Effects of soil fabric on behaviors of granular soils: Microscopic modeling

The effects of initial soil fabric on behaviors of granular soils are investigated by using Distinct Element Method (DEM) numerical simulation. Soil specimens are represented by an assembly of non-uniform sized spheres with different initial contact normal distributions. Isotropically consolidated triaxial compression loading and extension unloading in both undrained and drained conditions are simulated for vertically- and horizontally-sheared specimens. The numerical simulation results are compared qualitatively with the published experimental data and the effects of initial soil fabric on resulting soil behaviors are discussed, including the effects of specimen reconstitution methods, effects of large preshearing, and anisotropic characteristics in undrained and drained conditions. The effects of initial soil fabric and mode of shearing on the quasi-steady state line are also investigated. The numerical simulation results can systematically explain that the observed experimental behaviors of granular soils are due principally to their conditions of the initial soil fabric. This outcome provides insights into the observed phenomena in microscopic view. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Soil CO2 emission estimated by different interpolation techniques

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

Soil, water and nutrient losses by interrill erosion from green cane cultivation

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

Quantification of uncertainties associated with space-time estimates of short-term soil CO2 emissions in a sugar cane area

The characterization of soil CO2 emissions (FCO2) is important for the study of the global carbon cycle. This phenomenon presents great variability in space and time, a characteristic that makes attempts at modeling and forecasting FCO2 challenging. Although spatial estimates have been performed in several studies, the association of these estimates with the uncertainties inherent in the estimation procedures is not considered. This study aimed to evaluate the local, spatial, local-temporal and spatial-temporal uncertainties of short-term FCO2 after harvest period in a sugar cane area. The FCO2 was featured in a sampling grid of 60m×60m containing 127 points with minimum separation distances from 0.5 to 10m between points. The FCO2 was evaluated 7 times within a total period of 10 days. The variability of FCO2 was described by descriptive statistics and variogram modeling. To calculate the uncertainties, 300 realizations made by sequential Gaussian simulation were considered. Local uncertainties were evaluated using the probability values exceeding certain critical thresholds, while the spatial uncertainties considering the probability of regions with high probability values together exceed the adopted limits. Using the daily uncertainties, the local-spatial and spatial-temporal uncertainty (Ftemp) was obtained. The daily and mean emissions showed a variability structure that was described by spherical and Gaussian models. The differences between the daily maps were related to variations in the magnitude of FCO2, covering mean values ranging from 1.28±0.11μmolm-2s-1 (F197) to 1.82±0.07μmolm-2s-1 (F195). The Ftemp showed low spatial uncertainty coupled with high local uncertainty estimates. The average emission showed great spatial uncertainty of the simulated values. The evaluation of uncertainties associated with the knowledge of temporal and spatial variability is an important tool for understanding many phenomena over time, such as the quantification of greenhouse gases or the identification of areas with high crop productivity. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Avaliação da biodegradabilidade de misturas poliméricas de policarbonato/poli(-caprolactona) em solo simulado

Neste estudo foram avaliadas amostras de misturas poliméricas de Policarbonato (PC) e Poli--caprolactona (PCL) em diferentes concentrações após enterro em solo preparado, por períodos variando de uma a doze semanas, seguindo a Norma ASTM G 160 - 03. As amostras, após ficarem enterradas, foram retiradas do solo e analisadas por calorimetria diferencial de varredura (DSC), análise termogravimétrica (TGA), microscopia ótica (MO), microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e espectrometria de absorção na região do infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR). Foi observado através de avaliação morfológica que houve degradação nas amostras de PCL puro e na mistura PC/PCL (60/40). Para misturas com menores teores de PCL a degradação não foi significativa no tempo de avaliação sugerido pela norma. Após o tempo de 12 semanas em contato com o solo houve uma redução no teor de cristalinidade das amostras tanto de PCL puro quanto da mistura PC/PCL com 40% de PCL. As variações ocorridas devido à biodegradabilidade não foram suficientes para acarretar perda de resistência térmica nas amostras. Verificou-se que para avaliar a biodegradabilidade de misturas contendo o polímero biodegradável PCL, é necessária uma adaptação da Norma utilizada, aumentando o tempo de enterro das amostras

Perdas de solo e nutrientes por erosão num Argissolo com resíduos vegetais de cana-de-açúcar

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo determinar as perdas de solo, matéria orgânica (MO) e nutrientes (P, K, Ca e Mg) por erosão, em área cultivada com cana-de-açúcar, cuja palhada é mantida sobre a superfície do solo, localizada em Catanduva - SP, sob um Argissolo Vermelho--Amarelo. em parcelas experimentais, com 0 (CS0), 50 (CS50) e 100% (CS100) de cobertura sobre a superfície do solo, aplicou-se chuva simulada com intensidade de 60 mm h-1, durante 65 minutos. Análises do sedimento erodido indicaram taxas de enriquecimento da seguinte ordem: 2,7 a 1,9 (MO), 3,8 a 2,7 (P), 1,3 a 1,7 (K), 3,9 a 3,6 (Ca) e 2,9 a 2,6 (Mg) vezes em relação ao solo original para CS0 e CS50, respectivamente. A CS50 propiciou controle significativo da erosão de 69%, mas não reduziu a concentração de MO e nutrientes no sedimento erodido. A CS100 foi significativamente eficiente no controle da erosão (89%) e na redução das concentrações de MO (69%), P (88%), K (23%), Ca (74%) e Mg (75%) no sedimento.

Modelos para estimativa do subfator cobertura-manejo (CiII) relativo à erosão entressulcos

A análise de um modelo de erosão é um crítico passo no desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta de predição da erosão aplicável e válida; isso é crucial para avaliar o desempenho dos modelos existentes para assegurar que as estimativas de um modelo condizem com a realidade. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar modelos para a predição do subfator cobertura e manejo (CiII) relativo à erosão entressulcos. Um experimento fatorial completo foi conduzido com cinco doses de resíduo de milho (0; 0,05; 0,15; 0,40 e 0,80 kg m-2), quatro declives e duas repetições, sob condições de prévio umedecimento para determinar as taxas de erosão entressulcos (Di) e enxurrada (R). Num primeiro experimento, foi avaliada a erodibilidade entressulcos (Ki) e o subfator cobertura e manejo (CiII), em parcelas experimentais de 0,5 x 0,75 m, em solo recentemente preparado. Num segundo experimento, foram avaliados Di, R, Ki e CiII, também em parcelas de 0,5 x 0,75 m, em solo recém- preparado. Os valores de Di, R, Ki e CiII, obtidos no segundo experimento, foram utilizados na avaliação dos modelos testados. Os modelos CiII = e-2,50 CS/100 e CiII = e -2,238 CS/100 apresentaram boas estimativas para o subfator CiII.

Land-atmosphere coupling over North America in CRCM5

Land-atmosphere coupling and its impact on extreme precipitation and temperature events over North America are studied using the fifth generation of the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM5). To this effect, two 30 year long simulations, spanning the 1981–2010 period, with and without land-atmosphere coupling, have been performed with CRCM5, driven by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis at the boundaries. In the coupled simulation, the soil moisture interacts freely with the atmosphere at each time step, while in the uncoupled simulation, soil moisture is replaced with its climatological value computed from the coupled simulation, thus suppressing the soil moisture-atmosphere interactions. Analyses of the coupled and uncoupled simulations, for the summer period, show strong soil moisture-temperature coupling over the Great Plains, consistent with previous studies. The maxima of soil moisture-precipitation coupling is more spread out and covers the semiarid regions of the western U.S. and parts of the Great Plains. However, the strength of soil moisture-precipitation coupling is found to be generally weaker than that of soil moisture-temperature coupling. The study clearly indicates that land-atmosphere coupling increases the interannual variability of the seasonal mean daily maximum temperature in the Great Plains. Land-atmosphere coupling is found to significantly modulate selected temperature extremes such as the number of hot days, frequency, and maximum duration of hot spells over the Great Plains. Results also suggest additional hot spots, where soil moisture modulates extreme events. These hot spots are located in the southeast U.S. for the hot days/hot spells and in the semiarid regions of the western U.S. for extreme wet spells. This study thus demonstrates that climatologically wet/dry regions can become hot spots of land-atmosphere coupling when the soil moisture decreases/increases to an intermediate transitional level where evapotranspiration becomes moisture sensitive and large enough to affect the climate.

Computer simulation of underground blast response of pile in saturated soil

This paper treats the blast response of a pile foundation in saturated sand using explicit nonlinear finite element analysis, considering complex material behavior of soil and soil–pile interaction. Blast wave propagation in the soil is studied and the horizontal deformation of pile and effective stresses in the pile are presented. Results indicate that the upper part of the pile to be vulnerable and the pile response decays with distance from the explosive. The findings of this research provide valuable information on the effects of underground explosions on pile foundation and will guide future development, validation and application of computer models.

Long-term trends in fertility of soils under continuous cultivation and cereal cropping in southern Queensland. IX. Simulation of soil carbon and nitrogen pools using CENTURY model

Cultivation and cropping of soils results in a decline in soil organic carbon and soil nitrogen, and can lead to reduced crop yields. The CENTURY model was used to simulate the effects of continuous cultivation and cereal cropping on total soil organic matter (C and N), carbon pools, nitrogen mineralisation, and crop yield from 6 locations in southern Queensland. The model was calibrated for each replicate from the original datasets, allowing comparisons for each replicate rather than site averages. The CENTURY model was able to satisfactorily predict the impact of long-term cultivation and cereal cropping on total organic carbon, but was less successful in simulating the different fractions and nitrogen mineralisation. The model firstly over-predicted the initial (pre-cropping) soil carbon and nitrogen concentration of the sites. To account for the unique shrinking and swelling characteristics of the Vertosol soils, the default annual decomposition rates of the slow and passive carbon pools were doubled, and then the model accurately predicted initial conditions. The ability of the model to predict carbon pool fractions varied, demonstrating the difficulty inherent in predicting the size of these conceptual pools. The strength of the model lies in the ability to closely predict the starting soil organic matter conditions, and the ability to predict the impact of clearing, cultivation, fertiliser application, and continuous cropping on total soil carbon and nitrogen.