Determination of pre-compression stress of a variously grazed steppe soil under static and cyclic loading

In many land use systems all over the world soil deformation is a major problem due to increasing land use intensity. On arable soils machine traffic is continuously intensified with respect to load and wheeling frequency leading to (sub-)soil compaction and deeper soil degradation concerning hydraulic or pneumatic functions. Altered soil functions, in particular reduced hydraulic conductivities and impeded aeration, may decrease crop growth and productivity as well as the filtering and buffering capacity of soils. Prevented gas exchange and longer lasting anoxia in soils due to the reduced pore continuity and pore functioning also affects global change processes. In order to evaluate potential risks for irreversible soil deformation, it is necessary to quantify their mechanical stability. A commonly applied method is the determination of the pre-compression stress, commonly under static loading conditions in oedometer tests. The determination of pre-compression stresses under static loading may not quite resemble the conditions encountered in the field where soils are loaded repeatedly with a sequence of short intermittent loading–unloading–reloading events. Such dynamic loading conditions are encountered, e.g. at multiple wheel passes or in grassland soils due to animal trampling. In this study we present a comparison of a standard (static loading) and a modified (cyclic/dynamic loading) oedometer test using data of a Calcic Chernozem from the Inner Mongolian steppe under various grazing intensities. Static loading lasted for 10 min per loading step, while the dynamic/cyclic loading was carried out by 30 s loading and following 30 s unloading (=1 cycle) for in total 20 cycles. Differences between statically and cyclically determined pre-compression stresses at an identical time of loading show lower values for the statically determined pre-compression stress values compared to those determined cyclically. Among the dynamically determined pre-compression stresses, the values decrease with increasing number of loading steps and loading time, respectively. This is particularly true for the ungrazed sites.Thus, it could also be proofed that increased grazing intensities lead to structure deformation and increased sensitivity to wind- and water erosion followed by severe land degradation of grassland soils, particularly in semi-arid areas. Furthermore, hydraulic effects, e.g. positive pore water pressure due to intense shearing and kneading processes induced by grazing animals can enhance this structural deterioration.Thus, dynamic or cyclic loading results in an intense soil deformation which also causes serious changes in ecological and soil physical properties like hydraulic conductivity or gas flux.     

Soil compressibility and penetrability of an Oxisol from southern Brazil, as affected by long-term tillage systems

The precompression stress value defines the transition from the reloading curve to the virgin compression line in the stress–strain curve, which can be used to quantify the highest load or the most intense predrying previously applied to the soil. Thus, in soils with well-defined structured soil horizons, each layer can be characterized by such mechanical strength. Penetration resistance measurements, on the other hand, can be used to determine total soil strength profiles in the field. The effect of long-term tillage systems on physical and mechanical properties was determined in undisturbed and remolded samples collected at 5 and 15 cm depth, 6 months after applying no-till (NT), chisel plow (CP), and conventional tillage (CT) treatments, along with the application of mineral fertilizer and poultry litter. The compressibility tests were performed under confined conditions, with normal loads varying from 10 to 400 kPa after a defined predrying to −6 or −30 kPa. Penetration resistance was determined in the field, after seeding, in three positions: seeding row (SR), untrafficked interrow (UI), and recently trafficked interrow (TI). No-till system showed greater soil resistance to deformation than tilled treatments, as determined by the higher precompression stress and lower coefficient of compressibility. When original soil structure was destroyed (remolded samples), smaller differences were found. The application of extra organic matter (poultry litter) resulted in a reduction of precompression stress in undisturbed samples. Penetration resistance profiles showed greater differences among tillage treatments in the upper layer of the untrafficked interrow, where NT system showed the higher values. Smaller differences were found in the seeding row (with lower values) and in recently trafficked interrow (with higher values), showing that even traffic with a light tractor after soil tillage reduced drastically the effect of previous tillage by loosening up the soil. On the other hand, the tool used to cut the soil and to open the furrow for seeding, incorporated in the direct seeding machine, was sufficient to realleviate surface soil compaction.     

Zur Bedeutung des Aggregierungsgrades für die Spannungsverteilung in strukturierten Böden

The effect of soil aggregation on stress distribution in structured soils The mechanical compressibility of arable soils can be described by preconsolidation load value and by the shear resistance parameters of the bulk soil and single aggregates. In order to quantify the effective stress equation must be also known the hydraulic properties of the soil in dependence of the intensity, kind, and number of loading events. The soil reacts as a rigid body at very fast wheeling speed inclusive a very pronounced stress attenuation in the top soil while stresses will be distributed in the soil threedimensionally to deeper depths at slower speed. These variations can be explained by the mechanical as well as by the hydraulic parameters of the bulk soil and single aggregates. Thus, the pore water pressure value of the bulk soil as a parameter of the effective stress equation further depends on the hydraulic properties of the inter- and intraaggregate pore system and continuity. As can be derived from the results the pore water pressure values are identical irrespective of the predessication for clayey polyhedres at high load while in coarse textured prisms the pore water pressure value depends on load and predryness. The consequences for soil strength under dynamic loading are shortly discussed.     

Dissociative anaesthesia in free-ranging male koalas and selected marsupials in captivity

Forty seven free-ranging, adult, male koalas were captured and administered an intramuscular injection of the dissociative anaesthetic, Telazol (tiletamine HCl plus zolazepam HCl), at dose rates of 5.0 to 7.7 mg/kg body weight. Anaesthesia induction was rapid and smooth and resulted in a surgical plane of anaesthesia lasting 30 to 45 min. There was no depression of heart rate or respiration. Mild salivation occurred in most animals, but was not a problem because the swallowing reflex was retained. There was no mortality or morbidity and the anaesthesia level was sufficient to allow electroejaculation and multiple blood sampling with no apparent animal discomfort. For 10 of 19 males in which anaesthesia was required for a 90 min protocol, a supplementary Telazol injection (average, 2.5 mg/kg) was necessary. All koalas recovered completely within 3 to 4 h of the initial injection. The results suggest that the optimal Telazol dosage for the adult male koala is 7.0 mg/kg body weight. The retrospective analysis of 259 anaesthesia records involving 14 species indicated that Telazol was equally effective and safe in other captive marsupials.     

Die Bestimmung der Wasserspannungs- /Wasserleitfähigkeits-Beziehung von Bodenaggregaten

Determination of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of soil aggregates by use of microtensiometers The hydraulic properties of single aggregates were measured with the use of microtensiometers. They are small enough (tip diameter 1 mm, length 1–2 mm) that two of them can be installed inside an aggregate within a distance of 1–3 mm. The changes of water suction are measured with pressure transducers and recorded by a micro-computer. Results obtained for different aggregates show, that at the same water suction, the hydraulic conductivity of single aggregates is up to 2 orders of magnitude smaller than that of the bulk soil. The cross-over-suction value for aggregates can also be derived.     

Two-dimensional rare gas solids

Monolayers of rare gas atoms adsorbed onto the basal planes of graphite play the same prototype role in two dimensions that rare gas liquids and solids do in three dimensions. In recent experiments such novel phenomena as continuous melting, the lack of true crystallinity in two dimensions, orientationally ordered fluid phases, and melting from a solid to a reentrant fluid with decreasing temperature have been observed. Because the forces in these rare gas monolayers are simple and well understood, by studying them the investigator can examine a direct interface between experiment and first principles. In order to understand the phases and phase transitions that occur in such materials, it is necessary to consider the geometrical matching of the rare gas overlayer to the graphite substrate. It turns out that in two dimensions both the local and the long-distance behavior are important. These two-dimensional rare gas solids may be effectively probed with synchrotron x-ray techniques, and the results of a series of synchrotron x-ray scattering studies of these solids are presented.