Effect of compaction on pore functions of soils in a Saalean moraine landscape in North Germany

Soil compaction and related changes of soil physical parameters are of growing importance in agricultural production. Different stresses (70, 230, 500, and 1000 kPa) were applied to undisturbed soil core samples of eight typical soils of a Saalean moraine landscape in N Germany by means of a confined compression device to determine the effect on (1) total porosity/pore‐size distribution, (2) saturated hydraulic conductivity, and (3) air conductivity to assess the susceptibility towards compaction. Different deformation behaviors after exceeding the mechanical strength particularly resulted from a combination of soil characteristics like texture and initial bulk density. The saturated hydraulic conductivity, as an indicator for pore continuity, was largely affected by the volume of coarse pores (r² = 0.82), whereas there was no relationship between bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Since coarsely textured soils primarily possess a higher coarse‐pore fraction compared to more finely textured soils, which remains at a high level even after compaction, only minor decreases of saturated hydraulic conductivity were evident. The declines in air conductivity exceeded those in hydraulic conductivity, as gas exchange in soils is, besides the connectivity of coarse pores, a function of water content, which increases after loading in dependence of susceptibility to compaction. A soil‐protection strategy should be focused on more finely textured soils, as stresses of 70 kPa may already lead to a harmful compaction regarding critical values of pore functions such as saturated hydraulic conductivity or air capacity.     

基于CT分析露天煤矿复垦年限对土壤有效孔隙数量和孔隙度的影响

露天煤矿排土场由于排土过程中大型机械压实等作用会对土壤的孔隙结构产生影响,重构适合于植被生长的土壤孔隙结构是排土场土地复垦的重要工作。为对排土场重构土壤孔隙结构进行定量分析,该文采用高精度无损计算机断层扫描技术(CT)对山西平朔矿区安太堡露天煤矿排土场平台全黄土母质覆盖的不同复垦年限(0、20、23 a)以及原地貌的土壤进行分层扫描成像,并利用Photoshop和Arcgis软件对扫描图像进行处理和统计分析,探讨了排土和复垦对土壤孔隙数量和孔隙度的影响,分析了排土场重构土壤大、中和小孔隙的变化。结果表明:原地貌土壤孔隙数量和孔隙度最大,其次是复垦23和20 a的土壤,排土后未复垦土壤孔隙数量和孔隙度最小。采矿和排土等活动由于大型机械压实作用降低了土壤孔隙数量和孔隙度,尤其是大孔隙数量和大孔隙度;土地复垦对增加土壤孔隙数量和孔隙度有一定的作用,但是过程比较缓慢。采矿和排土等活动对表层土壤孔隙数量和孔隙度的影响要高于底层土壤。该研究可为黄土区大型露天煤矿排土场重构土壤结构的优化与土地复垦措施选择提供依据。     

Soil macroporosity evaluated by a fast image‐analysis technique in differently managed soils

Abstract

Porosity, pore size distribution and a pore shape factor were measured from resin impregnated soils by means of a fast technique of image analysis. Images are directly captured by a video camera from polished impregnated blocks. Micromorphology was also used to assist in the comprehension of soil porosity changes in three differently managed soils: dry‐farming plus tillage, irrigated plus grass‐covered, steppe natural soil. Under study, alluvial soils from a semi‐arid region in NE Spain.

Even if there are no significative differences in total macro‐porosity between the differently managed soils, pore size distributions are significatively different Both natural and irrigated permanently‐covered soils have a larger amount of pores bigger than 1 mm in diameter, most of them of biological origin, greatly favouring aeration. Tillage contributes significantly to change the relative distribution of pore shape: the amount of rounded pores (vughs) decreases and elongated pores as well as fissures appear.     

Millimetre scale aeration of the rhizosphere and drilosphere

Soil aeration is a critical factor for oxygen-limited subsoil processes, as transport by diffusion and advection is restricted by the long distance to the free atmosphere. Oxygen transport into the soil matrix is highly dependent on its connectivity to larger pore channels like earthworm and root colonised biopores. Here we hypothesize that the soil matrix around biopores represents different connectivity depending on biopore genesis and actual coloniser. We analysed the soil pore system of undisturbed soil core samples around biopores generated or colonised by roots and earthworms and compared them with the pore system of soil, not in the immediacy of a biopore. Oxygen partial pressure profiles and gas relative diffusion was measured in the rhizosphere and drilosphere from the biopore wall into the bulk soil with microelectrodes. The measurements were linked with structural features such as porosity and connectivity obtained from X-ray tomography and image analysis. Aeration was enhanced in the soil matrix surrounding biopores in comparison to the bulk soil, shown by higher oxygen concentrations and higher relative diffusion coefficients. Biopores colonised by roots presented more connected lateral pores than earthworm colonised ones, which resulted in enhanced aeration of the rhizosphere compared to the drilosphere. This has influenced biotic processes (microbial turnover/mineralization or root respiration) at biopore interfaces and highlights the importance of microstructural features for soil processes and their dependency on the biopore's coloniser.     

Porosity aspects of the regeneration of soil structure after compaction

The natural regeneration of soil structure following compaction was studied on a stagnogleyic paleoargillic brown earth (Albaquic Paleudalf) at Rothamsted Experimental Station. The compaction treatment was produced by wheelings, and the area between the wheelings was used as the control.The wheeled and unwheeled areas were sampled 4 times, in spring and after harvest in 1979 and 1980 The following techniques were used to monitor regeneration: measuring the profile of the soil surface in the field and laboratory measurements of air-filled pore space, water retention, shrinkage and clod density, micromorphometry and mercury intrusion.Compaction decreased the macroporosity (pores >60 μm diameter) by over a half. Pores <6 μm diameter were unaffected by compaction. Natural regeneration of porosity in the top 5 cm was achieved within 18 months, but the soil below remained compacted for longer. The regenerated structure consisted mainly of planar voids induced by physical processes unlike the unwheeled soil which was characterised by packing voids and biopores.     

Temporal changes of soil physical quality under two residue management systems

Although crop residue management is known to affect near‐surface soil physical quality, little is known about the temporal variability of these indicators over short time intervals. This study evaluates the temporal changes of nine indicators of soil physical quality. These are organic carbon content, structural stability index, bulk density, macroporosity, air capacity, relative field capacity, plant available water capacity, Dexter's S‐index and saturated hydraulic conductivity. A second set of soil physical indicators, based on the distribution of soil pore volume, was also evaluated. The indicators were determined in three different times during the growing cycle of winter durum wheat cultivated within a long‐term field research carrying out in Southern Italy and comparing two types of crop residue management, that is, burning (B) and soil incorporation (I). Only the bulk density changed over time for both treatments, although the air capacity also changed for the incorporation of wheat residues. Residual effects of the autumnal soil tillage and soil compaction were a common source of variability, irrespective of which treatment was used. Based on the existing guidelines for evaluating the physical quality of these agricultural soils, optimal or near‐optimal values were detected in about half of the cases under consideration. This suggests that both B and I create sufficiently good conditions for crop growth during the crop cycle. The comparison between observed and optimal soil pore distribution function was always poor. The pore volume distributions showed lower densities of small pores and relatively higher densities of large pores than the proposed optimal distribution. This study also suggests that the considered optimal or references curves probably cannot be applied successfully to a wide range of agricultural soils.     

Millimetre‐scale distribution of organic matter composition at intact biopore and crack surfaces

Structured subsoil horizons are characterized by biopores and shrinkage cracks, which may serve as preferential flow paths. The surfaces of cracks and biopores may be coated by clay‐organic material. The spatially‐distributed organic matter (OM) composition at such structural surfaces was studied at the millimetre scale using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy in the mid‐infrared range (MIR). Intact biopores such as earthworm burrows and root channels, and crack surfaces of nine subsoil horizons were analysed. The samples were from arable and forest Luvisols, one Regosol, one Stagnosol and Cambisols developed from loess, till, mudstone and limestone. For better comparison between soils, the DRIFT signal intensities were corrected for the particle‐size effects. The OM was characterized by the ratio between alkyl‐ (C–H) and carbonyl (C=O) functional groups (C–H/C=O), which represent an index of the potential wettability (PWI) of the OM. The PWI was larger for biopores than for crack surfaces and the soil matrix, indicating a smaller potential wettability of OM at biopore surfaces. The millimetre‐scale spatial variability of OM was especially large for the surfaces of root channels. Samples from till‐derived Luvisols had smaller PWI (with greater potential wettability than surfaces from loess‐derived Luvisols) than other soil types. The mean PWI of the arable Luvisol crack surfaces was less than that of the forest Luvisol samples. The results suggest that the spatial distribution of OM properties at intact structural surfaces may be important for describing sorption and mass transfer processes during preferential flow.     

免耕制度下耕作土壤结构演化的数字图像分析

利用数字图像方法 ,研究了室内模拟和自然田间免耕下的土壤结构演化状况。图像定性表明随免耕时间的推移土壤中团聚体由小变大 ,土体逐渐趋于紧实。图像定量分析结果表明随着免耕时间的推移 ,小团聚体和小孔隙减少而大团聚体和大孔隙增加。田间土样的结果表明了自然的阶段性降雨对土壤结构可能具有一定的调节作用 ,但从图像与团聚体粒径分布和孔隙孔径分布的变化来看 ,免耕是否有利于土壤性质和农业生产尚很难确定     

The structure of two alluvial soils in Italy after 10 years of conventional and minimum tillage

Micro and macroporosity, pore shape and size distribution, aggregate stability, saturated hydraulic conductivity and crop yield were analysed in alluvial silty loam (Fluventic Eutrochrept) and clay soils (Vertic Eutrochrept) following long-term minimum and conventional tillage. The soil structure attributes were evaluated by characterizing porosity by means of image analysis of soil thin sections prepared from undisturbed soil samples.

The interaggregate microporosity, measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry, increased in the minimally tilled soils, with a particular increase in the storage pores (0.5–50 μm). The amount of elongated transmission pores (50–500 μm) also increased in the minimally tilled soils. The resulting soil structure was more open and more homogeneous, thus allowing better water movement, as confirmed by the greater hydraulic conductivity of the minimally tilled soils. The aggregate stability was less in the conventionally tilled soils and this resulted in a greater tendency to form surface crusts and compacted structure, compared with the minimally tilled soils. The latter tillage practice seemed to maintain, in the long-term, better soil structure conditions and, therefore, maintain favourable conditions for plant growth. In the silt loam, the crop yield did not differ significantly between the two tillage systems, while in the clay soil it decreased in the minimum tilled soil because of problems of seed bed preparation at the higher surface layer water content.     

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.     

Structural damage and recovery determined by the colloidal constituents in two forest soils compacted by heavy traffic

The role of colloidal constituents in soil structure and its resistance to compaction was studied in two acid forest soils of contrasting pH, clay type and texture. The soils were trafficked with an eight‐wheel‐drive forwarder, and undisturbed topsoil samples were taken on trafficked and control plots. Shrinkage analysis was used to assess the soil's physical behaviour, and in addition texture, organic carbon content and exchangeable Al³⁺ (Al_ex) and amorphous Al oxide (Al_oxa) contents were determined. The effect of each constituent on the soil's physical properties was assessed with covariance analysis. The hydro‐structural stability and coarse pore (> 150 µm radius) and structural pore volumes of control samples were strongly determined by organic carbon and the forms of Al, whereas the plasma porosity was determined by clay content only. Organic carbon and Al_oxa increased the structural pore and coarse pore volumes and modified their susceptibility to compaction; organic carbon provided a protecting effect, whereas it was the opposite with Al_oxa. We observed contrasting effects of the colloidal constituents and of the behaviour of the pore systems on compaction. The situation is complex and we need to take into account the effects of the colloidal constituents to determine the effects of compaction on the soil's porosity. A simplified approach in which we used the water content at ?10 hPa as a covariate predicted soil bulk density as accurately as with all the analytical covariates, and it seems to be an inexpensive way to assess compaction.     

Anisotropy of pore functions in structured Stagnic Luvisols in the Weichselian moraine region in N Germany

In order to determine if soil hydraulic properties present a direction‐dependent behavior, undisturbed samples were collected at different horizons and orientations (vertical, diagonal [45°], and horizontal) in structured soils in the Weichselian moraine region in northern Germany. The water‐retention curve (WRC), the saturated hydraulic conductivity (k_f), and the air permeability (k_a) were measured. The air‐filled porosity (?_a) was determined, and pore‐continuity indices (k_a/?_a, k_a/?_a², N) and blocked porosities (?_b) were derived from the relationship between k_a and ?_a. The development of soil structures with defined forms and dimensions (e.g., platy by soil compaction or prismatic up to subangular‐blocky by swelling–shrinkage processes) and the presence of biopores can induce a direction‐dependent behavior of pore functions. Although the pore volume as a scalar is isotropic, the saturated hydraulic conductivity and air permeability (as a function of air‐filled porosity) can be anisotropic. This behavior was observed in pore‐continuity indices showing that the identification of soil structure can be used as a first parameter to estimate if hydraulic properties present a direction‐dependent behavior at the scale of the soil horizon.     

Effects of soil compaction and water‐filled pore space on soil microbial activity and N losses

Abstract

Soil compaction is a significant production problem for agriculture because of its negative impact on plant growth, which in many cases has been attributed to changes in soil N transformations. A laboratory experiment was conducted to study the effect of soil compaction and water‐filled pore space on soil microbial activity and N losses. A hydraulic soil compaction device was used to evenly compress a Norfolk loamy sand (fine‐loamy, siliceous, thermic Typic Kandiudults) soil into 50 mm diameter by 127 mm long cores. A factorial arrangement of three bulk density levels (1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 Mg/m³) and four water‐filled pore space levels (60, 65, 70, 75%) was used. Fertilizer application of 168 kg N/ha was made as 1.0 atom % ¹⁵N as NH₄NO₃. Soil cores were incubated at 25°C for 21 d. Microbial activity decreased with both increasing water‐filled pore space and soil bulk density as measured by CO₂‐C entrapment. Nitrogen loss increased with increasing bulk density from 92.8 to 334.4 g N/m³ soil at 60% water‐filled pore space, for 1.4 and 1.8 Mg/m³, respectively. These data indicate that N loss and soil microbial activity depends not only on the pore space occupied by water, but also on structure and size of soil pores which are altered by compaction.     

Physical resilience of soil to field compaction and the interactions with plant growth and microbial community structure

Soil compaction has deleterious effects on soil physical properties, which can affect plant growth, but some soils are inherently resilient, whereby they may recover following removal of the stress. We explored aspects of soil physical resilience in a field‐based experiment. We subjected three soils of different texture, sown with winter wheat or remaining fallow, to a compaction event. We then monitored soil strength, as a key soil physical property, over the following 16 months. We were also interested in the associated interactions with crop growth and the microbial community. Compaction had a considerable and sustained effect in a sandy loam and a sandy clay loam soil, resulting in an increase in strength and decreased crop yields. By contrast compaction had little effect on a clay soil, perhaps due initially to the buoyancy effect of pore water pressure. Fallow clay soil did have a legacy of the compaction event at depth, however, suggesting that it was the actions of the crop, and rooting in particular, that maintained smaller strengths in the cropped clay soil rather than other physical processes. Compaction generally did not affect microbial communities, presumably because they occupy pores smaller than those affected by compaction. That the clay soil was able to supply the growing crop with sufficient water whilst remaining weak enough for root penetration was a key finding. The clay soil was therefore deemed to be much more resilient to the compaction stress than the sandy loam and sandy clay loam 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.     

Estimation of the thermal separation of soil particles from the thermal conductivity under reduced air pressure

Knowledge of thermal conductivity of granular materials under reduced air pressure can be utilized for studying intricate mechanisms of heat transfer in two‐phase systems. We measured the thermal conductivity of three soils of varied texture and two sets of glass beads (GB) under reduced air pressure using a twin heat probe. We also predicted the thermal conductivity of a two‐phase system at reduced air pressure from the modified Woodside & Messmer equation based on the kinetic theory of gases. This equation includes a thermal separation of solid particles (d) defined by the heat conduction. We compared this separation with the geometrical mean separation of solid particles (D). The results showed a linear relation between d and D for the GB, and in all cases d was smaller than D. This suggests that conductive heat transfer in two‐phase GB takes place mainly through air spaces the dimension of which is smaller than D. The d of a Red Yellow soil and an Ando soil, however, were about 200–300 times larger than D. This result seems to be related to the soil aggregation. We showed that in soil aggregates the conduction of heat through the solid was the dominant mode of heat transfer, and the micropores in a soil aggregate had very little effect on the diminished thermal conductivity under reduced air pressure. The decrease in the thermal conductivity of two‐phase soil under reduced air pressure is probably caused by the air molecules confined in interaggregate pore spaces rather than those in the intra‐aggregate pore spaces. The d of soils can be used to represent the thermal separation of the interaggregate pore spaces, and soil aggregates can be treated as single‐grained particles in evaluating heat conduction.     

氨化秸秆还田对土壤孔隙结构的影响

【目的】土壤孔隙性质是土壤结构性的反映,直接影响着土壤的肥力和水分有效性。定量研究氨化秸秆还田对土壤不同大小等级孔隙数量和孔隙分布的影响,可以为土壤培肥提供科学依据。【方法】采用室内试验方法,设置氨化秸秆加入量为土壤总质量的 0(CK)、 0.384%(S1)、 0.575%(S2)、 0.767%(S3)4个处理,室内培养。在培养0、60、120和180 d,取样测定土壤水分特征曲线(SWRC)数据,利用双指数土壤水分特征曲线模型(DE模型,Double-exponential water retention equation),分析氨化秸秆对土壤剩余孔隙、基质孔隙和结构孔隙的影响; 基于DE模型的微分函数,探究不同氨化秸秆处理对土壤孔隙分布的影响。【结果】不同处理的土壤水分特征曲线SWRC实测值和DE模型模拟值之间的均方根误差介于0.0036和0.0041 cm3/cm3之间,R2介于0.998和0.999之间,土壤含水量模拟值和实测值非常接近1 ∶1,表明DE模型可以准确反映添加氨化秸秆后土壤含水量随吸力的变化规律,较准确地估算土壤不同大小等级孔隙数量变化。培养120 d内,氨化秸秆对土壤剩余孔隙、基质孔隙和结构孔隙影响不显著; 培养180 d时,各处理土壤结构孔隙度表现出随着氨化秸秆添加量的增加而增加的趋势; 此时S3对土壤剩余孔隙影响不显著,显著减小了土壤的基质孔隙度(P0.05),极显著地增加了土壤的结构孔隙度(P 0.01)。在孔隙分布中,氨化秸秆促进了土壤已有孔隙向较大孔隙的发育,显著增加了土壤结构孔隙分布数量; 随着氨化秸秆添加量的增加,土壤结构孔隙的分布数量越大,且峰值出现的越早。氨化秸秆增加了土壤中有机质含量; 土壤结构孔隙和总孔隙均与有机质含量呈显著的正相关关系(P 0.05); 有机质可以黏结团聚土壤的矿物颗粒,有效地促进了土壤结构孔隙的发育; 氨化秸秆对土壤孔隙的影响随着时间的进行越来越明显。【结论】氨化秸秆增加了土壤中有机质含量,促进了土壤孔隙结构的发育,增加了土壤的结构孔隙度和总孔隙度,这对改良和培肥土壤、改善土壤耕性具有重要意义。     

The effect of compaction on soil electrical resistivity: a laboratory investigation

Among the geophysical tools used in soil science, electrical methods are considered as potentially useful to characterize soil compaction intensity. A laboratory investigation was undertaken on agricultural and forest soils in order to study the impact of compaction on bulk soil electrical resistivity. Samples taken from four different types of loamy soils were compacted at three bulk densities (1.1, 1.3 and 1.6 g cm⁻³). Bulk soil resistivity was measured at each compacted state for gravimetric water contents ranging from 0.10 to 0.50 g g⁻¹. A specific experimental procedure allowed the control of the water‐filling of the intra‐aggregate pores and the inter‐aggregate pores. Soil resistivity decreased significantly with increase in density and typically for gravimetric water contents less than 0.25 g g⁻¹. The decrease was more pronounced for the drier soils, indicating the strong impact of the surface conductance, especially in agricultural soils. The experimental data were in good agreement with simulated values given by the petro‐physical model of Waxman‐Smits (1968) , at least for water saturation greater than 0.3. The analysis of the petro‐physical parameters derived from the experimental data suggested that: (i) the electrical tortuosity of the loamy agricultural soil was significantly affected by compaction and (ii) the forest soil had a singular microstructure from an electrical point of view and had isolated conductive zones associated with clay embedded in a poorly conductive medium comprised mainly of soil solution and quartz grains. Our results provide the phenomenological basis for assessing, in the field, the relationship between soil electrical resistivity and compaction intensity.     

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.