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A grid sampling pattern of 108 sample locations at distances ranging from 15 to 122 m was used to develop a baseline characterization of soil physical and hydrological properties in a 40 ha field. Statistical distributions of silt and sand were not normal. Coefficients of variation of sand, silt and clay contents were 59%, 18% and 25%. Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) were developed using indicator...
In many agricultural soils in the semi-arid and and mediterranean climates, exposure to cyclic wetting and drying (WD) can reduce aggregate stability. The extent to which soil pretreatment with coal-derived humic substances (HS) can increase aggregate stability in soils exposed to cyclic wetting and drying (WD) was evaluated in this study. The soils studied are an Acireale silty clay loam from Sicily,...
Since geophysical methods are non-invasive, they can be of great help in soil studies because they disturb neither the structure nor the dynamics of the soil. Moreover, data are acquired with reliable spatial sampling. The usual ways of investigation, like augering and excavation, disturb the soil and are totally incompatible with a spatially dense sampling strategy, which would destroy the object...
The spatial variability of physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of the unsaturated zone, thought to affect transport and degradation of organic pollutants, has been investigated at an experimental field site in the distal parts of the Gardermoen delta. The properties considered were saturated hydraulic conductivity (K s ), silt content, organic carbon (TOC), amorphous Fe- and Al-oxides,...
Great Plains dryland agriculture is a risky venture because of large annual fluctuations in precipitation and high evaporation potentials. Water capture is limited by low water infiltration rates because many of our soils have relatively small aggregate size distributions, which limit infiltration, and are also susceptible to crusting and sealing. No-till management has permitted cropping intensification,...
This study addressed the effect of landscape attributes on the spatial distribution of soil physical properties in an alpine rangeland in a semi-arid area of Iran. Soil physical properties are recognized for their important role in supporting plant growth. To identify the effects of landscape attributes on soil physical properties the present study collected and analysed information from air photos,...
Relations between the apparent electrical conductivity of the soil (EC a ) and top- and sub-soil physical properties were examined for two arable fields in southern England (Crowmarsh Battle Farms and the Yattendon Estate). The spatial variation of EC a and the soil properties was explored geostatistically. The variogram ranges showed that EC a varied on a similar spatial scale...
Any effort of distributed hydrological modeling requires the spatially distributed input of soil hydraulic properties and soil thickness. Most of the hydrological models are sensitive concerning these soil properties, thus the use of point measurements and co-variables should be optimized for a most accurate spatial prediction. During this study, we focus on the use of terrain attributes as co-variables...
The application of fractal geometry to describe soil structure, soil dynamics, and physical processes within soil is becoming an increasingly useful tool that allows for a better understanding of the performance of soil systems. The fractal dimension of particle-size distributions (PSDs) is often used to estimate several properties in soils, such as texture and moisture characteristics. Land use patterns...
To develop a method for the selection of suitable predictive indicators for the assessment of soil quality, we used a general approach for choosing the most representative indicators from large existing data sets, for mountainous rangeland in northern Iran. The approach involves identifying a suite of soil indicators and landscape attributes for an area of relatively uniform climate. The interrelationships...
Studies on soil strength and rooting characteristics of crops are important for water and nutrient budgeting and also for deciding the adoption of suitable soil management practice for sustainable crop production. In the present field trial, the variation of soil penetration resistance (PR) with soil water content (SWC (w/w)) and bulk density (BD) changes under bed and conventionally planted wheat...
Water retention characteristic (WRC) is an important soil property used in many hydrologic applications. Although there are numerous models in the literature for its prediction, the models are largely empirical with fundamental derivations based on soil textural pore-spaces. This paper presents a biexponential model for WRC that has its basis on textural and structural soil pore-spaces. The model...
Fractal dimension analyses of PSD and soil porosity were determined for the 0–20cm soil layer representing different plant communities and land management in the Yimeng mountainous region of mid-eastern China. The soil types in this area are typically comprised of coarse sand and gravel. The results show that, compared with the protected forest preserve areas, soil physical properties in commercial...
The study was concerned with the physical properties of a soil which was under natural fallow for ten years (1996–2005). The experimental sites were situated on a Rendzic Phaeozem originating from cretaceous bedrock. Two adjoining arable plots (0.2ha area of each) cultivated during the period were compared with the fallowed plot (0.1ha area). The soil under study has been in use as arable land for...
An on-farm experiment was conducted at Ramu sugarcane plantation of Papua New Guinea to assess implications of alleviating soil compaction in wheel tracks under the zonal tillage production system. Under zonal tillage system only the row area is cultivated in preparation for planting the sugarcane sett and the inter-row area remains undisturbed and much compacted. Three soil tillage treatments were...
Water capture and precipitation use efficiency are of great importance in dryland cropping systems because the world's dependence on food produced in dryland areas continues to increase. Growing season evapotranspiration potential greatly exceeds growing season precipitation rates in dryland areas, creating a water deficit for crops. Management practices that positively impact soil physical properties...
Although a large number of papers deal with effects of land-use change on soil properties, less attention is directed to the long-term effects of different land-use types on soil physical properties and organic matter in the lowland ecosystems.The objective of this study is to assess the long-term cumulative effects of change in land-use type on some soil properties in the continental lowland ecosystems...
Improving soil physical properties by means of biochar application has been proposed in recent publications. The objective of this study was to investigate to what extent the addition of corn stover (CS) and biochars produced from the pyrolysis of corn stover feedstock (CS) at 350 and 550°C temperatures (CS-350, CS-550) affected aggregate stability, volumetric water content (θ V ), bulk density,...
Evidence suggests that biochar influences soil physical properties, especially soil hydrology, yet relatively little data exists on this topic, especially in relation to soil type or characteristics. This paper presents a novel attempt at analysing the influence of biochar (applied at 0.1, 0.5 and 2.5%) on the physical properties of soil with respect to quantified soil variables. Pot experiments were...
Soil burn severity indexes have been developed to rapidly assess ecosystem damage from vegetation fires and predict associated risks during the post-fire period. In terms of the hydrological impacts of fire, the lack of measurable relationships between the commonly determined parameters and post-fire hydrological responses has limited their potential to predict and mitigate post-fire hazards. This...
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