Effects of Corn Stalk-composted Organic Fertilizer on Physiochemical Properties of Tobacco-growing Soil

In order to explore the method of returning corn stalk into field, the effects of returning corn stalk direcfly into soil and applying corn stalk-composted orgar^c fertilizer into soil on the physiochemical properties of tobacco-growing soil were studied. The results showed that returning corn stalk into soil could reduce soil bulk density and increase soil porosity, so as to improve the water and fertilizer retention capacity of tobacco-growing soil. At the same time, returning corn stalk into soil could also increase the organic matter, available phosphorus and available potassi- um contents in tobacco-growing soil. In the early field growth stage of tobacco, soil alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content decreased slightly; but in the middle and later field growth stage, the alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content in tobacco-growing soil increased. The treatment effect of corn stalk＋urea＋fermentation bacteria and corn stalk＋urea＋BM was better than that of the control （returning corn stalk directly into soil）, indicating that the corn stalk-composted organic fertilizer had certain popular- ization value.

Dynamic Changes of Tobacco-growing Soil Nutrients and Enzymes After Application of Amelioration Materials

[Objectives]This study was conducted to clarify the improvement effects of different soil amelioration materials such as lime,green manure and bio-organic fertilizer on acidic tobacco-planting soil.[Methods]The dynamic changes of soil pH,soil nutrients and enzyme activity were studied by applying lime,lime+green fertilizer,and lime+green fertilizer+biological organic fertilizer.[Results]①After the application of amelioration materials,the soil pH and available phosphorus content of tobacco-growing soil showed a stepwise change of first increasing and then decreasing,and became stable at 60 d after tobacco transplanting;the soil organic matter,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium content showed a gradual change trend of"high-low-high";and the soil invertase and urease activity showed a gradual change trend of"low-high-low".②To 90 d after tobacco transplanting,the application of amelioration materials increased soil pH by 1.29-1.62 units,and increased organic matter content by 15.21%-20.86%,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content by 6.83%-18.17%,available phosphorus content by 54.15%-217.85%,rapidly available potassium content by 11.42%-30.86%,soil invertase activity by 70.09%-18.93%,and soil urease activity by 64.07%-130.47%.③The combination of lime+green manure+alkaline microbial organic fertilizer had the best effect on the improvement of acidic tobacco-growing soil,and the effect of lime+green manure+acid microbial organic fertilizer on acidic soil was the second.[Conclusions]When applying lime,green fertilizer and alkaline bio-organic fertilizer should be applied to achieve sustainable improvement of strongly acidic soil.

Variation of Enzyme Activity in Flue-cured Tobacco-growing Soil Planted with Different Lastseason Crops

The rice soil （last crop was rice） and arid red soil （last crop was corn） were used as a test material for the pot experiment. The variation of enzyme activi-ty in flue-cured tobacco-growing soil planted with different last-season crops was in-vestigated at different growth stages in this study. The results showed the activity variation of the 3 enzymes differed in the 2 soils at different growth stages. The catalase activity in the arid red soil trended to decrease overal from the vigorous growing stage to harvesting stage; while it decreased gradual y in the rice soil until the harvesting stage. The phosphatase activity in the 2 soils al increased with the proceeding of growth period. The urease activity in the arid red soil decreased gradual y at different growth stages, but the variation of urease activity in rice soil was irregular. During the growth of flue-cured tobacco, the catalase and urease ac-tivity in the arid red soil increased first and then decreased, and the phosphatase activity increased gradual y. ln rice soil, the catalase activity increased first and then decreased; the phosphatase activity decreased first and then increased; the urease activity increased first, then decreased and increased last. The activity of al the en-zymes in the 2 soils showed significant differences compared to the control except some enzymes at the vigorous growing stage. lt was suggested the planting of flue-cured tobacco would affect greatly the soil enzyme activities.

Relationship Between pH Value and Physical and Chemical Properties of Tobacco-growing Soil

[Objectives]This study was conducted to understand the relationship between soil pH and soil physical and chemical properties during tobacco planting.[Methods]Through a field experiment,the pH value of tobacco-growing soil,the contents of mineral nutrients(ammonium nitrogen,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen,available potassium,available phosphorus),soil bulk density and porosity were investigated.[Results]The pH value of the soil after tobacco planting increased,and the contents of ammonium nitrogen,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen,and available potassium were closely related to the change of pH value.The bulk density of the tobacco-planting soil decreased and the porosity increased.Planting flue-cured tobacco had certain impacts on soil pH,soil bulk density and other physical and chemical properties.[Conclusions]This study provides a theoretical basis for the investigation of the fertilization laws in the process of tobacco planting and the selection of subsequent crops.

Correlation Analysis between Well-cellar Early Transplanting of Robust Seedlings and Diseases in Shiyan Tobacco-growing Area

[Objectives]The paper was to investigate the relationship between the well-cellar early transplanting of robust seedlings and the prevalence of diseases in the Shiyan tobacco-growing area.[Methods]The relationship between disease occurrence and meteorological factors during the field growth period was examined by analyzing the prevalence of flue-cured tobacco virus diseases,brown spot,and total disease in the Shiyan tobacco-growing area before(2013-2017)and after(2018-2022)the well-cellar early transplanting of robust tobacco seedlings.[Results]The implementation of a well-cellar early transplanting technique of robust seedlings resulted in a reduction in the average incidence of tobacco virus disease,brown spot,and total disease by 0.83%,8.85%,and 7.91%,respectively,in comparison to the incidence observed prior to early transplanting.These findings suggest that early transplanting can significantly reduce the incidence of flue-cured tobacco diseases.Prior to the well-cellar early transplanting of robust tobacco seedlings,there was a significant(including highly significant)positive correlation between the incidence of brown spot and total disease and precipitation in August and September.The incidence of brown spot and total disease in tobacco plants was found to be significantly positively correlated with May precipitation and significantly negatively correlated with May sunshine hours following the well-cellar early transplanting of robust seedlings.The advancement of the transplanting period by 20 d resulted in a reduction in the growing period of tobacco plants in the field under autumn rains(late August to November)in western China.This effectively circumvented the suitable conditions for disease occurrence and can reduce the incidence of disease.[Conclusions]This study offers a framework for enhancing the quality and efficiency of flue-cured tobacco production in the northwest tobacco-growing area of Hubei.

Evaluation of Soil Fertility Suitability of Yiliang Tobacco-growing Areas in Yunnan Province

[Objective]This study was conducted to evaluate the soil fertility in Yiliantobacco-growing areas of Hunan Province.[Method]The soil nutrient contents iseven tobacco-growing towns of Yiliang County,Yunnan Province were surveyefrom 2010 to 2013 and integrated soil fertility index（SFI value）was calculated tanalyze the soil fertility suitability in theses areas.[Result]The soil p H,contents oorganic matter,hydrolytic N,rapidly available K and available B were all at an appropriate level,while the contents of rapidly available P,available Mg,available Zand water-soluble Cl-were high.Among them,the contents of available P and water-soluble Cl-had great variation.Finally,the soil fertility suitability of Yiliang tobacco-growing areas was graded based on their SFI values.As a result,20%of thestobacco-growing areas were in Grade I,47.7%in Grade II,29.3%in Grade III1.5%in Grade IV and 1.5%in Grade V.The average SFI was 0.61.From 2010 t2013,the p H value and available Mg content reduced year by year,while the contents of organic matter,hydrolytic N,rapidly available P,rapidly available K,available Zn,available B and water-soluble Cl-were increased.

Research on Soil Conservation and Improvement Technology in Zhaoyang District

The environment of tobacco-growing soil directly affects the yield and quality of tobacco leaves.In order to solve problems of tobacco-growing soil degradation,low organic matter content and unbalanced soil nutrient supply and promote sustainable and healthy development of tobacco production,this paper comprehensively discussed conservation and improvement techniques of tobacco-growing soil based on existing problems in Zhaoyang District,aiming to provide reference for tobacco-growing soil conservation.

The Distribution Characteristics of Soil pH Values of Tobacco-growing Areas in Dali City and Its Correlation with Soil Nutrients

[Objective] The aim was to study the distribution characteristics of soil pH values and its correlation with soil nutrients in tobacco-growing areas. [Method] Soil nutrients of 43 samples from tobacco-growing areas in Dali City were analyzed.[Results] The results showed that average pH value of tobacco-planting soil in Dali City was 6.52, soil samples which suited for flue-cured tobacco cultivation accounted for 72.09% of total soil samples. In four soil types of tobacco-growing areas, the pH values in a descending order were as follows： alluvial soil〉 paddy soil 〉purple soil〉 red soil. At the altitude range of 1 780-2 200 m, soil pH values showed a gradual decreasing trend. The average contents of soil organic matters were relatively abundant and generally suited for high-quality tobacco cultivation; the average contents of soil alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable calcium and exchangeable magnesium were generally at medium and abundant level, however,their rations under the medium level in some tobacco-growing areas were 6.98%,11.63%, 2.33% and 4.65%, respectively; moreover, soil with lower available potassium contents occupied a large proportion, namely 58.14%. [Conclusion] Soil pH values had significant correlation with exchangeable magnesium and exchangeable magnesium, however, they had no significant correlation with other soil nutrients.

Subsoil tillage enhances wheat productivity,soil organic carbon and available nutrient status in dryland fields

Tillage practices during the fallow period benefit water storage and yield in dryland wheat crops.However,there is currently no clarity on the responses of soil organic carbon(SOC),total nitrogen(TN),and available nutrients to tillage practices within the growing season.This study evaluated the effects of three tillage practices(NT,no tillage;SS,subsoil tillage;DT,deep tillage)over five years on soil physicochemical properties.Soil samples at harvest stage from the fifth year were analyzed to determine the soil aggregate and aggregate-associated C and N fractions.The results indicated that SS and DT improved grain yield,straw biomass and straw carbon return of wheat compared with NT.In contrast to DT and NT,SS favored SOC and TN concentrations and stocks by increasing the soil organic carbon sequestration rate(SOCSR)and soil nitrogen sequestration rate(TNSR)in the 0-40 cm layer.Higher SOC levels under SS and NT were associated with greater aggregate-associated C fractions,while TN was positively associated with soluble organic nitrogen(SON).Compared with DT,the NT and SS treatments improved soil available nutrients in the 0-20 cm layer.These findings suggest that SS is an excellent practice for increasing soil carbon,nitrogen and nutrient availability in dryland wheat fields in North China.

A dynamic soil freezing characteristic curve model for frozen soil

The soil freezing characteristic curve(SFCC)plays a fundamental role in comprehending thermohydraulic behavior and numerical simulation of frozen soil.This study proposes a dynamic model to uniformly express SFCCs amidst varying total water contents throughout the freezing-thawing process.Firstly,a general model is proposed,wherein the unfrozen water content at arbitrary temperature is determined as the lesser of the current total water content and the reference value derived from saturated SFCC.The dynamic performance of this model is verified through test data.Subsequently,in accordance with electric double layer(EDL)theory,the theoretical residual and minimum temperatures in SFCC are calculated to be-14.5℃to-20℃for clay particles and-260℃,respectively.To ensure that the SFCC curve ends at minimum temperature,a correction function is introduced into the general model.Furthermore,a simplified dynamic model is proposed and investigated,necessitating only three parameters inherited from the general model.Additionally,both general and simplified models are evaluated based on a test database and proven to fit the test data exactly across the entire temperature range.Typical recommended parameter values for various types of soils are summarized.Overall,this study provides not only a theoretical basis for most empirical equations but also proposes a new and more general equation to describe the SFCC.

Straw return increases crop production by improving soil organic carbon sequestration and soil aggregation in a long-term wheat-cotton cropping system

Straw return is a promising strategy for managing soil organic carbon(SOC)and improving yield stability.However,the optimal straw return strategy for sustainable crop production in the wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)-cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.)cropping system remains uncertain.The objective of this study was to quantify the long-term(10 years)impact of carbon(C)input on SOC sequestration,soil aggregation and crop yields in a wheat-cotton cropping system in the Yangtze River Valley,China.Five treatments were arranged with a single-factor randomized design as follows:no straw return(Control),return of wheat straw only(Wt),return of cotton straw only(Ct),return of 50%wheat and 50%cotton straw(Wh-Ch)and return of 100%wheat and 100%cotton straw(Wt-Ct).In comparison to the Control,the SOC content increased by 8.4 to 20.2%under straw return.A significant linear positive correlation between SOC sequestration and C input(1.42-7.19 Mg ha^(−1)yr^(−1))(P<0.05)was detected.The percentages of aggregates of sizes>2 and 1-2 mm at the 0-20 cm soil depth were also significantly elevated under straw return,with the greatest increase of the aggregate stability in the Wt-Ct treatment(28.1%).The average wheat yields increased by 12.4-36.0%and cotton yields increased by 29.4-73.7%,and significantly linear positive correlations were also detected between C input and the yields of wheat and cotton.The average sustainable yield index(SYI)reached a maximum value of 0.69 when the C input was 7.08 Mg ha^(−1)yr^(−1),which was close to the maximum value(SYI of 0.69,C input of 7.19 Mg ha^(−1)yr^(-1))in the Wt-Ct treatment.Overall,the return of both wheat and cotton straw was the best strategy for improving SOC sequestration,soil aggregation,yields and their sustainability in the wheat-cotton rotation system.

Assessment of soil erosion in the Irga watershed on the eastern edge of the Chota Nagpur Plateau,India

Human activities to improve the quality of life have accelerated the natural rate of soil erosion.In turn,these natural disasters have taken a great impact on humans.Human activities,particularly the conversion of vegetated land into agricultural land and built-up area,stand out as primary contributors to soil erosion.The present study investigated the risk of soil erosion in the Irga watershed located on the eastern fringe of the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand,India,which is dominated by sandy loam and sandy clay loam soil with low soil organic carbon(SOC)content.The study used the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation(RUSLE)and Geographical Information System(GIS)technique to determine the rate of soil erosion.The five parameters(rainfall-runoff erosivity(R)factor,soil erodibility(K)factor,slope length and steepness(LS)factor,cover-management(C)factor,and support practice(P)factor)of the RUSLE were applied to present a more accurate distribution characteristic of soil erosion in the Irga watershed.The result shows that the R factor is positively correlated with rainfall and follows the same distribution pattern as the rainfall.The K factor values in the northern part of the study area are relatively low,while they are relatively high in the southern part.The mean value of the LS factor is 2.74,which is low due to the flat terrain of the Irga watershed.There is a negative linear correlation between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)and the C factor,and the high values of the C factor are observed in places with low NDVI.The mean value of the P factor is 0.210,with a range from 0.000 to 1.000.After calculating all parameters,we obtained the average soil erosion rate of 1.43 t/(hm^(2)•a),with the highest rate reaching as high as 32.71 t/(hm^(2)•a).Therefore,the study area faces a low risk of soil erosion.However,preventative measures are essential to avoid future damage to productive and constructive activities caused by soil erosion.This study also identifies the spatial distribution of soil erosion rate,which will help policy-makers to implement targeted soil erosion control measures.

Manure substitution improves maize yield by promoting soil fertility and mediating the microbial community in lime concretion black soil

Synthetic nitrogen(N)fertilizer has made a great contribution to the improvement of soil fertility and productivity,but excessive application of synthetic N fertilizer may cause agroecosystem risks,such as soil acidification,groundwater contamination and biodiversity reduction.Meanwhile,organic substitution has received increasing attention for its ecologically and environmentally friendly and productivity benefits.However,the linkages between manure substitution,crop yield and the underlying microbial mechanisms remain uncertain.To bridge this gap,a three-year field experiment was conducted with five fertilization regimes:i)Control,non-fertilization;CF,conventional synthetic fertilizer application;CF_(1/2)M_(1/2),1/2 N input via synthetic fertilizer and 1/2 N input via manure;CF_(1/4)M_(3/4),1/4 N input synthetic fertilizer and 3/4 N input via manure;M,manure application.All fertilization treatments were designed to have equal N input.Our results showed that all manure substituted treatments achieved high soil fertility indexes(SFI)and productivities by increasing the soil organic carbon(SOC),total N(TN)and available phosphorus(AP)concentrations,and by altering the bacterial community diversity and composition compared with CF.SOC,AP,and the soil C:N ratio were mainly responsible for microbial community variations.The co-occurrence network revealed that SOC and AP had strong positive associations with Rhodospirillales and Burkholderiales,while TN and C:N ratio had positive and negative associations with Micromonosporaceae,respectively.These specific taxa are implicated in soil macroelement turnover.Random Forest analysis predicted that both biotic(bacterial composition and Micromonosporaceae)and abiotic(AP,SOC,SFI,and TN)factors had significant effects on crop yield.The present work strengthens our understanding of the effects of manure substitution on crop yield and provides theoretical support for optimizing fertilization strategies.

Enhancing Deep Learning Soil Moisture Forecasting Models by Integrating Physics-based Models

Accurate soil moisture(SM)prediction is critical for understanding hydrological processes.Physics-based(PB)models exhibit large uncertainties in SM predictions arising from uncertain parameterizations and insufficient representation of land-surface processes.In addition to PB models,deep learning(DL)models have been widely used in SM predictions recently.However,few pure DL models have notably high success rates due to lacking physical information.Thus,we developed hybrid models to effectively integrate the outputs of PB models into DL models to improve SM predictions.To this end,we first developed a hybrid model based on the attention mechanism to take advantage of PB models at each forecast time scale(attention model).We further built an ensemble model that combined the advantages of different hybrid schemes(ensemble model).We utilized SM forecasts from the Global Forecast System to enhance the convolutional long short-term memory(ConvLSTM)model for 1–16 days of SM predictions.The performances of the proposed hybrid models were investigated and compared with two existing hybrid models.The results showed that the attention model could leverage benefits of PB models and achieved the best predictability of drought events among the different hybrid models.Moreover,the ensemble model performed best among all hybrid models at all forecast time scales and different soil conditions.It is highlighted that the ensemble model outperformed the pure DL model over 79.5%of in situ stations for 16-day predictions.These findings suggest that our proposed hybrid models can adequately exploit the benefits of PB model outputs to aid DL models in making SM predictions.

Quantitatively characterizing sandy soil structure altered by MICP using multi-level thresholding segmentation algorithm

The influences of biological,chemical,and flow processes on soil structure through microbially induced carbonate precipitation(MICP)are not yet fully understood.In this study,we use a multi-level thresholding segmentation algorithm,genetic algorithm(GA)enhanced Kapur entropy(KE)(GAE-KE),to accomplish quantitative characterization of sandy soil structure altered by MICP cementation.A sandy soil sample was treated using MICP method and scanned by the synchrotron radiation(SR)micro-CT with a resolution of 6.5 mm.After validation,tri-level thresholding segmentation using GAE-KE successfully separated the precipitated calcium carbonate crystals from sand particles and pores.The spatial distributions of porosity,pore structure parameters,and flow characteristics were calculated for quantitative characterization.The results offer pore-scale insights into the MICP treatment effect,and the quantitative understanding confirms the feasibility of the GAE-KE multi-level thresholding segmentation algorithm.

Time-lagged Effects of the Spring Atmospheric Heat Source over the Tibetan Plateau on Summer Precipitation in Northeast China during 1961–2020:Role of Soil Moisture

The spring atmospheric heat source(AHS)over the Tibetan Plateau(TP)has been suggested to affect the Asian summer monsoon and summer precipitation over South China.However,its influence on the summer precipitation in Northeast China(NEC)remains unknown.The connection between spring TP AHS and subsequent summer precipitation over NEC from 1961 to 2020 is analyzed in this study.Results illustrate that stronger spring TP AHS can enhance subsequent summer NEC precipitation,and higher soil moisture in the Yellow River Valley-North China region(YRVNC)acts as a bridge.During spring,the strong TP AHS could strengthen the transportation of water vapor to East China and lead to excessive rainfall in the YRVNC.Thus,soil moisture increases,which regulates local thermal conditions by decreasing local surface skin temperature and sensible heat.Owing to the memory of soil moisture,the lower spring sensible heat over the YRVNC can last until mid-summer,decrease the land–sea thermal contrast,and weaken the southerly winds over the East Asia–western Pacific region and convective activities over the South China Sea and tropical western Pacific.This modulates the East Asia–Pacific teleconnection pattern,which leads to a cyclonic anomaly and excessive summer precipitation over NEC.

Semi-analytical solution for drained expansion analysis of a hollow cylinder of critical state soils

The expansion of a thick-walled hollow cylinder in soil is of non-self-similar nature that the stress/deformation paths are not the same for different soil material points.As a result,this problem cannot be solved by the common self-similar-based similarity techniques.This paper proposes a novel,exact solution for rigorous drained expansion analysis of a hollow cylinder of critical state soils.Considering stress-dependent elastic moduli of soils,new analytical stress and displacement solutions for the nonself-similar problem are developed taking the small strain assumption in the elastic zone.In the plastic zone,the cavity expansion response is formulated into a set of first-order partial differential equations(PDEs)with the combination use of Eulerian and Lagrangian descriptions,and a novel solution algorithm is developed to efficiently solve this complex boundary value problem.The solution is presented in a general form and thus can be useful for a wide range of soils.With the new solution,the non-self-similar nature induced by the finite outer boundary is clearly demonstrated and highlighted,which is found to be greatly different to the behaviour of cavity expansion in infinite soil mass.The present solution may serve as a benchmark for verifying the performance of advanced numerical techniques with critical state soil models and be used to capture the finite boundary effect for pressuremeter tests in small-sized calibration chambers.

Impact of mica on geotechnical behavior of weathered granitic soil using macro and micro investigations

The micaceous weathered granitic soil(WGS)is frequently encountered in civil engineering worldwide,unfortunately little information is available regarding how mica affects the physico-mechanical behaviors of WGS.This study prepares reconstituted WGS with different mica contents by removing natural mica in theWGS,and then mixes it with commercial mica powders.The geotechnical behavior as well as the microstructures of the mixtures are characterized.The addition of mica enables the physical indices of WGS to be specific combinations of coarser gradation and high permeability but high Atterberg limits.However,high mica content in WGS was found to be associated with undesirable mechanical properties,including increased compressibility,disintegration,and swelling potential,as well as poor compactability and low effective frictional angle.Microstructural analysis indicates that the influence of mica on the responses of mixtures originates from the intrinsic nature of mica as well as the particle packing being formed withinWGS.Mica exists in the mixture as stacks of plates that form a spongy structure with high compressibility and swelling potential.Pores among the plates give the soil high water retention and high Atterberg limits.Large pores are also generated by soil particles with bridging packing,which enhances the permeability and water-soil interactions upon immersion.This study provides a microlevel understanding of how mica dominates the behavior of WGS and provides new insights into the effective stabilization and improvement of micaceous soils.

Exploring an eco-friendly approach to improve soil tensile behavior and cracking resistance

Soil tensile strength is a critical parameter governing the initiation and propagation of tensile cracking.This study proposes an eco-friendly approach to improve the tensile behavior and crack resistance of clayey soils.To validate the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed approach,direct tensile tests were employed to determine the tensile strength of the compacted soil with different W-OH treatment concentrations and water contents.Desiccation tests were also performed to evaluate the effectiveness of W-OH treatment in enhancing soil tensile cracking resistance.During this period,the effects of W-OH treatment concentration and water content on tensile properties,soil suction and microstructure were investigated.The tensile tests reveal that W-OH treatment has a significant impact on the tensile strength and failure mode of the soil,which not only effectively enhances the tensile strength and failure displacement,but also changes the brittle failure behavior into a more ductile quasi-brittle failure behavior.The suction measurements and mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests show that W-OH treatment can slightly reduce soil suction by affecting skeleton structure and increasing macropores.Combined with the microstructural analysis,it becomes evident that the significant improvement in soil tensile behavior through W-OH treatment is mainly attributed to the W-OH gel's ability to provide additional binding force for bridging and encapsulating the soil particles.Moreover,desiccation tests demonstrate that W-OH treatment can significantly reduce or even inhibit the formation of soil tensile cracking.With the increase of W-OH treatment concentration,the surface crack ratio and total crack length are significantly reduced.This study enhances a fundamental understanding of eco-polymer impacts on soil mechanical properties and provides valuable insight into their potential application for improving soil crack resistance.

Physical and mechanical properties and microstructures of submarine soils in the Yellow Sea

In recent years,the exploration of seabed has been intensified,but the submarine soils of silt and sand in the Yellow Sea area have not been well investigated so far.In this study,the physical and mechanical properties of silt and sand from the Yellow Sea were measured using a direct shear apparatus and their microstructures were observed using a scanning electron microscope.The test results suggest that the shear strength of silt and sand increases linearly with the increase of normal stress.Based on the direct shear test,the scanning electron microscope was used to observe the section surface of sand.It is observed that the section surface becomes rough,with many“V”‐shaped cracks.Many particles appear on the surface of the silt structure and tend to be disintegrated.The X‐ray diffraction experiment reveals that the sand and silt have different compositions.The shear strength of sand is slightly greater than that of silt under high stress,which is related to the shape of soil particles and the mineral composition.These results can be a reference for further study of other soils in the Yellow Sea;meanwhile,they can serve as soil parameters for the stability and durability analyses of offshore infrastructure construction.