Erosion and covered zones altered by surface coverage effects on soil nitrogen and carbon loss from an agricultural slope under laboratory-simulated rainfall events

Soil erosion, one of the most serious environmental concerns, might remove topsoil and essential element from terrestrial land. However, few attentions have been given to investigating how soil erosion regimes affect soil carbon and nitrogen loss. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of surface coverage rates (83%, 67%, 50%, 33%, 17% and 0%) and two positions (up- and downslope) on erosion regimes and its associated soil nitrogen and carbon loss under a sequence of six rainfalls (R1-R6). These results showed that the sediment concentrations with 33% (R4) and 17% (R5) coverage downslope were significantly lower than those with coverage upslope, whereas there was no significant difference between the runoff rates of the two slopes. Thus, surface coverage at different positions induced two soil erosion regimes (deposition- and transport-dominated processes). Dynamics of the DON and DIN concentrations indicated different release processes of soil nitrogen into runoff. The DON contributed to a substantial amount of soil nitrogen loss, which accounted approximately 81% of the organic form. The SBOC is significantly correlated with sediment-enriched clay particles from the deposition-dominated processes and is higher than that from the transport-dominated processes. The DOC is significantly correlated with Rr for transport-dominated processes. These results illustrated the critical role of erosion regimes in soil organic carbon loss in dissolved or sediment-bound form. It is concluded that erosion/covered zones altered by surface coverage could produce transport- and deposition-dominated erosion regimes and consequently affect soil carbon and nitrogen loss. In addition, these results demonstrated that surface coverage pattern may efficiently control soil erosion and soil carbon and nitrogen loss.     

Variations of soil organic carbon fractions in response to conservative vegetation successions on the Loess Plateau of China

Land use changes profoundly affect the equilibrium of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. With the current global climatic changes, it is vital to understand the influence of ecological restoration and conservation management on the dynamics of SOC under different land uses, especially in erosion-endangered Loess soils. Therefore, we investigated changes in SOC through a suit of labile fractions, namely: light fraction organic C (LFOC), heavy fraction organic C (HFOC), coarse particulate organic C (CPOC), fine particulate organic C (FPOC), and dissolved organic C (DOC), from two forests i.e., Robinia pseudoacacia (RP) and Platycladus orientalis (PO), with different ages, in comparison with farmland (FL). The SOC and STN contents significantly increased over 42 years in the RP forest where the contents of CPOC and FPOC were significantly higher than in the FL. Moreover, total SOC and its labile fractions, in the studied land use types, significantly correlated with soil CaCO₃, pH, and STN contents, indicating their key roles in SOC sequestration. The results reported here from different vegetation with different ages provide a better understanding of SOC and STN alterations at different stages of vegetation restoration. Our findings suggest that long-term natural vegetation restoration could be an effective approach for SOC sequestration and soil conservation on the Loess soil.     

Influence of soil properties on the aggregate stability of cultivated sandy clay loams

Purpose

Frequent cultivation and overhead irrigation have led to severe surface crusting, erosion and poor irrigation performance on sandy clay loam soils in the Coal River Valley, Tasmania, Australia. This study was established to identify the key soil properties related to aggregate breakdown determined by different methods, and explore options for reducing soil crusting.

Materials and methods

Soil aggregates were collected from 0 to 5 cm depth from 20 sites managed for packet salad and lettuce production. The stability of air-dried 2.00–4.75 mm aggregates was determined by rainfall simulation, wet sieving and clay dispersion. Soil aggregates were analysed for particle size, mineralogy, soluble and exchangeable cations, pH, EC, labile carbon and total carbon. The association between aggregate stability and the measured soil properties was explored using Spearman correlation, linear regression and regression tree analysis.

Result and discussion

Aggregate stability determined by rainfall simulation was closely associated with soil properties that promote aggregation, including effective cation exchangeable capacity (ECEC) and the proportion of polyvalent cations (Ca²⁺, Al³⁺). In contrast, aggregate stability determined by wet sieving was associated with soil properties that promote disaggregation, including quartz and sand content, and to lesser extent, the proportion of monovalent cations (especially K⁺). Clay dispersion was closely associated with pH, quartz content, soil texture and the sodium adsorption ratio. Soil carbon appeared to have only moderate influence on aggregate stability, but not clay dispersion, while labile carbon was not significantly related to any measure of aggregate stability or clay dispersion. Similarly, the proportion of Na⁺ ions was not related to either measure of aggregate stability and was only moderately related to clay dispersion.

Conclusions

Options for improving aggregate stability appear limited as aggregate stability was strongly related to the content of inherent soil properties such as sand/quartz and smectite contents. However, high correlation between exchangeable Ca²⁺ and aggregate stability determined by rainfall simulation indicates that soil crusting may be reduced through application of products that rich in Ca²⁺ such as gypsum.

     

土粒表面电场对土壤团聚体破碎及溅蚀的影响

团聚体是土壤结构的基本单元,其稳定性是评估土壤抗侵蚀能力的重要指标。土壤团聚体破碎是降雨溅蚀发生的关键一步。土粒表面电场对团聚体稳定性具有重要影响,必然也会深刻影响降雨溅蚀过程。该文以黄土母质发育的黄绵土和塿土为研究对象,采用不同浓度的电解质溶液定量调控土粒表面电场,研究不同电场强度对团聚体破碎及溅蚀的影响。结果发现:1)随电解质浓度的降低,土粒表面电位升高,表面电场增大,黄绵土和塿土团聚体平均重量直径减小,团聚体稳定性降低,降雨溅蚀量增大。2)电解质浓度小于10-2mol/L,黄绵土和塿土表面电位绝对值分别高于202.0和231.6 mV,此时团聚体稳定性和溅蚀量变化不明显,表明表面电位202.0和231.6 mV分别是影响黄绵土和塿土团聚体稳定性及溅蚀的关键电位。3)随着土粒表面电场的减弱,团聚体破碎后释放的<0.15 mm微团聚体含量减小,>0.25 mm大团聚体含量增加,团聚体倾向于破碎为更大粒级的团聚体。4)电场作用下团聚体的破碎特征对降雨溅蚀具有重要的影响,溅蚀量与团聚体破碎释放的<0.15 mm微团聚体含量呈显著正相关,与>0.25 mm大团聚体含...     

The USLE soil erodibility nomograph revisited

The nomograph by Wischmeier et al. (1971) for calculating the K-factor in the USLE was extremely useful when there was low access to calculators. However, the generalised calculation of this factor requires the development of analytic procedures. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the nomograph and its underlying equation, which is applicable only when the silt plus very find sand fraction does not exceed 70%. We also examined the quality of fit on the nomograph of the adaptations to the equation that have been proposed, as a means of dealing with those areas where the original equation is not applicable. All models are shown to have areas where the fit is deficient or even unacceptable. Besides, the family of curves on the nomograph for the various values taken by the organic matter are not coincident with the mathematical function from which they presumably derive. The study also identifies those areas of the textural triangle in which the soils originally used in developing the USLE are located, with a view to according a lower predictive value to the contrasting areas in which calculations of the K-factor will necessarily be extrapolations. Finally, a new equation for calculating the K-factor is presented, which accurately reproduces the different sections of the nomograph, and allows the poorly functioning graph to be dispensed with. The paper ends with a link to a tool in R for simplifying the procedure for calculating the K-factor, taking into account varying situations of data availability.     

土壤原始颗粒对不同破碎机制下团聚体稳定性的影响

土壤团聚体是土壤结构的基本单元,其稳定性是描述土壤抵抗外力破坏作用的重要指标.目前常用的团聚体测定方法很少考虑到土壤原始颗粒对其不同破碎机制下稳定性的影响.以两种不同质地团聚体特征差异明显的壤质砂土和砂质黏壤土为研究对象,对土壤全样进行快速湿润(FW)、预湿润后震荡(WS)以及慢速湿润(SW)三种处理方式预处理以研究团...     

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.     

Erodibility of a soil drainage sequence in the loess uplands of Mississippi

The susceptibility of loess soils in the lower Mississippi to runoff and erosion losses varies as a function of landscape position and mapping units. This study was conducted to determine the effects of soil drainage on physical and chemical properties that influence erodibility through their control of aggregate stability. Soil samples were collected from the A- and B-horizons of the five representative pedons in the Memphis catena whose drainage class varied from well-drained to poorly-drained. The fine earth fraction (< 2 mm) of each soil was characterized for a range of basic soil physical and chemical properties. Additional sub-samples (< 8 mm) were placed in a rainfall simulator pan (0.6 m × 0.6 m test area) and subjected to simulated rainfall at an intensity of 64 mm h^− 1. Soil erodibility was assessed by the use of an aggregation index (AI) computed from water dispersible clay (WDC) relative to total clay contents. The data show that as soil drainage classes became wetter, the percentage of sediment < 53 µm increased with a decrease in soil AI resulting from a loss of Fe, Al, and Si oxide cementing agents. These results suggest that cementing agents responsible for soil aggregate stabilization are mobilized under conditions of relatively low redox potentials which increase soil erodibility.     

湿润速度和累积降雨对土壤表面结皮发育的影响

土壤表面强度和微结构显微照片是研究表土结皮的重要指标和直接表征。以两种典型的土壤(垆土和黑土)为研究对象,采用2mmh-1(慢速)和50mmh-1(快速)两种速度湿润后进行雨强为60mmh-1的降雨,研究不同湿润速度和累积降雨对结皮发育的影响。结果表明:湿润速度对垆土结皮发育过程的影响不明显,土壤表面强度主要由累积降雨打击夯实引起;快速湿润对黑土结皮发育有显著的影响,慢速湿润后黑土在60min降雨过程中没有明显的结皮,累积降雨的打击起次要作用;湿润速度和累积降雨的对结皮发育的影响取决于土壤团聚体稳定性。     

鄂南第四纪粘土红壤团聚体的稳定性及其稳定机制初探

用湿筛法和LeBissonnais法研究了鄂南第四纪红粘土母质发育的两种侵蚀程度的红壤团聚体的稳定性,并且分析了影响供试土壤团聚体稳定性的土壤性质。结果表明,轻度侵蚀的耕作土壤团聚体的稳定性较低,在水的作用下易崩解成较小粒径的水稳性团聚体;强度侵蚀的土壤表层团聚体的稳定性较高,崩解后产生较多的水稳性大团聚体。引起土壤团聚体破坏的主要作用机制是土壤团聚体中的闭蓄空气爆破引起的消散作用;研究区第四纪红壤团聚体的主要胶结物质是土壤中的粘粒、游离氧化铁铝和无定形铁。由于供试土壤中有机质含量很低,在本研究中,有机质含量与土壤团聚体稳定性之间没有显著正相关关系。     

Specific ion effects on soil aggregate stability and rainfall splash erosion

Soil interparticle forces can pose important effects on soil aggregate stability and rainfall splash erosion. Meanwhile, these interparticle forces are strongly influenced by specific ion effects. In this study, we applied three monovalent cations (Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺) with various concentrations to investigate the influence of specific ion effects on aggregate stability and splash erosion via pipette and rainfall simulation methods. The specific ion effects on soil interparticle forces were quantitatively evaluated by introducing cationic non-classical polarization. The results showed that aggregate stability and splash erosion had strong ion specificity. Aggregate breaking strength and splash erosion rate at the same salt concentration followed the sequence as Li⁺ > Na⁺ > K⁺. With decreasing salt concentration, the difference in aggregate breaking strength or splash erosion rate between different cation systems increased initially (1–10^–2 mol L^–1) and later was nearly invariable (10^–2–10^–4 mol L^–1). The experimental results were well quantitatively explained by soil interparticle forces considering cationic non-classical polarization. Furthermore, both aggregate breaking strength and splash erosion rate of three cations revealed a strong positive linear relation with net force subjected to cationic non-classical polarization (R² = 0.81, R² = 0.81). These results demonstrated that different non-classical polarization of cations resulted in different soil interparticle forces, and thus led to differences in aggregate stability and splash erosion. Our study provides valuable information to deeply understand the mechanisms of rainfall splash erosion.     

Aggregate stability and microbial community dynamics under drying-wetting cycles in a silt loam soil

Aggregate stability often exhibits a large inter-annual and seasonal variability which occurs regardless of residue treatments and is often larger than the differences between soils or cropping systems. Variations in soil moisture and seasonal stimulation of microbial activity are frequently cited as the major causes. The goal of this paper was to evaluate the effects of drying-rewetting cycles on aggregate stability and on its main microbially mediated agents from a mechanistic point of view. The 3-5 mm aggregates of a silty soil were incubated at 20 °C for 63 days with the following treatments and their combinations: (i) with or without straw input and (ii) with or without exposure to four dry-wet cycles. Microbial activity was followed by measuring the soil respiration. We estimated the microbial agents of aggregate stability measuring hot-water extractable carbohydrate-C, microbial biomass carbon and ergosterol content. We measured the water drop penetration time to estimate the hydrophobicity and aggregate stability according to Le Bissonnais [1996. Aggregate stability and assessment of soil crustability and erodibility: I. Theory and methodology. European Journal of Soil Science 47, 425-437] to distinguish three breakdown mechanisms: slaking, mechanical breakdown and microcracking. The addition of straw stimulated microbial activity and increased the resistance to the three tests of aggregate stability, enhancing the internal cohesion and hydrophobicity of aggregates. All the estimated microbial agents of aggregate stability responded positively to the addition of organic matter and were highly correlated with aggregate stability. Fungal biomass correlated better with aggregate stability than total microbial biomass did, showing the prominent role of fungi by its triple contribution: physical entanglement, production of extracellular polysaccharides and of hydrophobic substances. Dry-wet cycles had less impact on aggregate stability than the addition of straw, but their effects were more pronounced when microbial activity was stimulated demonstrating a positive interaction.     

中国亚热带红壤团聚体稳定性与土壤化学性质的关系

The stability of aggregates in the surface soil is crucial to soil erosion and runoff generation. Thus, to understand the stability and the breakdown mechanisms of soil aggregates as well as the relationship between aggregate stability and selected soil chemical properties, such as different forms of Fe and Al oxides, organic matter, CEC and clay content, the aggregates of slightly and severely eroded red soils derived from Quaternary red clay in subtropical China were analyzed using the routine wet sieving and the Le Bissonnais methods. The results indicated that the aggregates of the severely eroded soils were more stable than those of the slightly eroded soils. Different aggregate breakdown mechanisms resulted in different particle size distribution. The slaking from entrapped air in aggregates severely destroyed the soil aggregates, especially in the slightly eroded soils. Meanwhile, mechanical breakdown and microcracking had little effect on the aggregates compared to slaking. The fragments resulting from slaking were mainly microaggregates that increased in size with increasing clay content. The main fragment size of the slightly eroded soils was 1.0-0.2 mm, while for the severely eroded soils it was 5.0-2.0 mm and 1.0-0.5 mm. Overall, more than 20% of the fragments were smaller than 0.2 mm. In addition, aggregate stability was positively and often significantly correlated with Fe_d, Al_d, Fe_o and clay content, but significantly and negatively correlated to SOC.     

A simple equation to determine the breakdown of individual aggregate size fractions in the wet-sieving method

Wet-sieving method using nested sieves is one common method to measure aggregate stability. However, this method cannot be used to measure the stability of individual aggregate size fractions, only of whole soils. Thus, this study was to develop an equation to estimate the aggregate breakdown of individual aggregate size fractions in this particular method. The key to develop the equation was to assume that aggregate breakdown happens sequentially and consistently, and that the aggregate breakdown between any two aggregates in the same aggregate size fractions is equal in percentage. Applying these two assumptions, this equation was developed: x_i=(W_ai×D_i)/(W_ai+D_i−1), where x_i is the weight of aggregate breakdown in aggregate size fraction i, W_ai is the weight of the aggregates in aggregate size fraction i before wet-sieving, and D_i and D_i−1 are the weight of aggregates that have passed through sieve i and i−1, respectively. This equation was tested with five soil series. The soils were separated into six aggregate size fractions: 4.76–8.0, 2.83–4.76, 2.0–2.83, 1.0–2.0, 0.5–1.0 and 0.3–0.5 mm. For every soil, each of their aggregate size fraction was separately wet-sieved to determine the actual aggregate breakdown. The separate wet-sievings results were then combined in such a way to simulate the usual wet-sieving method; that is, to construct the data that would have been produced if each of the aggregate size fractions was wet-sieved together in the same nested sieves. Paired sample t-test showed that the differences between the actual and estimated aggregate breakdown values were significant at 5%. However, there was very close correlation between the actual and estimated values (r=0.974; p<0.001); thus, the equation was calibrated by simple linear regression. The calibrated equation was: _i=100 sin²_i, where _i is the calibrated breakdown estimate for aggregate size fraction i, and _i is 0.0166x_i+0.1 in unit radians. This calibrated equation was highly significant at 1% (F=766.039; p<0.001), with the values fitting very tightly along the regression line (R²=0.961), and with very small standard error (std. error=0.023). The calibrated equation was validated with three additional soils. Paired sample t-test showed there was insignificant differences between the actual and calibrated breakdown estimate values. Moreover, using fewer aggregate size fractions did not affect the accuracy of the calibrated equation, as this equation still predicted the actual values with very small errors.     

降雨过程中红壤表土结构变化与侵蚀产沙关系

通过人工模拟降雨和表土微形态观测,研究了发育于泥质页岩、第四纪红粘土和花岗岩3种母质的红壤在降雨侵蚀过程中表土土壤结构的变化及其对侵蚀的影响。结果表明:降雨过程中,泥质页岩红壤极易形成土壤结皮,增加径流,响应结皮的形成,径流速率和含沙量较高,且迅速达到最大值,随后径流稳定而含沙量持续下降。第四纪红粘土红壤团聚体稳定,较难形成结皮,且结皮易被破坏,导致侵蚀过程中产流产沙量较低,均随降雨时间的延长而呈缓慢上升趋势。花岗岩红壤基本上不能产生结皮,粗化现象严重,因此产流量和产沙量也较低;由于土壤团聚体稳定性差以及径流的选择性运移,泥质页岩红壤和花岗岩红壤侵蚀泥沙中细颗粒(<0.02mm)含量远高于土壤中该粒径颗粒。而第四纪红壤侵蚀泥沙中粗颗粒较多,以多级团聚体的团聚体为主。     

浙南易蚀土壤的团聚体稳定性及其稳定机理

土壤团聚体的数量和稳定性是衡量土壤质量和可蚀性的重要指标。应用常规湿筛法和Le Bissonnais法测定了紫砂岩母质发育的柑橘园土壤团聚体稳定性,分析了土壤团聚体稳定性与胶结物质组成的关系。结果表明,供试土壤团聚体稳定性差异较大,湿筛法测定的水稳性团聚体MWD在0.75～3.49mm,MWD干筛-湿筛为0.15～2.89mm;Le Bissonnais法测定的水稳性团聚体平均MWD为1.57～3.12mm,其平均MWD与湿筛法测定的0.25mm团聚体含量、MWD、5～2mm团聚体破坏率和MWD干筛-湿筛呈极显著相关,表明两种方法测定的结果具有可比性;5～2mm土壤团聚体经快速湿润(FW)、慢速湿润(SW)和预湿后扰动(WS)3种处理后,团聚体崩解产物的MWD表现为FWSWWS,团聚体崩解产物的粒级分布随处理方式不同而不同,经快速湿润处理后,大多数团聚体崩解,崩解成较小粒径的水稳性团聚体,表明崩解的主要机制是由于团聚体内部的闭塞空气产生的压力引起的;土壤团聚体的稳定性指标与黏粒和游离氧化铁含量呈显著正相关,而有机质主要影响水稳定性团聚体的数量,它与土壤中MWD呈极显著正相关。     

Aggregate breakdown dynamics under rainfall compared with aggregate stability measurements

Aggregate breakdown due to rainfall action causes crusting and interrill erosion. Erodibility is seemingly determined by the capacity of surface aggregates to resist the effects of rainfall. In this paper, we evaluated the relevance of an aggregate stability measurement, which comprises three treatments, in order to characterize aggregate breakdown dynamics. Two cultivated soils were studied: a clay loam slightly sensitive to erosion and a more susceptible silt loam. We compared the size distributions of microaggregates produced by the three aggregate stability treatments with the results from a rainfall simulation. The behaviour of four initial aggregate size classes (< 3 mm, 3–5 mm, 5–10 mm and 10–20 mm) was also compared to study the influence of the initial aggregate size on the nature of resulting aggregates. The mean weight diameter was from 200 to 1400 µm for the silt loam and from 600 to 7000 µm for the clay loam. The two experiments – aggregate stability measurements and aggregate breakdown dynamics under rainfall – yielded similar results. Qualitative analysis showed that for both soils the sizes of fragments produced by breakdown with the aggregate stability tests and under rainfall were similar and seemed to be qualitatively independent of the size of initial aggregates. We first schematized the structural organization of aggregates in cultivated horizons with a simple hierarchical model at two levels: (i) < 250 µm microaggregates and (ii) > 250 µm macroaggregates made by the binding together of microaggregates. We then developed a model of aggregate breakdown dynamics under rainfall which gives, for various rainfall durations, the size distributions of resulting fragments on the basis of aggregate stability measurements. We obtained a correlation coefficient, r, of 0.87 for the silt loam and of 0.91 for the clay loam, showing that the experimental and predicted mass percentages were linearly related for each size fraction.     

Effects of iron and organic matter on the porosity and structural stability of soil aggregates

Knowledge of the soil components controlling aggregate formation and stability is fundamental to the conservation of soil structure. In this work, the effects of Fe and organic matter (OM) on the porosity and structural stability of aggregates <4 mm of two cropped soils from Galicia (NW Spain) were determined. Porosity was estimated directly, by mercury intrusion porosimetry, and indirectly, from moisture characteristic and shrinkage curves. The three porosities obtained were similar and indicated that Soil 1, with the highest Fe and OM contents, had lower total porosity and a wider pore-size distribution than Soil 2. As regards structural stability, Hénin and Monnier's test, simulated rainfall and dispersion experiments, and determination of textural tensile strength all indicated Soil 1 to be the more stable soil. Oxidation of OM and selective extraction of Fe, which were most concentrated in the clay and silt fractions, indicated both these components to be important soil aggregants. It is suggested that the higher content of Soil 1 in Fe and OM is responsible for its greater stability.     

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.