and reduce the splashing of droplets of this fluid. The present model gives an explanation for the observed fact that the rate of particle detachment is greatest in coarse- and medium-sand-size material and is reduced at either larger or smaller particle sizes. It appears that high hydration energies are responsible for the low relative detachability of small particles.     

Comments on the regulatory gate hypothesis and implications for C-cycling in soil

The paper by Kemmitt et al. [2008. Mineralization of native soil organic matter is not regulated by the size, activity or composition of the soil microbial biomass - a new perspective. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40, 61-73] proposing the existence of an abiotic regulatory gate that controls the rate-limiting step of stabilised soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization, has initiated a fundamental and far-reaching debate. In this contribution the implications of a functioning abiotic regulatory gate are considered in the context of microbial community diversity and soil carbon cycling. I argue that although the evidence presented in support of the regulatory gate is strong, abiotic routes for SOM-mineralization function in parallel with biologically mediated mechanisms. Evidence is now accumulating that, in the presence of plant-inputs to soil, enhanced microbial mobilisation of SOM into biomass is a quantitatively important and ubiquitous process. I argue that this mineralization of SOM is fuelled by energy-rich substrates and is driven by microbial nutrient-demand. This implies that the mineralization of stabilised SOM and the turnover of C-inputs from current vegetation are intimately linked through the functioning of microbial communities associated with plants. This suggests that the microbial ‘eye of the needle’ is a crucial control-point in determining the carbon balance of soils. Fortunately, there are now excellent methods that allow quantification of SOM- and plant-derived C-fluxes through the members of soil microbial communities, and will also allow quantification of the relative importance of the abiotic and biotic routes of SOM-mineralization.     

基于CT图像的土壤孔隙结构三维重建及水力学性质预测

为了更好地了解土壤孔隙结构对水分运动过程的影响机制,该文利用黄淮海平原原状潮土CT扫描图像,通过数字图像分析和计算机重建技术对孔隙结构进行三维重建,根据图像分析获得的孔隙大小分布和连通性等形态学参数建立了用于描述孔隙尺度结构特征对水分运动影响机制的网络模型,据此预测了样本尺度（样本体积为385.84 cm3）的土壤水力学性质。结果表明,模型预测的水力学性质和实测值基本吻合,变化趋势基本一致,二者的决定系数达0.94以上。结果表明相关网络模型可以较好地模拟孔隙尺度的水分运动过程,可用于预测土壤的非饱和水力学性质。     

封丘县土壤盐分的演变特征研究

世界上影响灌溉农业最大的问题是盐渍化问题。中国是受土壤盐渍化影响的大国。盐碱化曾是限制封丘县农业生产的四大自然灾害之一。本文基于40个土壤剖面数据,结合第二次土壤普查的盐土数据,对封丘县的土壤盐分的时空特征进行了系统研究。结果表明:27年来封丘县土壤盐分含量大幅下降,盐碱土作为土壤发生类型只存在于极个别微域景观;土壤含盐量较高的区域集中分布在东南部,与地下水埋深趋势相吻合,但只有东南角部分地区含盐量超过0.293dS/m为盐化土。地下水位下降是土壤盐分降低的主要原因。盐分聚集在40cm以下,并未脱离土体。封丘县存在土壤盐碱化的自然条件,一旦水文地质条件发生变化,土壤盐渍化仍然可能发生。     

Effects of organic amendments on evolution of ethylene and other hydrocarbons from soil

Evolution of C₂H₄ from soils under anaerobic conditions was stimulated by amendment with cereal straw, but hay had little effect. Temporary restoration of aerobic conditions resulted in large increases in C₃ and C₄ hydrocarbons, with both straw and hay amendments. Several known products of the fermentative degradation of carbohydrate increased the evolution of hydrocarbons under anaerobic, and to a greater extent, under aerobic conditions. In particular, ethanol and butyric acid promoted the formation of C₂H₄ and propylene, respectively. The association between degradation products and C₂H₄ suggests that both may be implicated when root growth is adversely affected by the anaerobic decomposition of plant residues.     

Soil chronosequences, soil development, and soil evolution: a critical review

Soils chronosequences are valuable tools for investigating rates and directions of soil and landscape evolution. Post-incisive chronosequences are the most common type of chronosequence. They are found in many landscapes, including sand dunes, glacial moraines, landslide scars, old pasture, burnt landscape patches, old mining areas, lava flows, alluvial fans, floodplains, river terraces, and marine terraces. They register pedogenic change over time-scales ranging from years to millions of years. Soil chronosequences help in testing rival theories of pedogenesis. Traditional soil formation theory sees a soil developing progressively under the influence of the environmental state factors until it is in equilibrium with prevailing environmental conditions. This developmental view of pedogenesis is supported by the classic soil chronosequence studies. A new evolutionary view of pedogenesis, which was prompted by the omnipresent inconstancy of environmental conditions and the notions of multidirectional changes and multiple steady states (as predicted by non-linear dynamics), proposes that environmental inconstancy and non-linear behaviour in soil-landscapes lead to soil evolution, rather than to soil development. Soils ‘evolve' through continual creation and destruction at all scales, and may progress, stay the same, or retrogress, depending on the environmental circumstances. Some recent soil and vegetation chronosequence investigations support an evolutionary view of pedogenesis. It is concluded that soil chronosequences are still potent instruments for pedological investigations and that they have a starring role to play in the testing of pedological theories.     

Divergent evolution and the spatial structure of soil landscape variability

The spatial structure of soil variability at the landscape scale was examined on adjacent geomorphic surfaces dating from 80 to 200 ka in eastern North Carolina. The purpose was to determine whether there is evidence at broader scales (distances of 10²–10⁴ m) for the divergent evolution observed in the field at very detailed scales (distances of 10⁰–10² m). The state probability function (SPF), which measures spatial dependence for categorical environmental data along a transect, was applied to soil series mapped at a 1:24,000 scale. The older Talbot Terrace and younger Pamlico Terrace surfaces showed distinctly different patterns of spatial variability. The range of spatial dependence was shorter on the older surface (about 200 vs. 300 m), and the SPF was higher at any given distance, indicating more variability. The SPF for the Pamlico surface also indicates a periodicity related to fluvial dissection of the landscape, which is not readily detectable on the Talbot transect despite its greater degree of dissection. The results confirm earlier field studies which suggest that pedogenesis is marked by divergence, whereby differences in initial conditions or local perturbations persist and increase to produce a more variable soil cover.     

作物种植对梯田土壤肥力要素演变的影响

作物梯田种植是减少丘陵坡地水土流失、提高土壤生产力的有效措施。为探究不同作物种植对梯田土壤肥力变化的影响,以梯田撂荒、花生、黄花菜、油茶、苎麻土壤为研究对象,于2010年末开始小区试验,通过对梯田种植5、10年的土壤样品进行养分指标测定、分析。结果表明：（1）丘陵梯田种植5年土壤pH略有降低,10年后均有了显著提高,其中以油茶种植提升效果最为显著。（2）5、10年数据结果显示,梯田种植土壤pH与土壤全磷、全钾、碱解氮、有效磷、速效钾多个指标呈现出显著/极显著负相关关系。（3）不同作物种植显著提升了土壤肥力,前5年土壤肥力处于迅速提升阶段,5～10年处于稳定阶段,土壤有机质提升效果从高到低分别为苎麻、黄花菜、撂荒、花生、油茶,最高为14.80 g/kg,最低为10.25 g/kg,均比初始土壤有机质含量7.59 g/kg显著提高。（4）土壤肥力状况主成分分析主要以梯田种植年限为因子进行聚集,其次以不同作物种植进行聚集,梯田措施影响程度大于不同作物种植措施。梯田和作物种植措施共同决定土壤肥力的提升,其中苎麻处理土壤肥力提升效果最好。本研究为南方丘陵区土壤肥力提升与梯田可持续发展提供科学依据...     

基于序列信息的土壤CT图像超分辨率重建

受部分容积效应影响,土壤计算机断层扫描（Computed Tomography,CT）图像存在孔隙边界模糊现象,影响土壤孔隙结构研究的准确性。针对该问题,该研究提出基于序列信息的生成式对抗网络（Sequence information Generative Adversarial Network,SeqGAN）,实现土壤CT图像的超分辨率重建。针对土壤CT序列图像具有较高相似性的特点,SeqGAN法引入序列卷积块挖掘前后图像的序列信息,并将多重特征增强融合于目标图像中;利用多层残差块提取图像特征,构建残差块输入和输出的直接连接,以减少模型退化;利用对抗网络实现损失间接反馈,提高模型的特征学习能力。在序列相似性较高的土壤图像数据集验证了该方法性能。结果表明,SeqGAN法均方误差比次优方法GAN降低25%,峰值信噪比提升1.4 dB,结构相似性提升0.2%。重建的土壤图像具有较高准确率和清晰度,可为后续土壤物理学研究提供准确的数据基础。     

Gas diffusion in a silty-clay soil: experimental study on an undisturbed soil core and simulation in its three-dimensional reconstruction

Transport of gas in soil depends on the paths available through the porous system. We determined the rate of diffusion of air through a core of silty-clay soil experimentally. After the experiment, the core was impregnated with resin and sectioned at 100 μm. From the images of the sections, the porous structure was reconstructed in three dimensions with a 100-μm resolution and gas diffusion was simulated in it. We computed the self-diffusion to describe gas diffusion. The experiment and simulation were compared using tortuosity, which is the ratio between the self-diffusion coefficient calculated in air and the coefficient calculated in the reconstructed sample. The results showed that the experimentally measured tortuosity (2.3) and the numerically calculated tortuosity (1.75) were similar. This suggests that the self-diffusion propagator is useful for simulating self-diffusion in a numerical three-dimensional reconstructed sample and that the scale chosen for the reconstruction of the sample (100 μm) was suitable for this particular soil. Résumé Les propriétés de transfert en phase gazeuse des sols ont étéétudiées sur un sol limono-argileux. A l’issue de l’expérience, l’échantillon a été imprégné avec une résine polyester puis sectionné en coupes sériées. A l’aide des images numérisées des coupes, l’échantillon a été reconstruit en trois dimensions. Nous avons ensuite simulé le processus de diffusion gazeuse dans l’échantillon reconstruit à l’aide du propagateur de diffusion. Expérience et simulation ont été comparées à l’aide de la tortuosité, rapport entre le coefficient de diffusion gazeuse dans l’air et celui dans le sol. Les résultats montrent que la tortuosité mesurée expérimentalement (2,3) et la tortuosité calculée numériquement (1,75) sont proches. Ceci prouve que l’utilisation du propagateur de diffusion est justifiée pour la simulation du processus de self-diffusion dans un échantillon tridimensionnel reconstruit et que l’échelle choisie pour la reconstruction (100 μm) s’avère pertinente pour l’étude de la diffusion gazeuse dans ce sol.     

沟头高度和土壤质地对细沟溯源侵蚀特征和形态发育的影响

沟头溯源侵蚀是黄土高原主要的侵蚀方式之一.为研究细沟沟头高度和土壤质地对侵蚀产沙、沟头溯源侵蚀过程及沟道形态发育的影响,该研究采用不同沟头高度的沟头,在室内进行了一系列冲刷试验(流量为2、4和6 L/min).结果表明:1)随着沟头高度的增加,产沙率增加,土壤流失过程的波动程度也增加,且越易被侵蚀;2)对比不同土壤质地...     

干湿交替下膨胀土裂隙演化与强度衰减规律试验研究

为揭示干湿循环效应下膨胀土胀缩裂隙的演化特征及土体结构强度的劣化规律,对合肥弱膨胀土试样开展不同循环幅度下的干湿循环试验,利用图像处理技术从试样表面裂隙图像中提取出裂隙参数,并进行低应力下的抗剪强度试验.试验结果表明:1)裂隙开展分为裂隙酝酿期、裂隙快速传播期和裂隙平稳发展期3个阶段,裂隙指标的增长主要集中在裂隙快速传...     

河西走廊日光温室土壤肥力质量演变研究

通过田间调查取样的方法系统研究了不同种植年限(1～5、6～10、11～15、16～20年)对石羊河流域凉州区日光温室土壤肥力质量的影响.结果表明,长期日光温室栽培虽显著降低了pH,但土壤可溶性盐含量显著增加,土壤pH和可溶性盐含量呈负相关,土壤pH增加一个单位,土壤可溶性盐含量降低1.35 g/kg.长期日光温室栽培较...     

土体孔洞损伤结构演化及其力学特性的CT-三轴试验研究

为了评估孔洞损伤对土体强度、变形和稳定性等力学特性的影响,该文首先对4个试样人工制造不同的孔洞损伤,再在相同的围压和吸力水平下进行CT-三轴剪切试验,定量研究了孔洞损伤结构的演化规律及其对土体力学特性的影响。结果表明:剪切过程中体积应变表现为剪缩,损伤孔径具有单调缩小趋势,在合适的质量含水率条件下,适度小孔损伤反而使土样三轴抗剪强度提高了25%,体积应变也较无损试样小。相同损伤面积的试样具有几乎相同的抗剪强度,但体积应变不具备相同规律。     

土壤退化下草地演化的数值模拟及野外验证

Both theoretical and field observations were examined to study the close relationship between soil degeneration and the evolution of grassland vegetation. A general n-species model of equal competition under different degrees of soil degradation was applied to field data in order to probe the dynamic processes and mechanisms of vegetation evolution due to the effects of the soil‘s ecological deterioration on grassland vegetation. Comparisons were made between the theoretical results and the practical surveys with satisfactory results.     

Nitrous oxide evolution from structurally intact soil as influenced by tillage and soil water content

Among farmers there is a growing interest for adoption of reduced tillage practices, which has accentuated the need to understand the consequences for soil nutrient dynamics and losses. A laboratory study was conducted with structurally intact soil cores collected from two depths, 0–4 and 14–18 cm, within tillage experiments on contrasting soil types, both experiments with soil under mouldboard ploughing (MP) or shallow tillage (ST). The soil cores were adjusted to one of seven matric potentials ranging from ?1500 to ?15 hPa. The extent and regulation of nitrous oxide (N₂O) evolution as a function of tillage, depth and soil characteristics was studied by measurement of N₂O and CO₂ evolution rates, as well as nitrifying and denitrifying potentials, and subsequent data analysis by multiple linear regression models. At both sites, compaction of ST soil below the depth of tillage was significant. The vertical distribution of N₂O evolution was different in MP and ST soil, but no main effect of tillage on N₂O evolution was observed. Effects of soil variables on N₂O evolution were analysed using volumetric water content, water-filled pore space, or relative gas diffusivity (RD) to represent the effect of soil water. Using RD weakened interactions with tillage and C availability and strengthened main effects, suggesting that RD may provide a more general representation of the water effect. At 0–4 cm depth, N₂O evolution was related to NO₃^? availability in the soil with 5.1% C, but to C availability in the soil with 1.5% C. The contrasting patterns of dependencies in the different environments support the interpretation of reduced tillage and soil water content as indirect controls, via diffusional constraints, of N₂O evolution.     

Soil landscape evolution due to soil redistribution by tillage: a new conceptual model of soil catena evolution in agricultural landscapes

This paper focuses on analysing tillage as a mechanism for the transformation of soil spatial variability, soil morphology, superficial soil properties and development of soil–landscape relationships in agricultural lands. A new theoretical two-dimensional model of soil catena evolution due to soil redistribution by tillage is presented. Soil profile truncation occurs through loss of soil mass on convexities and in the upper areas of the cultivated hillslopes; while the opposite effect takes place in concavities and the lower areas of the field where the original soil profile becomes buried. At sectors of rectilinear morphology in the hillslope (backslope positions), a null balance of soil translocation takes place, independent of the slope gradient and of the rate of downslope soil translocation. As a result, in those backslope areas, a substitution of soil material in the surface horizon with material coming from upslope areas takes place. This substituted material can produce an inversion of soil horizons in the original soil profile and sometimes, the formation of “false truncated soil”. In the Skogstad agricultural field (Cyrus, MN) spatial patterns of soil properties (soil calcium carbonate content) in the surface soil horizons and soil morphology along several slope transects were analyzed. These spatial patterns are compared with those estimated for soil redistribution (areas of erosion and deposition) due to tillage using the Soil Redistribution by Tillage (SORET) model and water erosion using the models Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) and Universal Soil Loss Equation (Usle2D). Results show that tillage was the predominant process of soil redistribution in the studied agricultural field. Finally, some practical implications of the proposed model of soil landscape modification by tillage are discussed. Nomographs to calculated the intensity of the expansion process of the eroded soil units by tillage are proposed for three different patterns of tillage.     

黑土农田土壤有机碳演变研究进展

在我国, 由于国家粮食安全的需要, 关注黑土、研究黑土的人越来越多, 尤其是黑土可持续利用及其与环境的关系已成为当今研究的热点问题。黑土研究领域中最活跃的部分是黑土农田土壤有机质(碳)的研究。基于此, 本文依据有关文献资料, 简述了我国黑土的分布、黑土开垦历史、农田土壤有机碳的演变及其在农业上的贡献, 系统分析了国内外农田土壤碳研究的方法及其进展, 指出了开展我国黑土农田土壤碳演变及其预测研究的现实意义及其潜在价值, 建议未来应侧重黑土农田土壤有机碳的变化与调控方面的研究, 即在黑土农田土壤有机碳的定向培育技术、指标体系和量化表征评估方法、预测模型等方面有所突破, 最终形成黑土农田土壤有机碳保护和利用的理论和方法。