Volume fractal dimension of soil particles and relationships with soil physical-chemical properties and plant species diversity in an alpine grassland under different disturbance degrees

Fractal geometry is an important method in soil science,and many studies have used fractal theory to examine soil properties and the relationships with other eco-environmental factors.However,there have been few studies examining soil particle volume fractal dimension in alpine grasslands.To study the volume fractal dimension of soil particles （D） and its relationships with soil salt,soil nutrient and plant species diversity,we conducted an experiment on an alpine grassland under different disturbance degrees：non-disturbance （N0）,light disturbance （L）,moderate disturbance （M） and heavy disturbance （H）.The results showed that （1） Ds varied from 2.573 to 2.635 among the different disturbance degrees and increased with increasing degrees of disturbance.（2） Shannon-Wiener diversity index,Pielou＇s evenness index and Margalef richness index reached their highest values at the M degree,indicating that moderate disturbance is beneficial to the increase of plant species diversity.（3） In the L and M degrees,there was a significant positive correlation between D and clay content and a significant negative correlation between D and soil organic matter （SOM）.In the H degree,D was significantly and positively correlated with total salt （TS）.The results suggested that to a certain extent,D can be used to characterize the uniformity of soil texture in addition to soil fertility characteristics.（4） For the L degree,there was a significant negative correlation between D and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index; while for the M degree,there was a significant negative correlation between D and Pielou＇s evenness index.

Land consolidation engineering and modern agriculture: A case study from soil particles to agricultural systems

Land consolidation engineering is one of the very important ways to improve the quality of farmland and the level of agricultural productivity. Studies of land consolidation and crop cultivation still mainly focus on single land functional optimization or crop breeding and yields. However, whether the improved crop varieties were sown on healthy and fertile soils is still a question. This paper introduces new ideas and engineering measures for sandy land rehabilitation and modern agricultural development in the Mu Us Sandy Land, Shaanxi Province, Western China. The important roles of particles and aggregates in soil reconstruction were confirmed following three innovative microscopic theories, including micro-structure, micro-morphology and micro-mechanism. New soil was constructed based on the physical complementarity of sandy, clay and loess particles in the Yulin area, northern Shaanxi Province. Field experiments were carried out to study the appropriate mixture ratio of different soils and their suitability for different crops. The improved crop varieties were sown on healthy and fertile soils, which were chosen by coupling according to its soil ecological suitability and crop physiological adaptability. The fertility improvement practices in the new constructed soils with different crops integrated water and fertilizer management measures, which were also provided in the experiment. Overall, an integrated land optimization configuration with improved and optimized crop variety selection was suggested for engineering sandy land-oriented consolidation from the soil particles to the agricultural system.

Transient infiltration tests in pyroclastic soils with double porosity

Fallout volcanic deposits of SommaVesuvius(Campania,southern Italy),characterized by the presence of layers with contrasting textural and hydraulic properties,are frequently affected by shallow landslides during rainwater infiltration.The soils of the stratigraphic sequence present intraparticle pores,originated by the gases escaped during magma decompression in the volcanic conduit,thus are characterized by double porosity(i.e.,intraparticle and interparticle pores),which is expected to affect their hydraulic behaviour,and to play a key role in rainwater infiltration through layered deposits.To understand the effect of double porosity on the hydraulic behaviour of the involved soils,controlled experiments have been carried out in an infiltration column.The experimental apparatus is provided with newly designed non-invasive Time Domain Reflectometry(TDR)probes,not buried in the investigated soil layers so as to minimize disturbance to the flow,allowing water content measurement during vertical flow processes.Specifically,transient flow experiments are carried out through reconstituted specimens of black scoriae and grey pumices,both loose pyroclastic granular soils from fallout deposits of Somma-Vesuvius,featuring double porosity with different pore size distributions,that were estimated by X-ray tomography and Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry.The experimental results highlight the effects of the double porosity and clearly indicate the different behaviour of the two soils during wetting and drying processes,mainly related to the different dimensions of intraparticle pores.

A Fractal Method of Estimating Soil Structure Changes Under Different Vegetations on Ziwuling Mountains of the Loess Plateau,China

Fractal method is a new method to estimate soil structure. It has been shown to be a useful tool in studies related to physical properties of soil as well as erosion and other hydrological processes. Fractal dimension was used to study the soil structure in soil at different stages of vegetative succession on the Ziwuling Mountains. The land use and vegetation types included cultivated land, abandoned land, grassland, two types of shrub land, and three types of forests. The grassland, shrub land, and forested areas represented a continuum in vegetative succession that had occurred naturally, as the land was abandoned in 1862. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from ten vegetation types from depths of 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm on the Ziwuling Mountains, at a site with an elevation of about 1 500 m. Particle size distribution was determined by the pipette method and aggregate size distribution was determined by wet sieving. The results were used to calculate the particle and aggregate fractal dimension. The results showed that particle and aggregate fractal dimensions varied between vegetation types. There was a positive correlation between the particle fractal dimension and the weight of particles with diameter 〈 0.001 mm, but no relationship between particle fractal dimension and the other particle size classes. Particle fractal dimension was lower in vegetated soils compared to cropland and there was no consistent relationship between fractal dimension and vegetation type. Aggregate fractal dimension was positively correlated with the weight of 〉 0.25 mm aggregates. Aggregate fractal dimension was lower in vegetated soils compared with cropland. In contrast to particle fractal dimension, aggregate fractal dimension described changes in soil structure associated with vegetative succession. The results of this study indicate that aggregate fractal dimension is more effective in describing soil structure and function compared with particle fractal dimension.

Effects of soil conservation practices on soil erosion and the size selectivity of eroded sediment on cultivated slopes

Soil conservation practices can greatly affect the soil erosion process,but limited information is available about its influence on the particle size distribution(PSD)of eroded sediment,especially under natural rainfall.In this study,the runoff,sediment yields,and effective/ultimate PSD were measured under two conventional tillage practices,downhill ridge tillage(DT)and plat tillage(PT)and three soil conservation practices,contour ridge tillage(CT),mulching with downhill ridge tillage(MDT),and mulching with contour ridge tillage(MCT)during 21 natural rainfall events in the lower Jinsha River.The results showed that(1)soil conservation practices had a significant effect on soil erosion.The conventional tillage of DT caused highest runoff depth(0.58 to 29.13 mm)and sediment yield(0.01 to 3.19 t hm^(-2)).Compared with DT,the annual runoff depths and sediment yields of CT,MDT and MCT decreased by 12.24%-49.75%and 40.79%-88.30%,respectively.(2)Soil conservation practices can reduce the decomposition of aggregates in sediments.The ratios of effective and ultimate particle size(E/U)of siltand sand-sized particles of DT and PT plots were close to 1,indicating that they were transported as primary particles,however,values lower/greater than 1 subject to CT,MDT and MCT plots indicated they were transported as aggregates.The ratios of E/U of claysized particles were all less than 1 independently of tillage practices.(3)The sediments of soil conservation practices were more selective than those of conventional tillage practices.For CT,MDT and MCT plots,the average enrichment ratios(ERs)of clay,silt and sand were 1.99,1.93 and 0.42,respectively,with enrichment of clay and silt and depletion of sand in sediments.However,the compositions of the eroded sediments of DT and PT plots were similar to that of the original soil.These findings support the use of both effective and ultimate particle size distributions for studying the size selectivity of eroded sediment,and provide a scientific basis for revealing the erosion mechanism in the purple soil area of China.

Influence of Particle Size on Magnetic Properties of Soils in Zhejiang Province, China

The relationship between magnetic properties and particle size of soils derived from metamorphic rock, basalt, granite, Quaternary red clay, limestone and mudstone from Zhejiang Province, East China was studied. Based on the variations of the mass magnetic susceptibility (X), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) with soil particle size, the relationship could be classified into three groups. For the soils derived from metamorphic rock and basalt, magnetic values were the highest in the gravel and coarse sand fractions and decreased with decreasing soil particle size. The soils derived from sedimentary rock had a bimodal distribution of magnetic values, with peaks in 1-0.5 and 0.005-0.000 5 mm fractions. The soil developed on granite was characterized by a peak of magnetic value in 0.001-0.000 5 mm fractions. Frequency-dependent susceptibility (Xfd ) and ratics of magnetic parameters (ARM/X, SIRM/X and SIRM/ARM) of soil particle fractions showed that variations in ferrimagnetic grain size paralleled those in particle size. Xfd peaked in clay fraction and decreased with increasing particle size, irrespective of soil parent materials. The acquisition curves of IRM and demagnetization parameter of different soil particles indicated that there were different magnetic minerals assemblages in different particle fractions.

Soil Aggregation and Its Relationship with Organic Carbon of Purple Soils in the Sichuan Basin,China

The interaction of soil aggregate dynamics with soil organic carbon is complex with varied spatio-temporal processes in macro-and micro-aggregates. This paper is to determine the aggregation of soil aggregates in purple soils （Regosols in FAO Taxonomy or Entisols in USDA Taxonomy） for four types of land use, cropland [corn （Zea mays L.）], orchard （citrus）, forestland （bamboo or cypress）, and barren land （wild grass）, and to explore their relationship with soil organic carbon in the Sichuan basin of southwestern China. Procedures and methods, including manual dry sieving procedure, Yoder＇s wet sieving procedure, pyrophosphates solution method, and Kachisky method, are used to acquire dry, wet, and chemically stable aggregates, and microaggregates. Light and heavy fractions of soil organic carbon were separated using 2.0 g·mL^-1 HgI2-KI mixed solution. The loosely, stably, and tightly combined organic carbon in heavy fraction were separated by extraction with 0.1 M NaOH and 0.1 M NaOH-0.1M Na4P2O7 mixed solution （pH 13）. The results show that the contents of dry and wet macroaggregates 〉0.25 mm in diameter were 974.1 and 900.0 g·kg^-1 highest in red brown purple soils under forestland, while 889.6 and 350.6 g·kg^-1 lowest in dark purple soil and lowest in grey brown purple soils under cropland, respectively. The chemical stability of macroaggregates was lowest in grey brown purple soil with 8.47% under cropland, and highest in red brown purple soil with 69.34% under barren land. The content of microaggregates in dark purple soils was 587g·kg^-1 higher than brown purple soils, while 655g·kg^-1 in red brown purple soils was similar to grey brown purple soils （651g·kg^-1）. Cropland conditions, only 38.4% of organic carbon was of the combined form, and 61.6% of that existed in light fraction. Forestland conditions, 90.7% of organic carbon in red brown purple soil was complexed with minerals as a form of humic substances. The contents and stability of wet aggregates 〉 0.25 mm, contents and stability of chemically stable aggregates 〉0.25 mm, contents of microaggregates 〉 0.01 mm, contents of aggregated primary particle （d〈0.01 mm） and degree of primary particles （d 〈0.01 mm） aggregation were closely related to the concentrations of total soil organic carbon, and loosely and tightly combined organic carbon in heavy fraction. Soil microaggregation could be associated with organic carbon concentration and its combined forms in heavy fraction. There was a direct relationship between microaggregation and macroaggregation of soil primary particles, because the contents of wet aggregates 〉 0.25 mm and its water stability of aggregates were highly correlated with the contents of aggregated primary particle （d 〈 0.01 mm） and the degree of primary particles （d 〈 0.01 mm） aggregation.

Ecological effect of the plantation of Sabina vulgaris in the Mu Us Sandy Land,China

Vegetation restoration through artificial plantation is an effective method to combat desertification,especially in arid and semi-arid areas.This study aimed to explore the ecological effect of the plantation of Sabina vulgaris on soil physical and chemical properties on the southeastern fringe of the Mu Us Sandy Land,China.We collected soil samples from five depth layers(0-20,20-40,40-60,60-80,and 80-100 cm)in the S.vulgaris plantation plots across four plantation ages(4,7,10,and 16 years)in November 2019,and assessed soil physical(soil bulk density,soil porosity,and soil particle size)and chemical(soil organic carbon(SOC),total nitrogen(TN),available nitrogen(AN),available phosphorus(AP),available potassium(AK),cation-exchange capacity(CEC),salinity,p H,and C/N ratio)properties.The results indicated that the soil predominantly consisted of sand particles(94.27%-99.67%),with the remainder being silt and clay.As plantation age increased,silt and very fine sand contents progressively rose.After 16 years of planting,there was a marked reduction in the mean soil particle size.The initial soil fertility was low and declined from 4 to 10 years of planting before witnessing an improvement.Significant positive correlations were observed for the clay,silt,and very fine sand(mean diameter of 0.000-0.100 mm)with SOC,AK,and p H.In contrast,fine sand and medium sand(mean diameter of 0.100-0.500 mm)showed significant negative correlations with these indicators.Our findings ascertain that the plantation of S.vulgaris requires 10 years to effectively act as a windbreak and contribute to sand fixation,and needs 16 years to improve soil physical and chemical properties.Importantly,these improvements were found to be highly beneficial for vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid areas.This research can offer valuable insights for the protection and restoration of the vegetation ecosystem in the sandy lands in China.

A field investigation of wind erosion in the farming–pastoral ecotone of northern China using a portable wind tunnel: a case study in Yanchi County

The farming-pastoral ecotone in northern China is an extremely fr@e ecological zone where wind erosion of cropland and rangeland is easy to occur. In this study, using a portable wind tunnel as a wind simulator, we conducted field simulated wind erosion experiments combined with laboratory analysis to investigate wind erosion of soils in trampled rangeland, non-tilled cropland and tilled cropland in Yanchi County, China. The results showed that compared with rangeland, the cropland had a higher soil water holding capacity and lower soil bulk density. The wind erosion rate of trampled rangeland was much higher than those of non-tilled cropland and tilled cropland. For cropland, the wind erosion rate of the soil after tilling was surprisingly less than that of the soil before tilling. With increasing of wind speed, the volume mean diameter of the eroded sediment collected by the trough in the wind tunnel generally increased while the clay and silt content decreased for all soils. The temporal variation in wind erosion of the trampled rangeland indicated that particle entrainment and dust emission decreased exponentially with erosion time through the successive wind erosion events due to the exhaustion of erodible particles.

An experimental study on the influences of wind erosion on water erosion

In semi-arid regions, complex erosion resulted from a combination of wind and water actions has led to a massive soil loss and a comprehensive understanding of its mechanism is the first step toward prevention of the erosion. However, the mutual influences between wind erosion and water erosion have not been fully understood. This research used a wind tunnel and two rainfall simulators and simulated two rounds of alternations between wind erosion and water erosion（i.e., 1^（st） wind erosion–1^（st） water erosion and 2^（nd） wind erosion–2^（nd） water erosion） on three slopes（5°, 10°, and 15°） with six wind speeds（0, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 20 m/s） and five rainfall intensities（0, 30, 45, 60, and 75 mm/h）. The objective was to analyze the influences of wind erosion on succeeding water erosion. Results showed that the effects of wind erosion on water erosion were not the same in the two rounds of tests. In the 1^（st） round of tests, wind erosion first restrained and then intensified water erosion mostly because the blocking effect of wind-sculpted micro-topography on surface flow was weakened with the increase in slope. In the 2^（nd） round of tests, wind erosion intensified water erosion on beds with no rills at gentle slopes and low rainfall intensities or with large-size rills at steep slopes and high rainfall intensities. Wind erosion restrained water erosion on beds with small rills at moderate slopes and moderate rainfall intensities. The effects were mainly related to the fine grain layer, rills and slope of the original bed in the 2^（nd） round of tests. The findings can deepen our understanding of complex erosion resulted from a combination of wind and water actions and provide scientific references to regional soil and water conservation.

Effects of Organic Amendments on Soil Physical Attributes and Aggregate-Associated Phosphorus Under Long-Term Rice-Wheat Cropping

The quantification of phosphorus(P) in bulk soil and P distribution in different size fractions of water-stable aggregates(WSAs)are important for assessing potential P loss through runoff. We evaluated available and total P distribution within WSAs of a sitty clay to clay soil in a long-term fertility experiment of a rice-wheat cropping system in India. Surface soil samples were collected from seven plots amended with NPK fertilizers in combination with or without organic amendments, farmyard manure(FYM), green manure(GM), and paddy straw(PS). The plot with no NPK fertilizers or organic amendments was set as a control. The soil samples were separated by wet sieving into four soil aggregate size fractions: large macroaggregates(> 2.0 mm), small macroaggregates(0.25–2.0 mm), fine microaggregates(0.05–0.25 mm), and a silt + clay-sized fraction(< 0.05 mm). Structural indices were higher in the soil receiving organic amendments than in the soil receiving inorganic fertilizer alone. Organically amended soil had a higher proportion of stable macroaggregates than the control and the soil receiving inorganic fertilizer alone, which were rich in microaggregates. Total and available P contents within WSAs were inversely related to the aggregate size, irrespective of treatment. The distribution of available and total P in the soil aggregate size fraction was as follows: silt + clay-size fraction > small macroaggregates > fine microaggregates> large macroaggregates. Within a size class, aggregate-associated available and total P contents in the organically amended soil were in the following order: FYM > PS ≥ GM. The available P content of the microaggregates(< 0.25 mm) was 8-to 10-times higher than that of the macroaggregates(> 0.25 mm), and the total P content of the microaggregates was 4-to 5-times higher than that of the macroaggregates. Cultivation without organic amendments resulted in more microaggregates that could be checked by the application of organic amendments such as FYM and GM, which increased the proportion of water-stable macroaggregates by consolidating microaggregates into macroaggregates.

An Integrated Quantitative Method to Simultaneously Monitor Soil Erosion and Non-Point Source Pollution in an Intensive Agricultural Area

In China, some areas with intensive agricultural use are facing serious environmental problems caused by non-point source pollution(NPSP) as a consequence of soil erosion(SE). Until now, simultaneous monitoring of NPSP and SE is difficult due to the intertwined effects of crop type, topography and management in these areas. In this study, we developed a new integrated method to simultaneously monitor SE and NPSP in an intensive agricultural area(about 6 000 km2) of Nanjing in eastern China, based on meteorological data,a geographic information system database and soil and water samples, and identified the main factors contributing to NPSP and SE by calculating the NPSP and SE loads in different sub-areas. The levels of soil total nitrogen(TN), total phosphorus(TP), available nitrogen(AN) and available phosphorus(AP) could be used to assess and predict the extent of NPSP and SE status in the study area.The most SE and NPSP loads occurred between April to August. The most seriously affected area in terms of SE and NPSP was the Jiangning District, implying that the effective management of SE and NPSP in this area should be considered as a priority. The sub-regions with higher vegetation coverage contributed to less SE and NPSP, confirming the conclusions of previous studies, namely that vegetation is an effective factor controlling SE and NPSP. Our quantitative method has both high precision and reliability for the simultaneous monitoring of SE and NPSP occurring in intensive agricultural areas.

Heterogeneous uptake of NO_2 on soils under variable temperature and relative humidity conditions

Heterogeneous reactions of nitrogen dioxide （NO2） on soils collected from Dalian （S 1） and Changsha （S2） were investigated over the relative humidity （RH） range of 5%-80% and temperature range of 278-328 K using a horizontal coated-wall flow tube. The initial uptake coefficients of NO2 on S2 exhibited a decreasing trend from （10 ± 1.3） × 10-8 to （3.1 ± 0.5） x 10-8 with the relative humidity increasing from 5% to 80%. In the temperature effect studies, the initial uptake coefficients of S1 and S2 decreased from （10± 1.2） × 10-8 to （3.8 ± 0.5） × 10-8 and from （16± 2.2） × 10-8 to （3.8 ±0.4） × 10-8 when temperature increased from 278 to 288 K for S1 and from 278 to 308 K for S2, respectively. As the temperature continued to increase, the initial uptake coefficients of S1 and S2 returned to （7.9 ± 1.1）× 10-8 and （20 ± 3.1） × 10-8 at 313 and 328 K, respectively. This study shows that relative humidity could influence the uptake kinetics of NO2 on soil and temperature would impact the heterogeneous chemistry of NO2.

Medicinal Mushroom Growth as Affected by Non-Axenic Casing Soil

Ten different casing soils were collected from two soils at two depths （0.2 and 2.0 m below soil surface） to examine the relationships between the physical properties of non-axenic casing soil and yield, number and weight of the medicinal mushroom Agamcua blaaei ss. Heinemann. The results showed that soil clay content and bulk density were negatively correlated with the mushroom yield, respectively, but soil silt content and water-holding capacity were found to be positively correlated with the yield. The number of mushrooms was negatively correlated with soil water-holding capacity but positively correlated with soil clay, bulk density and porosity. The weight of mushroom was positively correlated with the content of soil fine sand and negatively correlated with the contents of soil coarse sand, total sand and clay. Neither soil depth nor different soil combinations affected the yield and number of mushrooms, but the mushroom weight was affected by the soil combinations and soil depth, so interplay in the fructification process with the physical characteristics of casing is complicated.

Soil particle size distribution and its relationship with soil water and salt under mulched drip irrigation in Xinjiang of China

Soil particle size distribution(PSD),one of the most important soil physical attributes,is of great importance to soil water movement,soil erosion and soil solute migration.In this study,the soil PSD of 563 soil samples from the mulched drip irrigated cotton fields in Xinjiang of China were measured by laser diffraction particle size analyzer.The soil PSD characteristics and its relations with soil water and salt were studied by using the combined methods of textural triangle,fractal and multifractal analysis.The results showed very low clay content(about 1.52%) while really high sand content of the studied soil,and a complex shape of bimodal or unimodal of soil PSD.The results also showed that the two indices,i.e.,standard deviation and the peak value of soil particle relative volumes,were good indicators of soil PSD and thus had good relations with fractal and multifractal characteristics.The correlative analysis further indicated that the mulched drip irrigation had a significant impact on the distribution of the soil salt,while this impact withered for the deeper soil layer.The soil texture feature was found to dominate soil water and salt distribution,especially the surface soil salt content and the deep soil water content.

Degradation of the fungicide metalaxyl and its non-extractable residue formation in soil clay and silt fractions

The proportion of organic matter and mineral composition are important factors determining the formation and type of non-extractable residues(NERs) of pesticides in soil. In this study, we investigated the enantioselectivity in degradation and NER formation of the chiral fungicide metalaxyl in soil particle size fractions(silt and clay). Microbial and extracellular enzyme activities during these processes were monitored in incubation of silt and clay samples isolated from sterilized and non-sterilized soil samples collected from a long-term agricultural field experimental site in Ultuna, Sweden. The temporal influence on the fate of the fungicide was noted by short-term(10-d) and long-term(92-d) incubations. Besides the acquisition of quantitative data with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC/MS), stereoselective analyses were performed with chiral GC/MS. Quantitative results pointed to a higher metabolism rate of the pesticide through microbial activity than through extracellular enzyme activity. This was also confirmed by the enantioselective depletion of R-metalaxyl and the subsequent formation of R-metalaxyl acid in microbially active samples from non-sterilized soil. The silt fraction containing a high amount of organic matter exhibited a significant hydrolyzable proportion of metalaxyl NERs that was releasable under alkaline conditions. On the contrary, the clay fraction showed an enhanced affinity for covalently bound residues. Based on our results, we recommend differentiating between reversibly and irreversibly bound proportions of pesticides in persistence and environmental risk assessment because the reversible fraction contained potentially bioavailable amounts of residues that may be released under natural conditions.

Spatial heterogeneity in soil particle size:does it affect the yield of plant communities with different species richness?

Aims Soil heterogeneity is ubiquitous in many ecosystems.We hypothesized that plant communities with higher species richness might be better adapted to soil heterogeneity and produce more biomass than those with lower richness.This is because there is niche differentiation among species and different species can complement each other and occupy a broader range of niches when plant species richness is high.However,no study has tested how soil particle heterogeneity affects the yield of plant communities,and whether such effects depend on the spatial scale of the heterogeneity and the species richness within the communities.Methods In a greenhouse experiment,we sowed seeds of four-species or eight-species mixtures in three heterogeneous treatments consisting of 32,8 or 2 patches of both small(1.5 mm)and large quartz(3.0 mm)particles arranged in a chessboard manner and one homogeneous treatment with an even mixture of small and large quartz particles.Important Findings Biomass production was significantly greater in the communities with high species richness than those with low species richness.However,soil particle heterogeneity or its interactions with patch scale or species richness did not significantly affect biomass production of the experimental communities.This work indicates that plant species richness may have a bigger impact on plant productivity than soil particle heterogeneity.Further studies should consider multiple sets of plant species during longer time periods to unravel the potential mechanisms of soil heterogeneity and its interactions with the impacts of species richness on community yield and species coexistence.

Monitoring and predicting the soil water content in the deeper soil profile of Loess Plateau,China

Estimation of soil water content(SWC)in deep soil profiles is of crucial importance for strategic management of water resource for sustainable land use in arid and semi-arid zones,as well as for soil and water conservation.Soil properties have a very important effect on SWC.This study aimed to analyze the influence of soil particle size on SWC,for the first time using soil particle size to estimate SWC in deep soil profiles.SWC was measured mainly in farmland,natural grasslands and plantations of Caragana from the surface to more than 20 m depth.The same soil samples were also tested for particle size.The results show that the soil desiccation is formed in the caragana forest in 3–18 m soil layers,but almost no formation in 18–24 m layers;water content of farmland and grassland is different in all soil profiles although they are both shallow rooted plants.Correlation analysis indicated that SWC could be well predicted by clay content and the close correlation between SWC and clay content yielded a coefficient of determination(R^(2))of 0.82 and 0.72,respectively,for farmland and grassland.After multiple regression analysis,a regression model was built using SWC,clay content and sand content data,giving R^(2)=0.66.The model provided reliable estimates of SWC profile based on textural class.This can assist in estimating water depletion by vegetation,by comparing moisture of farmland and grassland soils with that of plantation forests,and in selecting sustainable land use of arid land.

Unraveling the size distributions of surface properties for purple soil and yellow soil

Soils contain diverse colloidal particles whose properties are pertinent to ecological and human health, whereas few investigations systematically analyze the surface properties of these particles. The objective of this study was to elucidate the surface properties of particles within targeted size ranges（i.e. 〉 10, 1-10, 0.5-1, 0.2-0.5 and 〈 0.2 μm） for a purple soil（Entisol） and a yellow soil（Ultisol） using the combined determination method. The mineralogy of corresponding particle-size fractions was determined by X-ray diffraction.We found that up to 80% of the specific surface area and 85% of the surface charge of the entire soil came from colloidal-sized particles（〈 1 μm）, and almost half of the specific surface area and surface charge came from the smallest particles（〈 0.2 μm）. Vermiculite,illite, montmorillonite and mica dominated in the colloidal-sized particles, of which the smallest particles had the highest proportion of vermiculite and montmorillonite. For a given size fraction, the purple soil had a larger specific surface area, stronger electrostatic field, and higher surface charge than the yellow soil due to differences in mineralogy.Likewise, the differences in surface properties among the various particle-size fractions can also be ascribed to mineralogy. Our results indicated that soil surface properties were essentially determined by the colloidal-sized particles, and the 〈 0.2 μm nanoparticles made the largest contribution to soil properties. The composition of clay minerals within the diverse particle-size fractions could fully explain the size distributions of surface properties.

Modelling large deformation and soil–water–structure interaction with material point method:Briefing on MPM2017 conference

The 1st International Conference on the Material Point Method for ＂Modelling Large Deformation and Soil–Water–Structure Interaction＂（MPM2017）was held in Delft,The Netherlands on 10-13 January 2017.This is the first conference organised by the Anura3D MPM Research Community,following a series of international workshops and symposia previously held in The Netherlands,UK,Spain and Italy,as part of the European Commission FP7 Marie-Curie project MPM-DREDGE.We are delighted to present seven contributions in this Special Column of the Journal of Hydrodynamics,and take this opportunity to announce that the 2nd conference,MPM2019,will be held in Cambridge,UK in January 2019.