Soil Shrinkage Characteristics as Affected by Solution Composition and Mineral Contents. Issue 2 (19th January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Klopp, Hans W.; Daigh, Aaron Lee M.; DeSutter, Thomas
• Is Part Of: Communications in soil science and plant analysis. Volume 49:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 170
• Page End: 180
• Publication Date: 2018-01-19
• Subjects: Clay mineralogy -- pedotransfer function -- salinity -- sodium adsorption ratio; Soil science -- Periodicals; Plants -- Chemical analysis -- Periodicals; Agricultural chemistry -- Periodicals; 631.405
• DOI: 10.1080/00103624.2017.1421646
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0010-3624

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Soil-shrinkage characteristics affect fluid transport and soil mechanical properties, with broad implications for environmental flows, crop production, and civil engineering designs. We quantified mild-saline-solutions effects on soil shrinkage curves and developed pedotransfer functions to predict curve parameters. Seven soil and soil mixes were equilibrated with solutions of 0.5-to-8 dS m −1 and 0-to-20 sodium adsorption ratios (SAR). Saturated paste rods were dried; water contents and isotropic shrinkage measured. Texture affected shape-forming factors when clay and smectite contents were >260 and 140 g kg −1, respectively. Solutions ≥2 dS m −1 affected the coefficient of linear extensibility for smectitic soils containing clay ≥300 g kg −1 . Solution SAR affected only the highest clay content (530 g kg −1 ) and mixed mineralogy soils. However, the solution salinity levels were not high enough to affect shape factors of the shrinkage curves. Pedotransfer functions successfully described soil shrinkage with root-mean-squared-errors 1 to 4 magnitudes lower than the highest measured values.