Stochastic Structural Model of Rock and Soil Aggregates by Continuum-Based Discrete Element Method

This paper first presents a stochastic structural model to describe the random geometrical features of rock and soil aggregates. The stochastic structural model uses mixture ratio, rock size and rock shape to construct the microstructures of aggregates,and introduces two types of structural elements (block element and jointed element) and three types of material elements (rock element, soil element, and weaker jointed element)for this microstructure. Then, continuum-based discrete element method is used to study the deformation and failure mechanism of rock and soil aggregate through a series of loading tests. It is found that the stress-strain curve of rock and soil aggregates is nonlinear, and the failure is usually initialized from weaker jointed elements. Finally, some factors such as mixture ratio, rock size and rock shape are studied in detail. The numerical results are in good agreement with in situ test. Therefore, current model is effective for simulating the mechanical behaviors of rock and soil aggregates.

High porosity chained aggregates from the topsoil of the Lunar regolith Dust

The unusual behaviour of fine lunar regolith like stickiness and low heat conductivity is dominated by the structural arrangement of its finest fraction in the outer-most topsoil layer. Here, we show the previously unknown phenomenon of building a globular 3-D superstructure within the dust fraction of the regolith. New technology, Transmission X-ray Microscopy (TXM) with tomographic reconstruction, reveals a highly porous network of cellular void system in the lunar finest dust fraction aggregates. Such porous chained aggregates are composed of sub-micron in size particles that build cellular void networks. Voids are a few micrometers in diameter. Discovery of such a superstructure within the finest fraction of the lunar topsoil allow building a model of heat transfer which is discussed.

Physical properties of a boreal clay soil under differently managed perennial vegetation

The physical properties of surface soil horizons, essentially pore size, shape, continuity and affinity for water, regulate water entry into the soil. These properties are prone to changes caused by natural forces and human activity. The hydraulic properties of the surface soil greatly impact the generation of surface runoff and accompanied erosion, the major concern of agricultural water protection. The general target of this thesis was to improve our understanding of the structural and hydraulic properties of boreal clay soils. Physical properties of a clayey surface soil (0 - 10 cm, clay content 51%), with a micaceous/illitic mineralogy subjected to three different management practices of perennial vegetation, were studied. The study sites were vegetated buffer zones located side by side in SW Finland: 1) natural vegetation with no management, 2) harvested once a year, and 3) grazed by cattle. The soil structure, hydraulic properties, shrinkage properties and soil water repellency were determined at all sites. Two distinct flow domains were evident. The surface soil was characterized by subangular blocky, angular blocky and platy aggregates. Hence, large, partially accommodated, irregular elongated pores dominated the macropore domain at all sites. The intra-aggregate pore system was mostly comprised of pores smaller than 30 μm, which are responsible for water storage. Macropores at the grazed site, compacted by hoof pressure, were horizontally oriented and pore connectivity was poorest, which decreased water and air flux compared with other sites. Drying of the soil greatly altered its structure. The decrease in soil volume between wet and dry soil was 7 - 10%, most of which occurred in the moisture range of field conditions. Structural changes, including irreversible collapse of interaggregate pores, began at matric potentials around -6 kPa indicating, instability of soil structure against increasing hydraulic stress. Water saturation and several freezethaw cycles between autumn and spring likely weakened the soil structure. Soil water repellency was observed at all sites at the time of sampling and when soil was dryer than about 40 vol.%. (matric potential < -6 kPa). Therefore, water repellency contributes to water flow over a wide moisture range. Water repellency was also observed in soils with low organic carbon content (< 2%), which suggests that this phenomenon is common in agricultural soils of Finland due to their relatively high organic carbon content. Aggregate-related pedofeatures of dense infillings described as clay intrusions were found at all sites. The formation of these intrusions was attributed to clay dispersion and/or translocation during spring thaw and drying of the suspension in situ. These processes generate very new aggregates whose physical properties are most probably different from those of the bulk soil aggregates. Formation of the clay infillings suggested that prolonged wetness in autumn and spring impairs soil structure due to clay dispersion, while on the other hand it contributes to the pedogenesis of the soil. The results emphasize the dynamic nature of the physical properties of clay soils, essentially driven by their moisture state. In a dry soil, fast preferential flow is favoured by abundant macropores including shrinkage cracks and is further enhanced by water repellency. Increase in soil moisture reduces water repellency, and swelling of accommodated pores lowers the saturated hydraulic conductivity. Moisture- and temperature-related processes significantly alter soil structure over a time span of 1 yr. Thus, the pore characteristics as well as the hydraulic properties of soil are time-dependent.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and collembola non-additively increase soil aggregation

Soil aggregation is a principal ecosystem process mediated by soil biota. Collembola and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are important groups in the soil, and can interact in various ways. Few studies have examined collembola effects on soil aggregation, while many have quantified AM effects. Here, we asked if collembola have any effect on soil aggregation, and if they alter AM fungi-mediated effects on soil aggregation.

We carried out a factorial greenhouse study, manipulating the presence of both collembola and AM fungi, using two different plant species, Sorghum vulgare and Daucus carota. We measured root length and biomass, AMF (and non-AMF) soil hyphal length, root colonization, and collembolan populations, and quantified water stable soil aggregates (WSA) in four size classes.

Soil exposed to growth of AMF hyphae and collembola individually had higher WSA than control treatments. Moreover, the interaction effects between AMF and collembola were significant, with nonadditive increases in the combined application compared to the single treatments.

Our findings show that collembola can play a crucial role in maintaining ecological sustainability through promoting soil aggregation, and point to the importance of considering organism interactions in understanding formation of soil structure. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soil microbes and community coalescence

Community coalescence is a recently introduced term describing the interaction of entire communities and their environments. We here explicitly place the concept of community coalescence in a soil microbial context, exploring intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of such coalescence events. Examples of intrinsic events include the action of earthworms and the dynamics of soil aggregates, while extrinsic events are exemplified by tillage, flooding, litter-fall, outplanting, and the addition of materials containing microbial communities. Aspects of global change may alter the frequency or severity of coalescence events. We highlight functional consequences of community coalescence in soil, and suggest ways to experimentally tackle this phenomenon. Soil ecology as a whole stands to benefit from conceptualizing soil biodiversity in terms of dynamic coalescent microbial assemblages.

Soil uses in the sugarcane fallow period to improve chemical and physical properties of two latosols (oxisols)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Crop type influences soil aggregation and organic matter under no-tillage

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Compositional analysis for an unbiased measure of soil aggregation

Soil aggregation is an index of soil structure measured by mean weight diameter (MWD) or scaling factors often interpreted as fragmentation fractal dimensions (D-f). However, the MWD provides a biased estimate of soil aggregation due to spurious correlations among aggregate-size fractions and scale-dependency. The scale-invariant D-f is based on weak assumptions to allow particle counts and sensitive to the selection of the fractal domain, and may frequently exceed a value of 3, implying that D-f is a biased estimate of aggregation. Aggregation indices based on mass may be computed without bias using compositional analysis techniques. Our objective was to elaborate compositional indices of soil aggregation and to compare them to MWD and D-f using a published dataset describing the effect of 7 cropping systems on aggregation. Six aggregate-size fractions were arranged into a sequence of D-1 balances of building blocks that portray the process of soil aggregation. Isometric log-ratios (ilrs) are scale-invariant and orthogonal log contrasts or balances that possess the Euclidean geometry necessary to compute a distance between any two aggregation states, known as the Aitchison distance (A(x,y)). Close correlations (r>0.98) were observed between MWD, D-f, and the ilr when contrasting large and small aggregate sizes. Several unbiased embedded ilrs can characterize the heterogeneous nature of soil aggregates and be related to soil properties or functions. Soil bulk density and penetrater resistance were closely related to A(x,y) with reference to bare fallow. The A(x,y) is easy to implement as unbiased index of soil aggregation using standard sieving methods and may allow comparisons between studies. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of aggregate stability influenced by soil management and crop residues

The type of tillage and crop systems used can either degrade or cause a recovery of the structure of agricultural soils. The objective of this study was to determine the structural stability of the soil using mean weight diameter (MWD) of soil aggregates in three different periods of a succession of crops consisting of beans/cover plants/maize under no tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) management systems. Soils were sampled at 0- to 5-cm and 5- to 15-cm depths in three periods (P1, P2, P3): 1) November 2002 (spring/summer), 2) April 2003 (beginning of autumn), and 3) December 2003 (end of spring/beginning of summer). Aggregate stability was determined by wet sieving. The effects of the tillage systems, vegetal residues, and sampling depths on the structural stability of the aggregates were assessed and then related to organic matter (OM) contents. Aggregate stability showed temporal variation as a function of OM contents and sampling period. No tillage led to high MWD values in all study periods. The lowest MWD values and OM contents were observed 4 months after the management of the residues of cover plants. This finding is consistent with the fact that at the time of the samplings, most of the OM had already mineralized. The residues of sunn-hemp, millet, and spontaneous vegetation showed similar effects on soil aggregate stability.

Micro paddy lysimeter for monitoring solute transport in paddy environment

The micro paddy lysimeter (MPL) was developed and evaluated for its performance to simulate solute transport in paddy environment under laboratory conditions. MPLs were constructed using soil collected from Field Museum Honmachi of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan. For the physical characteristics of the hardpan layer, parameters such as thickness, and soil aggregate size, affecting the percolation rate were studied. For the plow layer, two types of plow soils, sieved and un-sieved soils were compared. The sieved soil plow layer was produced by mixing air-dried soils of different aggregate sizes of D > 9.50, 9.50 ≥ D > 4.75, 4.75 ≥ D > 2.0 mm and D ≤ 2.0 mm at 47.1, 19.5, 20.6, and 12.8%, respectively. The un-sieved plow layer soil was directly used after collecting from the field. Inert tracer was applied to ponding water with controlled boundary conditions to evaluate the reproducibility of the soil hydraulic characteristics. HYDRUS-1D was used to evaluate the movement of bromide tracer in the MPL. The proposed conditions of the MPL were that the hardpan layer can be made from soil aggregates smaller than 0.425 mm with 2 cm thickness and that the plow layer can be prepared with sieved or un-sieved soils. With these conditions, the obtained results proved that MPLs can be a useful tool to simulate solute transport in paddy environment.

云雾山草原区不同植被恢复阶段土壤团聚体活性有机碳分布特征

以宁夏云雾山草原自然保护区不同植被群落为研究对象,对0～20cm土层土壤团聚体活性有机碳分布特征进行分析。结果表明:(1)不同植被群落土壤团聚体活性有机碳含量顺序为退耕草地<百里香群落<铁杆蒿群落<大针茅群落<长芒草群落,与退耕草地相比,封育草地各粒径团聚体活性有机碳含量均显著提高(P<0.05),表明随着植被的恢复土壤团聚体活性有机碳含量提高并趋于稳定,土壤碳汇效应有可能增强。(2)植被恢复主要影响大团聚体(>0.25mm)中活性有机碳含量,其中0.5～0.25mm粒径团聚体中活性有机碳含量最高,微团聚体(<0.25mm)中活性有机碳含量最低。(3)植被恢复前期(退耕草地-铁杆蒿群落)0～10cm土层>0.5mm粒径团聚体中活性有机碳含量较10～20cm土层有所增加,<0.5mm粒径团聚体活性有机碳含量变化不大,恢复至后期到长芒草阶段时,0～10cm土层<0.5mm粒径团聚体中活性有机碳含量也开始提高,各粒径0～10cm土层团聚体活性有机碳含量均比10～20cm土层有所提高。(4)相关性分析表明,土壤团聚体活性有机碳含量与土壤团聚体总有机碳含量呈极显著线性正相关关系(r=0.9394),团聚体活性有机碳含量...

黄土丘陵区植被恢复中不同粒级土壤团聚体有机碳分布特征

对黄土丘陵区土壤有机碳在不同粒级团聚体中的分布特征及其对植被恢复的响应进行了研究。结果表明:(1)黄土丘陵区不同植被覆盖条件下,土壤有机碳的分布具有一定的表聚性,0~20 cm土层中有机碳的含量均高于20~40 cm中有机碳的含量,不同植被群落下有机碳的含量大小为:大针茅群落>长芒草群落>铁杆蒿群落>百里香群落;(2)同一深度土壤各粒级团聚体中有机碳的分布特征是:0.5~0.25 mm与1~0.5 mm两个粒级中有机碳的含量最高,>1 mm的团聚体中有机碳的含量有随粒级增大而减小的趋势;(3)恢复年限对不同粒级土壤团聚体中有机碳的含量影响很大,有机碳的含量随恢复年限的增加总体呈上升趋势。黄土高原沟壑区土壤有机碳的积累与土壤团聚体的粒级和植被恢复的类型、年限等有明显的关系。

半湿润农田生态系统长期施肥对土壤团聚体中有机氮组分的影响

通过对黄土高原半湿润农田生态系统25年的田间肥料定位试验,研究了长期不同施肥模式对土壤有机氮组分及其在各级团聚体中分布的影响.结果表明:长期施肥对水解氨态氮、水解未知氮在土壤各级团聚体中分布的影响最大,对氨基酸态氮的分布有一定影响,而对氨基糖态氮分布的影响较小.长期施用化肥和有机肥能有效地影响水解氨态氮和水解未知氮与团聚体的结合作用,而氨基糖态氮在土壤氮循环转化过程中具有较强的稳定性.长期施肥条件下土壤水解全氮与有机碳、全氮以及团聚体分形维数均呈极显著正相关,其r分别为0.942,0.981,0.910(P<0.001),说明土壤有机氮组分对土壤团聚体的形成和性质具有显著影响.相关分析表明,土壤全氮或有机质对1～2mm和0.25～1mm土壤团聚体中各有机氮组分的影响较大

黄土丘陵区不同土地利用方式土壤团粒结构分形特征

土壤团粒、水稳性团粒和微团粒状况是影响土壤结构和性质的重要因素。运用分形理论研究黄土丘陵区纸坊沟流域7种不同土地利用方式土壤团粒结构的分形特征。结果表明:表层土壤团粒的分形维数在1.641~2.114之间,其大小顺序为人工草地>果园>坡耕地>乔木林地>灌丛>天然草地>人工梯田。土壤水稳性团粒的分形维数在1.774~2.384之间,其变化顺序为果园>乔木林地>人工草地>坡耕地>天然草地>人工梯田>灌丛,二者均表现出≥0.25 mm粒级土壤团粒含量越低,分形维数越高的规律;分形维数与≥5 mm、5~2 mm和≥0.25 mm粒级的土壤团粒、水稳性团粒呈极显著负相关(P<0.01),与<0.25 mm粒级的呈极显著正相关(P<0.01);结合团粒结构体破坏率可知,灌丛土壤结构与稳定性最好,其次为天然草地,人工草地最差;表层土壤微团粒结构分形维数在2.360~2.487之间,大小顺序为天然草地>乔木林地>坡耕地>人工梯田>人工草地>果园>灌丛,灌丛有助于促进土壤微结构形成,分形维数与0.25~0.05 mm和>0.001 mm粒级土壤微团粒含量呈极显著负相关(P<0.01),与<0.001 mm粒级土壤微团粒含量呈极...