Colloidal stability in some tropical soils of southeastern Nigeria as affected by iron and aluminium oxides

The stability of microaggregates in soils as opposed to its dispersion is a very important soil phenomenon that checks degradation arising from unguided tillage and soil erosion. Ten soils from southeastern Nigeria were sampled from their typical A and B horizons for the study. The aim was to identify the extent of colloidal stability of the soils and the forms of Fe and Al oxides in the soils contributing to their stability. The soils are mostly Ultisols and Inceptisols formed on sandstones and shale parent materials. The soils are low in soil basic cations including the soil organic carbon (SOC). The major clay mineral is kaolinite while the soil is acid in reaction. The various forms of soil Fe and Al oxides are high with the total forms of Fe and Al being most dominant and > dithionite extracted Fe and Al > oxalate extracted Fe and Al > pyrophosphate extracted Fe and Al. The water-dispersible clay and silt (WDC) and (WDSi) which are index of dispersion in most soils are low to medium thus reflecting in the low to medium dispersion ratio (DR). The clay flocculation index (CFI) and aggregated silt + clay (ASC) were moderate to high implying the high potential stability of the soils. Soil organic carbon did not seem to be contributing much to the stability of the microaggregates while oxalate and pyrophosphate extractable Fe (Fe_ox, Fe_p) and to some extent total Al (Al_t) were among the different forms of oxides that act as aggregating agents. We propose here that rather than SOC acting as a disaggregating agent in the soils, it might have acted in association with these oxides in a linkage or bridge such as C–P–OM–C to ensure stability of the soils.     

Factors affecting aggregate instability of Greek agricultural soils

Abstract

The aggregate stability of several surface soils from Thessaly plain, Central Greece, was studied using an instability index which classified the soils according to the stability of their aggregates to water. This index was correlated to the basic soil properties influencing aggregate stability. It was found that soil aggregate stability was positively correlated with clay content, total specific surface area, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, and free silicon oxides content. Silt, very fine and fine sand, and the ratio (sand+silt)/clay influenced negatively the aggregate stability. Organic matter content and sesquioxides have no effect on aggregate stability. It was also observed that the fraction of carbonates with silt dimension influenced negatively the aggregate stability. From the results of this study it was concluded that the factors affecting water aggregate stability were specific surface area and cation exchange capacity of the soils.     

施用秸秆对土壤有机碳组成和结构稳定性的影响

在室内条件下培养 6个月时随秸秆添加量的增加 ,土壤中总有机碳 (TOC)、焦磷酸钠提取有机碳 (SPPC)、水解碳水化合物 (HDC)、热水提取碳水化合物 (HWC)的含量和水稳性团聚体含量极显著增加 ,粘粒分散率除一个盐土土样外其余 3个土样显著降低。虽然玉米秆和小麦秆分别对TOC、SPPC、水稳性团聚体和粘粒分散性的影响之间没有显著差异 ,但是有小麦秆处理比玉米秆处理HDC和HWC含量高的趋势。TOC、SPPC、HDC和HWC分别与水稳性团聚体显著正相关 ,与粘粒分散率显著负相关 ,但总体而言 ,HWC与团聚体的稳定性更相关 ,HDC和粘粒的分散性更相关。     

湘东地区典型土壤团聚体稳定性的影响因素

[目的]揭示湘东地区土壤团聚体的分布规律及其影响稳定性因素,为研究南方土壤团聚体胶结机制提供一定的理论依据。[方法]在湘东地区选择3种常见成土母质(第四纪红土、花岗岩风化物、板岩风化物)上发育的典型自然林地、水田与旱地,采集表层土壤(0—20cm)与底层土壤(40—60cm),利用湿筛法测定土壤水稳性团聚体组成。[结果]土地利用方式、母质类型及土层部位显著影响土壤团聚体的组成及稳定性,且它们的交互作用也非常明显。不同利用方式下土壤团聚体稳定性总体表现为:水田林地旱地;但利用方式对团聚体稳定性的影响仅局限于表层土壤,同时在花岗岩风化物发育质地较砂的土壤上表现不明显。不同母质间土壤团聚体稳定性呈现出如下规律:第四纪红土板岩风化物花岗岩风化物,但表层土壤或旱地、林地利用下该规律不甚明显。同时,表层土壤团聚体稳定性一般要显著高于底层土壤,但对于第四纪红土发育质地较为黏重的土壤或水田利用方式下并非如此。[结论]成土母质、利用方式、土层部位通过对土壤质地、有机质、氧化物等的影响间接影响着湘东地区土壤团聚体的分布。     

Role of active aluminum in the formation of water-stable macroaggregates

Soil structure is determined by the arrangement of particles in soil and the particles of sand, silt, and clay bind together into aggregates of various sizes by organic and inorganic materials. Structural stability which is the ability of the aggregates and pores to remain intact when subjected to stress, markedly affects crop production and soil erosion (Tisdall 1996). Since water, either directly as rainfall or as surface runoff is the main agent of aggregate breakdown, in the analyzes of stable soil aggregation, the term water-stable aggregation is generally used (Lynch and Bragg 1985). Water-stable aggregates have been divided into micro aggregates < 0.25 mm dia.) and macro aggregates (> 0.25 mm dia.) (Edwards and Bremner 1967; Tisdall and Oades 1982). Microaggregates show a relatively high stability against physical disruption (Edwards and Bremner 1967). On the other hand, macro aggregates are sensitive to soil management (Tisdall and Oades 1982).

There are many reports on the relationships between the aggregate stability and the soil physicochemical properties. For example, significant correlations were found between the aggregate stability and the amounts of organic C (Tisdall and Oades 1982), total N, and carbohydrates or the CEC (Chaney and Swift 1984). However, most of these studies were conducted in non-volcanic ash soils. Volcanic ash soils are widely distributed in Japan and are very important soils for crop production. The objective of this study was, therefore, to obtain more information on the relationship between the degree of macro aggregation and the soil physicochemical properties in non-volcanic and volcanic ash soils.     

The influence of freeze–thaw cycles and soil moisture on aggregate stability of three soils in Norway

Winter conditions with seasonally frozen soils may have profound effects on soil structure and erodibility, and consequently for runoff and erosion. Such effects on aggregate stability are poorly documented for Nordic winter conditions. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of variable freeze–thaw cycles and soil moisture conditions on aggregate stability of three soils (silt, structured clay loam—clay A and levelled silty clay loam—clay B), which are representative of two erosion prone areas in southeastern Norway. A second purpose was to compare aggregate stabilities measured by the Norwegian standard procedure (rainfall simulator) and the more widely used wet-sieving procedure. Surface soil was sampled in autumn. Field moist soil was sieved into the fraction 1–4 mm and packed into cylinders. The water content of the soil was adjusted, corresponding to matric potentials of − 0.75, − 2 and − 10 kPa. The soil cores were insulated and covered, and subjected to 0, 1, 3 or 6 freeze–thaw cycles: freezing at − 15 °C for 24 h and thawing at 9 °C for 48 h. Aggregate stability was measured in a rainfall simulator (all soils) and a wet-sieving apparatus (silt and clay B). The rainfall stability of silt was found to be significantly lower than of clay A and clay B. Clay A and clay B had similar rainfall stabilities, even though it was expected that the artificially levelled clay B would have lower stability. Freezing and thawing decreased the rainfall stability of all soils, but the effect was more severe on the silt soil. There was no evident effect of water content on the stability, probably due to experimental limitations. The same effects were observed for wet-sieved soil, but the wet-sieving resulted in less aggregate breakdown than the rainfall simulator. Rainfall impact seemed to be more detrimental than wet-sieving on more unstable soil, that is, on silt soil and soil subjected to many freeze–thaw cycles. Such conditions are expected to occur frequently during field conditions in unstable winters.     

Relationship of percolation stability of soil aggregates to land use, selected properties, structural indices and simulated rainfall erosion

Simple tests of structural stability are needed for evaluating the ease with which soils slake and erode when in contact with water. In a laboratory study, we related the percolation stability (PS) of 22 Nigerian soils to land use, soil properties, structural stability indices and simulated rainfall erosion. All measurements were carried out with the 1–2 mm diameter air-dry aggregates. Land use influenced PS more than the type of soil. Forest soils, bush fallows, mulched, minimally tilled plots and pasture lands had rapid PS (>250 ml/10 min) values, whereas mulched conventionally tilled plots, bare fallows and continuously cultivated plots from where residues were removed by burning had relatively slow to moderate PS values (34–241 ml/10 min). The single most important soil property that correlated positively with PS is organic matter (OM) (r = 0.55^*) followed by total Fe + Al (r = 0.52^*). The significant inverse relationship (r = −0.49^*) between log (PS) and log (pH/OM) indicates a decrease in PS of these acidic, low-OM soils with increasing pH levels. The percent water-stable aggregate (WSA) >0.20 mm diameter, aggregated clay index (AC) and clay dispersion ratio (CDR) correlated weakly with PS. Conversely, the sealing index (SI) (i.e. the ratio of saturated hydraulic conductivity of an uncrusted to that of a crusted soil) had a strong, inverse relationship with PS (r = −0.97^***). These relationships indicate that PS measures the slakability (and not dispersibility) of soils. The relationship between PS and erosion (E) was an exponential decay form, E = 102 e^−0.0043PS (r² = 0.98) and showed that high interrill erosion rates would be expected on soils with PS < 250 ml/10 min. The PS which is simple to measure, is, therefore, a good indicator of structural stability for assessing the potential of these soils to erode.     

THE ADSORPTION OF COPPER BY SOIL MATERIALS AT LOW EQUILIBRIUM SOLUTION CONCENTRATIONS

The adsorption of copper by individual soil components (organic matter fractions, oxides and clay minerals) was examined at equilibrium solution concentrations of copper within the range found in natural soils, the distribution of copper between solution and solid phases being measured by means of labelling with radioactive ⁶⁴Cu. At these low solution concentrations it was found that the copper adsorption isotherms were essentially linear. The oxides and organic materials adsorbed the greatest amounts of copper. The concentration of copper in natural soil solutions will be controlled by these materials to a far greater extent than by the clay minerals, the influence of which may be negligible in some soils. Solution concentrations of copper are relatively unaffected by both the background concentration of major cations and by changes in pH within the ionic strength and pH range found in normal agricultural soils. Copper adsorption studies with humic and fulvic acids showed that total solution copper concentrations could be greatly enhanced above the equilibrium levels for ionic copper by the presence of soluble organic complexes. The importance of taking into account the presence of such copper complexes in soil copper studies is emphasised.     

Improving on the Prediction of Cation Exchange Capacity for Highly Weathered and Structurally Contrasting Tropical Soils from Their Fine-Earth Fractions

The roles of fine-earth materials in the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of especially homogenous units of the kaolinitic and oxyhydroxidic tropical soils are still unclear. The CEC (pH 7) of some coarse-textured soils from southeastern Nigeria were related to their total sand, coarse sand (CS), fine sand (FS), silt, clay, and organic-matter (OM) contents before and after partitioning the dataset into topsoils and subsoils and into very-low-, low-, and moderate-/high-stability soils. The soil-layer categories showed similar CEC values; the stability categories did not. The CEC increased with decreasing CS but with increasing FS. Silt correlated negatively with the CEC, except in the moderate- to high-stability soils. Conversely, clay and OM generally impacted positively on the CEC. The best-fitting linear CEC function (R², 68%) was attained with FS, clay, and OM with relative contributions of 26, 38, and 36%, respectively. However, more reliable models were attained after partitioning by soil layer (R², 71–76%) and by soil stability (R², 81–86%). Notably FS's contribution to CEC increased while clay's decreased with increasing soil stability. Clay alone satisfactorily modeled the CEC for the very-low-stability soils, whereas silt contributed more than OM to the CEC of the moderate- to high-stability soils. These results provide new evidence about the cation exchange behavior of FS, silt, and clay in structurally contrasting tropical soils.     

有机质与黏粒含量对黑土压缩-回弹特性的影响

为探明有机质和黏粒对黑土压缩-回弹行为的影响,以典型黑土区耕作土壤为研究对象,通过人工添加腐植酸、人工分离-提取-添加黏粒、恒温恒湿培养的方法各配制3个梯度的重塑土。采用室内固结的方法,通过压缩系数、压缩指数及回弹指数的测定与分析,研究了2种含水量条件下黑土压缩与回弹对有机质和黏粒含量变化的响应行为。结果表明:(1)压缩指数均随有机质含量的增加而增大,且在高含水量时二者呈极显著正相关,有机质含量最高时压缩指数为0.246 3,但有机质含量对回弹无显著影响。(2)无论含水量高低,压缩指数均与黏粒含量呈极显著正相关,而回弹指数随着黏粒含量的增加逐渐降低,且在低含水量时二者呈显著负相关。(3)含水量不同,有机质与黏粒对黑土压缩-回弹特性的影响亦不同;黏粒对黑土压缩-回弹行为的影响更为显著。     

不同利用方式下红壤结构的形成

本文应用顺序脱胶法,对砖红壤、赤红壤和红壤在不同利用方式下的水稳性团聚体的有机和无机胶结物组成进行了分析研究。水稳性团聚体共分>5,3-1,1-0.5和<0.25毫米四级。结果表明,红壤开垦后随着粘粒活度的增加和无机胶结物含量的降低,土壤团聚体的水稳性和土壤结构系数逐渐降低。但是,一旦采用合理的施肥和管理方法,这些物理参数又会逐步恢复和增加。此外,还研究了土壤结构稳定性与土壤地带性的关系。作者认为在中亚热带的红壤上施用有机物料以增强它的结构稳定性比热带砖红壤上施用更为重要。     

Die Bedeutung der Aggregierung für die Nährstoffsorption in Böden

The role of structure for nutrient sorptivity of soils The influence of the aggregation in 2 differently textured and structured soils (Haplumbrept and Chromudert) on the cation exchange capacity CEC was investigated. The results clearly demonstrated, that from the total soil (< 2 mm), natural and disturbed aggregates (Ø 5–8 mm) and the separated outer and inner part of those aggregates, the undisturbed aggregates had the lowest CEC. Furthermore, the aggregate skin was more chargeable than the inner part, due to a higher amount of silt and clay in that part. Because of higher bulk densities of the aggregates and theoretically increased tortuosity, the solution of elements in percolating water, especially in clay soils, is limited to the interaggregate pores. Thus, measured differences between the element distribution in different compartments can be explained.     

The influence of organic matter in reducing the destabilization of soil by simulated tillage

Different agricultural practices can result in a decline in soil organic carbon (SOC) and a consequent reduction in soil structural stability. Experiments were conducted on soils with a range of SOC values, to quantify the destabilizing effects of increased tillage intensity. Different tillage intensity was simulated with the use of a falling weight, where specific energy levels, similar to those experienced during tillage, were reproduced. The level of destabilization was assessed by the quantity of mechanically dispersed clay (using a turbidimetric technique) and the quantity of water-stable aggregates (WSA) > 0.25 mm remaining after being shaken in water.

The quantity of clay dispersed increased with increasing water content, in the absence of any mechanical pretreatment, the rate of increase rising sharply with declining SOC. Following simulated tillage, and at water contents above the plastic limit, clay dispersion increased in proportion to the energy of disruption, and also increased with decreasing SOC levels. Below the plastic limit all the soils were relatively insensitive to mechanical disruption. A simple empirical model was derived to link clay dispersion to SOC, water content and energy of disruption.

The proportion of WSA declined sharply with decreasing SOC, and to a lesser extent following tillage. The quantity of WSA following simulated intensive tillage (300 J kg⁻¹) of grassland (SOC, 2.8–3.2 g (100 g)⁻¹) was greater than that present, prior to tillage from fallow, arable and arable/ley rotation treatments (SOC 1.1–2.5 g (100 g)⁻¹). Aggregate tensile strength was found to be relatively insensitive to differences in SOC. However, variations of strength within treatments, an indicator of soil friability, increased in proportion with SOC. A turbidity index was derived in which the turbidity of natural and remoulded aggregates was compared. Variation of this index with increasing mechanical energy is used as an indicator of the sensitivity of soils to damage during tillage. A visual representation is constructed to link the sensitivity of soils to damage during tillage with both SOC and water potential. These experiments illustrate that management practices, which lead to a long term reduction in SOC, are responsible for an increase in aggregate strength and reduction in stability plus an increase in sensitivity of soils to structural decline following subsequent tillage.     

Erosion processes and erodibility of cultivated soils in North Rhine‐Westphalia under artificial rain. I. Site characteristics and results of laboratory experiments

Soil erosion by water causes substantial on‐site degradation and off‐site damages in the densely populated state of North Rhine‐Westphalia (Germany). Measures of soil conservation should be adjusted to soil erodibilities and should be based on an understanding of the processes involved in water erosion including aggregate breakdown, rainsplash erosion, surface sealing, and soil loss. For a state‐wide assessment of erosion processes and erodibilities, we tested representative cultivated soils of North Rhine‐Westphalia in laboratory and field experiments with artificial rain. In the laboratory experiments described in this paper, rainsplash erosion, sealing susceptibility, and interrill erodibility of 25 topsoils filled in 0.5 m² boxes were investigated. Results of different aggregate‐stability tests correlate with organic‐matter contents but not with parameters of rainsplash or soil loss. On most soil materials, rainsplash increases or maintains constant rates in the course of the simulation runs indicating that the soil surface did not attain a higher shear resistance. High sealing susceptibilities are found for soils of quite different textures ranging from loam sand to silt clay, whereas other silt clays, clay loams, and some clay silts maintain high infiltration rates. A trend of increasing sealing susceptibility and total soil loss with increasing clay content is observed for the loam sands to sand loams. Dynamics of soil loss is largely governed by runoff rates. Total soil loss is also determined by sediment concentration in surface runoff, which is low on most clayey soils, on loam sands poor in clay, and on a sand loam, and high in the case of highly erodible clay silts, loam sands, and sand loams. The most crust prone soils are not necessarily the most erodible. On most soils, soil‐loss rates do not stabilize until the end of the rainfall experiments. For comparing the interrill erodibilities of the soils, total soil loss is preferred instead of interrill erodibility factors (K_i, K_iq) published in the literature.     

Soil organic carbon content and soil structure quality of clayey cropland soils: A large-scale study in the Swiss Jura region

Soil organic carbon (SOC) fashions soil structure, which is a key factor of soil fertility. Existing SOC content recommendations are based on SOC:clay ratio thresholds of >1:10. However, the corresponding SOC content might be considered hard to reach in clayey soils, whose structure degradation risk is assumed to be high. Here, we analysed the SOC content and soil structure quality of soils under similar cropping practices with clay contents ranging from 16% to 52%. Five undisturbed soil cores (5–10 cm layer) were collected from 96 fields at 58 farms in the Swiss Jura region. We assessed the soil structure quality visually using the CoreVESS method. Gravimetric air content and water content, and bulk density at −100 hPa were also measured, and the soil structure degradation index was calculated. We found that the relationship between SOC and clay content held over the clay content range, suggesting that reaching an acceptable SOC:clay ratio is not limited by large clay contents. This suggests that the 1:10 SOC:clay ratio may remain useful for clayey soils. In contrast to what was expected, it is not more challenging to reach this ratio in clayey soils even if it implies reaching very large SOC contents. SOC content explained the considered physical properties better than clay content. From a soil management point of view, these findings suggest that the soil texture determines a potential SOC content, while the SOC:clay ratio is determined by farming practices regardless of the clay content.     

Cultivation effects on temporal changes of organic carbon and aggregate stability in desert soils of Hexi Corridor region in China

Sustainable agricultural use of cultivated desert soils has become a concern in Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province of China, because loss of topsoil in dust storms has been recently intensified. We chose four desert sites to investigate the effects of cultivation (cropping) on (i) soil organic C and its size fractions and (ii) soil aggregate stability (as a measure of soil erodibility). These parameters are of vital importance for evaluating the sustainability of agricultural practices.

Total organic C as well as organic C fractions in soil (coarse organic C, 0.1–2 mm; young organic C, 0.05–0.1 mm; stable organic C, <0.05 mm) generally increased with the duration of the cultivation period from 0 (virgin soil, non-cultivated) to more than 30 years (p < 0.05). Compared to total organic C in virgin soils (2.3–3.5 g kg⁻¹ soil), significantly greater values were found after 10 to >20 years of cultivation (6.2–7.1 g kg⁻¹ soil). The increase in organic C in desert soils following prolonged cultivation was mainly the consequence of an increase in the coarse organic C. The increase in total organic C in soil was also dependent on clay content [total organic C = 0.96 + 0.249 clay content (%) + 0.05 cultivation year, R² = 0.48, n = 27, p < 0.001]. This indicates that clay protected soil organic C from mineralization, and also contributed to the increase in soil organic C as time of cultivation increased.

There was a significant positive correlation between aggregate stability and total organic C across all field sites. The water stability of aggregates was low (with water-stable aggregate percentage 4% of dry-sieved aggregates of size 1–5 mm). There was no consistent pattern of increase in the soil aggregate stability with time of cultivation at different locations, suggesting that desert soils might remain prone to wind erosion even after 50 years of cultivation. Alternative management options, such as retaining harvested crop residues on soil surface and excluding or minimizing tillage, may permit sustainable agricultural use of desert soils.     

THE EFFECT OF CULTIVATION ON THE STRUCTURE AND OTHER PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GRASSLAND AND ARABLE SOILS (194–970)

Cultivating grassland changes the physical state of the soil. The paper describes observations and measurements made in the field and the laboratory on a wide range of soils (with series names) in England over a period of 25 years. Dry sieving showed that natural weathering of grassland aggregates after three months'exposure was very considerable. The drawbar-pull on ploughing soil recently out of grass, as compared with old arable, increased with the number of years out of grass. The number of earthworms per hectare on old grassland was 6 to 9 times that on old arable of the same soil series: after three years'cultivation it was reduced by about a half. The possibility of erosion by wind increased with the number of years out of grass. Old arable land on gentle slopes had its resistance to flowing water (sheet erosion) much increased by as little as 2 years under grass. The apparent densities of soils were at a minimum under old grass and increased under cultivation. On some soils arable for many decades, the apparent densities were near those considered limiting for root penetration. The volurne of water per cent in the soil at the sticky point decreased as the years out of grass increased, suggesting a decrease in the number of days the soil could be cultivated without smearing. The water-stability of soil aggregates decreased as the number of years after ploughing old grassland increased. Whatever the texture, on ploughing old grassland, the water stability of air-dry aggregates feil sharply in the first – years and then approached the value corresponding to that of old arable soils more slowly, apart from soils of low clay content in which it differed little from old arable land after 2 years. Measurement of changes in water stability and field observations in a 6-course rotation (3 years ley, 3 years cereal) on a loam which had been in a similar rotation for about a decade after old grassland, suggested that this balance was probably right for maintaining such a soil at a good cropping level. Puddling (poaching) by animals of wet arable loam soils overlying clay resulted in gleying to the surface: ferrous iron was detected chemically. On putting down to grass there was little increase in water stability of the aggregates after 4 years. The reduction in the total pore space caused by harvesting machinery and also as a result of some years'cultivation of grassland was considerable. The ease of penetration of soils when taking cores was compared by counting the number of blows to drive in a corer: the number was much less in a soil recently out of old grass compared with old arable. The root development of cereals was poor in old arable silt soils very unstable to wetting and drying and with few visible biopores (> 10–00 μm). On soils with many visible pores, root development was much greater and yields with similar rates of nitrogen were double. The total N in the soils feil when old grassland was ploughed, sometimes by as much as 75 per cent in about 20 years. There was sometimes a significant corre-lation between total N and the reduction in water-stable aggregation during the years following ploughing grassland: the correlation coefficient was much higher on ploughing old grassland rather than leys. The N level dropped much more quickly in the first few years after ploughing old grassland than later. All single-property measurements give only a limited assessment of the physical state of a soil. Soils can be assessed satisfactorily only by making a range of measurements appropriate to the farming System.     

Estimation of clay content from easily measurable water content of air‐dried soil

Soil texture is one of the main factors controlling soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. Accurate soil‐texture analysis is costly and time‐consuming. Therefore, the clay content is frequently not determined within the scope of regional and plot‐scale studies with high sample numbers. Yet it is well known that the clay content strongly affects soil water content. The objective of our study was to evaluate if the clay content can be estimated by a simple and fast measure like the water content of air‐dried soil. The soil samples used for this study originated from four different European regions (Hainich‐Dün, Germany; Schwäbische Alb, Germany; Hesse, France; Bugac, Hungary) and were collected from topsoils and subsoils in forests, grasslands, and croplands. Clay content, water content of air‐dried soil, and SOC content were measured. Clay content was determined either by the Pipette method or by the Sedigraph method. The water content of air‐dried soil samples ranged from 2.8 g kg^–1 to 63.3 g kg^–1 and the corresponding clay contents from 60.0 g kg^–1 to 815.7 g kg^–1. A significant linear relationship was found between clay content and water content. The scaled mean absolute error (SMAE) of the clay estimation from the water content of air‐dried soil was 20% for the dataset using the Pipette method and 28% for the Sedigraph method. The estimation of the clay content was more accurate in fine‐textured than in coarse‐textured soils. In this study, organic‐C content played a subordinate role next to the clay content in explaining the variance of the water content. The water retention of coarse‐textured soils was more sensitive to the amount of organic C than that of fine‐textured soils. The results indicate that in our study the water content of air‐dried soil samples was a good quantitative proxy of clay contents, especially useful for fine‐textured soils.     

南亚热带不同母质发育土壤团聚体特征及其稳定性

团聚体是土壤的基本结构单位,其稳定性是评价土壤质量的重要指标。以南亚热带地区不同母质(石灰岩、第四纪红黏土、砂页岩)发育的土壤作为研究对象,采用湿筛法和LB法测定不同母质发育土壤团聚体稳定性特征。结果表明:(1)随着土层深度的增加,土壤容重呈上升趋势,而孔隙度、有机质和游离氧化铁含量呈下降趋势。砂页岩母质发育的土壤有机质含量最高,为22.44～42.97 g/kg。石灰岩和第四纪红黏土母质发育的土壤以黏粒(40.93%,42.51%)和粉粒(41.69%,42.31%)为主,砂页岩母质发育的土壤黏粒含量最低,为33.79%。(2)经湿筛法处理后,石灰岩母质发育土壤水稳性团聚体含量为91.58%～92.31%,第四纪红黏土母质发育土壤水稳性团聚体含量为76.45%～90.80%,砂页岩母质发育土壤水稳性团聚体含量为79.18%～86.67%,3种土壤团聚体的稳定性都随着土层深度增加而降低。(3)LB法处理后土壤团聚体MWD值均表现为慢速湿润处理预湿润振荡处理快速湿润处理,砂页岩母质发育的40—60 cm土层对消散和机械破碎作用最为敏感,其相对消散指数RSI和相对机械破碎指数RMI分别为0.78和0.42。不同母质土壤团聚体稳定性均与黏粒、有机质、游离态铁含量呈正相关。     

The influence of organic matter on aggregate stability in some British soils

The stability of aggregates from 26 soils selected from agricultural areas was measured by wet-sieving and the results correlated with sand, silt, clay, nitrogen, organic matter and iron contents and with cation exchange capacity. Highly significant correlations were obtained for the relationships between aggregate stability and organic matter and some properties associated with it. No other soil constituent investigated had a significant relationship with aggregate stability, indicating that organic matter is mainly responsible for the stabilization of aggregates in these soils. The relationships between aggregate stability, and organic matter content plus some of its component fractions were examined in more detail using 120 soils. Total organic matter, total carbohydrate and humic material extracted by various reagents each gave highly or very highly significant correlations with aggregate stability. However, whilst it was not possible to distinguish whether any one organic component was more important than another, the results indicate that soil organic matter levels can be used diagnostically to identify soils which may show problems of structural instability.