Liquefaction susceptibility and deformation characteristics of saturated coral sandy soils subjected to cyclic loadings-a critical review

Coral sandy soils widely exist in coral island reefs and seashores in tropical and subtropical regions.Due to the unique marine depositional environment of coral sandy soils,the engineering characteristics and responses of these soils subjected to monotonic and cyclic loadings have been a subject of intense interest among the geotechnical and earthquake engineering communities.This paper critically reviews the progress of experimental investigations on the undrained behavior of coral sandy soils under monotonic and cyclic loadings over the last three decades.The focus of coverage includes the contractive-dilative behavior,the pattern of excess pore-water pressure(EPWP)generation and the liquefaction mechanism and liquefaction resistance,the small-strain shear modulus and strain-dependent shear modulus and damping,the cyclic softening feature,and the anisotropic characteristics of undrained responses of saturated coral sandy soils.In particular,the advances made in the past decades are reviewed from the following aspects:(1)the characterization of factors that impact the mechanism and patterns of EPWP build-up;(2)the identification of liquefaction triggering in terms of the apparent viscosity and the average flow coefficient;(3)the establishment of the invariable form of strain-based,stress-based,or energy-based EPWP ratio formulas and the unique relationship between the new proxy of liquefaction resistance and the number of cycles required to reach liquefaction;(4)the establishment of the invariable form of the predictive formulas of small strain modulus and strain-dependent shear modulus;and(5)the investigation on the effects of stress-induced anisotropy on liquefaction susceptibility and dynamic deformation characteristics.Insights gained through the critical review of these advances in the past decades offer a perspective for future research to further resolve the fundamental issues concerning the liquefaction mechanism and responses of coral sandy sites subjected to cyclic loadings associated with seismic events in marine environments.

Gravel hardness effect on compaction characteristics of gravelly soil

The compaction characteristics of gravelly soil are affected by gravel hardness.To investigate the evolution and influencing mechanism of different gravel hardness on the compaction characteristics of gravelly soil,heavy compaction tests and crushing tests were conducted on gravelly soils with gravels originated from hard,soft and extremely soft rocks.According to orthogonal experiments and variance analysis,it was found that hardness has a significant impact on the maximum dry density of gravelly soil,followed by gravel content,and lastly,moisture content.For gravel compositions with an average saturated uniaxial compressive strength less than 60 MPa,the order of compacted maximum dry density is soft gravels>hard gravels>extremely soft gravels.Each type of gravelly soil has a threshold for gravel content,with 60%for hard and soft gravels and 50%for extremely soft gravels.Beyond these thresholds,the compacted dry density decreases significantly.There is a certain interaction between hardness,gravel content,and moisture content.Higher hardness increases the influence of gravel content,whereas lower hardness increases the influence of moisture content.Gravelly soils with the coarse aggregate(CA)between 0.7 and 0.8 typically achieve higher dry densities after compaction.In addition,the prediction equations for the particle breakage rate and CA ratio in the Bailey method were proposed to estimate the compaction performance of gravelly soil preliminarily.The results further revealed the compaction mechanism of different gravelly soils and can provide reference for subgrade filling construction.

Shear resistance characteristics and influencing factors of root-soil composite on an alpine metal mine dump slope with different recovery periods

Artificial vegetation restoration is the main measure for vegetation restoration and soil and water conservation in alpine mine dumps on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China.However,there are few reports on the dynamic changes and the influencing factors of the soil reinforcement effect of plant species after artificial vegetation restoration under different recovery periods.We selected dump areas of the Delni Copper Mine in Qinghai Province,China to study the relationship between the shear strength and the peak displacement of the root-soil composite on the slope during the recovery period,and the influence of the root traits and soil physical properties on the shear resistance characteristics of the root-soil composite via in situ direct shear tests.The results indicate that the shear strength and peak displacement of the rooted soil initially decreased and then increased with the increase of the recovery period.The shear strength of the rooted soil and the recovery period exhibited a quadratic function relationship.There is no significant function relationship between the peak displacement and the recovery period.Significant positive correlations(P<0.05)exists between the shear strength of the root-soil composite and the root biomass density,root volume density,and root area ratio,and they show significant linear correlations(P<0.05).There are no significant correlations(P>0.05)between the shear strength of the root-soil composite and the root length density,and the root volume ratio of the coarse roots to the fine roots.A significant negative linear correlation(P<0.05)exists between the peak displacement of the rooted soil and the coarse-grain content,but no significant correlations(P>0.05)with the root traits,other soil physical property indices(the moisture content and dry density of the soil),and slope gradient.The coarse-grain content is the main factor controlling the peak displacement of the rooted soil.

Effects of gravel on the water absorption characteristics and hydraulic parameters of stony soil

The eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains in China are a typical mountainous region of soil and gravel,where gravel could affect the water movement process in the soil.This study focused on the effects of different gravel contents on the water absorption characteristics and hydraulic parameters of stony soil.The stony soil samples were collected from the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains in April 2023 and used as the experimental materials to conduct a one-dimensional horizontal soil column absorption experiment.Six experimental groups with gravel contents of 0%,10%,20%,30%,40%,and 50%were established to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity(K_(s)),saturated water content(θ_(s)),initial water content(θ_(i)),and retention water content(θ_(r)),and explore the changes in the wetting front depth and cumulative absorption volume during the absorption experiment.The Philip model was used to fit the soil absorption process and determine the soil water absorption rate.Then the length of the characteristic wetting front depth,shape coefficient,empirical parameter,inverse intake suction and soil water suction were derived from the van Genuchten model.Finally,the hydraulic parameters mentioned above were used to fit the soil water characteristic curves,unsaturated hydraulic conductivity(K_(θ))and specific water capacity(C(h)).The results showed that the wetting front depth and cumulative absorption volume of each treatment gradually decreased with increasing gravel content.Compared with control check treatment with gravel content of 0%,soil water absorption rates in the treatments with gravel contents of 10%,20%,30%,40%,and 50%decreased by 11.47%,17.97%,25.24%,29.83%,and 42.45%,respectively.As the gravel content increased,inverse intake suction gradually increased,and shape coefficient,K_(s),θ_(s),andθ_(r)gradually decreased.For the same soil water content,soil water suction and K_(θ)gradually decreased with increasing gravel content.At the same soil water suction,C(h)decreased with increasing gravel content,and the water use efficiency worsened.Overall,the water holding capacity,hydraulic conductivity,and water use efficiency of stony soil in the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains decreased with increasing gravel content.This study could provide data support for improving soil water use efficiency in the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains and other similar rocky mountainous areas.

Characteristics of In-Situ Soil Water Hysteresis Observed through Multiple-Years Monitoring

A soil water retention curve (SWRC) is an essential soil physical property for analyzing transport and retention of water in a soil layer. A SWRC is often described as a single-valued function that relates the soil water potential ψ to volumetric water content θ of the soil. However, an in-situ ψ − θ relation should show soil water hysteresis, though this fact is often neglected in analyses of field soil water regimes while long-term in-situ soil water hysteresis is not well characterized. This study aimed at probing and characterizing in-situ ψ − θ relations. The developments of large hysteresis in the in-situ ψ − θ relations were observed only a few times during the study period of 82 months. Any of the large hysteretic behaviors in the ψ − θ relations began with an unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. The completion of a hysteresis loop required a recorded maximum rainfall. Because the study field had very small chances to meet such strong rainfall events, it took multiple years to restore the fraction of soil water depleted by the unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. While wetting-drying cycles had occurred within a certain domain of ψ, hysteretic behaviors tended to be so small that the in-situ ψ − θ relation can be approximated as a single-valued function of θ(ψ). These observed patterns of the in-situ ψ − θ relations were characterized by kinds of difference in dθ/dψ between a drying process and a wetting process at a given ψ. Thus, more amounts of experimental facts about wetting SWRCs in parallel with drying SWRCs should be needed for correct modelling, analyzing, and predicting soil water regimes in fields. It is also necessary to increase our understandings about the long-term trends of occurrences of extreme weather conditions associated with possible change in climate.

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.

Water infiltration and soil-water characteristics of compacted loess under applied vertical stress

Additional stress formed by postconstruction buildings in loess-filling areas affects water infiltration in soil and causes soil deformation.To investigate this effect,under constant water head,vertical infiltration tests on compacted loess with two initial dry densities for different applied vertical stresses were developed using vertical stresscontrollable one-dimensional soil columns.The timehistory curves of vertical deformation,wetting front depth,cumulative infiltration depth,volumetric water content(VWC)and suction were measured,and the soil-water characteristic curves(SWCCs)were determined.The results showed that:(1)the infiltration ability of the soil column weakens with increasing applied vertical stress and initial dry density;(2)vertical deformation increases rapidly at first and then tends to be stable slowly at the consolidation and wetting-induced deformation stage,and is positively correlated with applied vertical stress and is negatively correlated with initial dry density.The stability time of wetting-induced deformation and the corresponding wetting front depth increase with the increase of applied vertical stress,while they decrease obviously when initial dry density increases;(3)the influence of applied vertical stress on soilwater characteristics in soil columns with various initial dry densities is related to the deformation depth of soil column.The VG(Van Genuchten)model is suitable for fitting the SWCCs at different monitoring positions.A normalized SWCC model introducing the applied vertical stress was proposed for each initial dry density using the mathematical relationship between the fitting parameters and the applied vertical stress.

Study on Distribution Characteristics and Occurrence Form of Soil Fluorine in Sorghum Base of Renhuai City

In order to find out the effects of soil fluorine on ecological environment and crop safety in the sorghum cultivation base of Renhuai City, Guizhou Province, the content and the occurrence forms of soil fluorine and its influencing factors of Maoba Town were investigated and studied. The results showed that the total fluorine content in the soil of the sorghum base ranged from 668.60 to 2 596.80 mg/kg, with an average of 1 483.25 mg/kg, which was 3.10 and 1.85 times of the national soil background value and the average value of the soil in endemic areas, respectively. The spatial distribution of fluorine in the soil of the study area was uneven, and the fluorine content was in the order of Anliang Village>Yangliu Village>Houba Village>Xiongfeng Village. The soil fluorine contents of various forms varied greatly, and the distribution law was as follows: residual state>water soluble state>organically bound state>exchangeable state>Fe/Mn-F state. The residual fluorine content was the highest, accounting for more than 99% of total fluorine content, while the sum of other four forms was less than 1%, with their respective proportions ranging from 0.10% to 0.30%. The content and proportion of available fluorine in water-soluble and exchangeable states were relatively low, which had limited influence on the surrounding water environment and crop safety. The physicochemical properties of soil, such as pH, organic matter, cation exchange capacity and clay particles had a certain influence on the occurrence forms of soil fluorine, thus changing the availability and migration of soil fluorine, which might endanger the ecological environment safety, food safety and human health.

Characteristics and Evaluation of Soil Fertility in Sugarcane-producing Areas in Guangxi

[Objective] Soil fertility in Guangxi sugarcane-growing areas was evaluated to provide theoretical reference for sugarcane scientific planting and fertilization and further optimize evaluation system for soil fertility in Guangxi sugarcane-growing ar- eas. [Method] Nutrients of soil samples in 3 006 plots were measured, and fertility characters were evaluated based on the improved Nemerow composite index method. [Result] Soil in Guangxi sugarcane-growing area was sticky and acidic with an average pH value of 4.94. Available B was insufficient with an average content of 0.24 mg/kg. Exchangeable Mg was low with an average content of 62.34 mg/kg. Organic matter content was moderate. The contents of alkali N, rapidly available P, rapidly available K, available Cu, available Zn, available Mn and available Ca were moderate. However, unlike the soil in high-yield areas, there was unbalanced nutri- tion distribution. According to Nemerow integrated index method, soil fertility in sug- arcane-growing areas was grade lU, namely low fertility. The integrated fertility index was 0.56. Individual fertility indexes including rapid available Cu, rapidly available Zn, exchangeable Mg, available Mn, rapidly available manganese Mn and alkali N were at poor level. Other indexes were at medium or high level. [Conclusion] It could be concluded that soil fertility in Guangxi sugarcane-growing area was gener- ally low, The above-mentioned evaluation method could help to build a quantified and scientific soil fertility evaluation system and reduce the impacts of subjective factors during evaluation process.

Analysis for Soil Characteristics of Degraded Grassland on Alpine Meadow

[Objective]The aim of this study is to explore the effects of grassland degradation on soil physical and chemical properties.[Method]The ratio of plant root to soil and soil texture on Alpine Meadow were investigated in this study,and soil available N,P,K,Cu,Zn,organic matter and pH value were also analyzed by routine analysis of soil nutrients in different degraded grasslands.[Result]With the intensification of degraded gradient and the soil depth,the ratio of plant root to soil was decreased gradually.The highest ratio of plant root to soil was in 0-10 cm depth of soil in grassland with different degraded gradients,while its ratio of plant root to soil changed from 0.001 to 0.040 with soil type of loam.Soil chemical characteristic changed in different degraded gradients.The content of available N,P,K reduced significantly with the soil depth and the intensification of degraded gradients.The content of Cu and Zn was relatively lack in degraded grassland.[Conclusion]There is no significant correlation between nutrition content or pH value and the succession degree of degraded grassland.

Study on Physical Properties and Related Spectral Characteristics of Composited Soil with Different Ratio of Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand

[Objective] To study the soil texture, water storage and related spectral characteristics of composited soil. [Method] 3 different ratios of composited soils was designed by using feldspathic sandstone and sand by 3 different ratios, 1：1（C1）, 1：2（C2） and 1：5（C3）, and the CK used loess soil and sand by 1：2, then the soil texture, water storage, soil and winter wheat spectral characteristic were measured and analyzed under those treatments in 2010-2013. [Result] （1） With the increasing of the plant- ing year, treatment C1, C2 and C3 all showed decreasing in the proportions of sand and increasing of silt and the CK showed decreasing of clay and increasing of sand, along 1-30 cm soil depth. Treatment C2 showed the proportion of sand, silt and clay were 76.69%, 18.72% and 4.70%, respectively. （2） The water contents of all the treatments were significant different from other in 0-60 cm soil depth, and showed increasing trend with the increasing of sand proportion. Treatment C2 had higher average water content during the 3 years than treatment CK, C1 and C3 by 21.34%, 11.59% and 3.91% in the same soil depth, respectively. （3） In 2013, the spectral reflection curve characters were similar for all treatment of winter wheat at the jointing stage and filling stage along the full-wave band （350-2 500 nm）, and the reflectance was higher in the jointing stage than the filling stage; the reflection peak was found around 550 nm, a part of green light wave band. Treatment C2 showed the highest canopy that all treatments had similar spectral curves, and the relative reflectance of soil increased during 350-1 750 nm wave length along with the increase of the sand proportion; for treatment CK, C1, C2 and C3, the soil spectral reflectance （y） and wave length （x） appeared highly correlated relationships, they were y=0.18 71 In（x）-0.979 4, y=0.158 7 In（x）-0.801 2, y=0.177 1 In（x）-0.910 8 and y=0.184 5 In（x）-0.944 5, respectively. [Conclusion] Synthesizing the soil physical properties and related spectral character indices, treatment C2 generated the best combination ratio of feldspathic sandstone and sand.

Effects of Combined Application of Water Retaining Agents and Organic Materials on Water Holding Characteristics of Yellow Brown Soils in Hilly Areas

[Objective] The aim was to reduce fertilizer and water losses caused by surface runoffs in rainy season and provide scientific references for soil moisture in arid season. [Method] The application proportion of complex water-holding organic materials was determined by multi-factor mixture experiment and the curve changes of soil moisture characters were tested to analyze water-holding capacity and water availability of soils. [Result] The initial moisture content of soil with different mixture proportions improved in varying degrees. For example, when water-retention agents reached 0.4% and 0.6% of soil weight, soil moisture contents were 69.0% and70.5%, respectively, which showed significant differences with the control（S0.0）. Soil dehydration terms in different treatments all extended, prolonging in the range of4.6-14 d. [Conclusion] The applications of water-retention agent and organic material would improve water-holding capacity of hills and low mountains, and initial moisture content and dehydration cycle tend to be volatile upon mixture proportion. Therefore,it is necessary to adjust soil fertility, crop species, and irrigation to meet crop demands on fertilizer and water.

The runoff characteristics and harmonic analysis of the soil moisture dynamics in Robinia pseudoacacia stand

Robinia pseudoacacia stands act as a typical ecological protection forest in hilly semi-arid area of China. Two fields of surface runoff were separately set up in R. pseudoacacia stand and its clearcut area in the western Liaoning Province (1850-12225 E, 4024-4234 N) for measuring the characteristics of runoff and sediment as well as soil moisture dynamics. Contractive analysis of the two land types showed that there existed a significant difference in volumes of runoff and sediment between the sites of R. pseudoacacia stand and its clearcut area. The runoff volume and sediment volume in clearcut area were much bigger than those in R. pseudoacacia stand, with an increase amount of 40%-177% for runoff and 180%-400% for sediment. Hydrograph of surface runoff of typical rainfall showed that the peak value of runoff in R. pseudoacacia stand was decreased by 1.0-2.5?0-3m3s-1 compared with that in its clearcut area, and the occurring time of peak value of runoff in R. pseudoacacia stand was 10-20 min later than that in its clearcut area. Harmonic analysis of soil moisture dynamics indicated that the soil moisture in R. pseudoacacia stand was 2.3 % higher than that in clearcut area, and the soil moisture both in R. pseudoacacia stand and its clearcut area could be divided into dry season and humid season and varied periodically with annual rainfall precipitation. It was concluded that R. pseudoacacia stand plays a very important role in storing water, increasing soil moisture, and reducing surface runoff and soil erosion.

Ecogeographical characteristics of forest soil animal in mountainous districts of the eastern China

In this paper ecogeographical characteristics of forest soil animal i n mountainous districts of the eastern China was analyzed, and results show that soil fauna was very rich in diversified forest habitat, moreover, as times and spaces varied, their compositions and abundance changed obviously too. Forest so il animal decreased gradually in taxa and individual number from the tropics to cold-temperature zone, and they are higher in zonal forest habitat than in other ones on the same mountain. Forest soil animal also got gradually less with incr easing of depth in soil layer, and distributed principally in surface layer. The activities of human had strong affection on faunal composition and diversity of soil animal. On the tropics and subtropics mountains, forest soil animal are le ss in spring-summer than in autumn-winter, whereas they are more in summer-autum n than in winter-spring from warm-temperate zone to cold-temperate zone.

A Comparative Study on the Leaf Characteristics and Root Vigor of Bowl Lotus under Hydroponics and Soil Culture

[Objective] The experiment aimed to study the growth characteristics of hydroponic bowl lotus. [Method] The lotus variety Hongxia was chosen as the experimental material. Two treatments, hydroponics and soil culture were set to measure their photosynthetic indices, chlorophyll content and root vigor, and to observe their leaf tissue structure and stomatal characteristics. [Result] The findings indicated that there are no differences in the leaf physiological indices between bowl lotus under hydroponics and soil culture, while the leaf stomata of hydroponic bowl lotus is bigger and its amount is larger than that of soil-culture bowl lotus. At the same time, the ratio of the palisade tissue thickness to spongy tissue thickness is small,and its leaf tissue structure is loose. The root vigor of hydroponic bowl lotus reached its summit earlier, then began to drop. Whereas, the root activity of soil-culture lotus sustained increasing, with vigorous growth. [Conclusion] Therefore, it indicated that hydroponic bowl lotus can adapt to the aquatic-culture environment well and quickly, meanwhile, it also enters into its aging period quickly and its growth cycle gets shorter.

Soil Moisture Characteristics in Karst Area with Different Land Use Types

Ecological efficiency changes of soil moisture were researched in karst areas with different land type uses, including farmland, abandoned farmland （1 y） and shrub land （1 y）, sparse wood land （15 y）, secondary forest （25 y） and the re- sults showed that physical property of soil was not a simple ＂improvement＂ process during land type evolution. Specifically, from farmland to secondary forest, the con- tent of topsoils changed from being washed away to accumulation and soil bulk density changed from increasing to decreasing. For example, soil bulk densities of abandoned farmland and shrub land increased by 6.6% and 11.57% compared with farmland, and of sparse wood land and forest land decreased by 5.0% and 10.0%. The change trend of soil bulk density was just in contrary to total porosity. Available water capacity was the lowest of shrub land, but increased in rest land types. The increase tended to be volatile in 5.1%-12.5% of different land types and water-sta- ble aggregate content （〉0.25 mm） reached the highest of sparse wood land. The destruction rate, however, was declining in the process of land type evolution and the increase was in the range of 34.0%-64.7% compared with farmland. The de- struction rate of aggregate was of negative correlation with organic matter. Water- holding capacity was the best of forest land and abandoned farmland and the poor- est of shrub land, close to sparse wood land. Water-supplying capacity from high to low was as follows： farmland〉sparse wood land〉secondary forest〉shrub land〉a- bandoned farmland. It is obvious that water-holding capacity and water-supplying capacity are not consistent, but both are closely related to the content of soil clays, porosity, and aggregate stability.

Analysis on Reflectance Spectral Characteristics of Typical Saline Soil in Arid Area

The spectral characteristic of geography objects is not only the important content of remote sensing mechanism, but also the important basis for remote sensing application. The reflectance spectral characteristics reflect the physiochemi-cal properties of saline soil. With 3 kinds of typical saline soils in the arid area as the study objects, the reflectance spectrums of soils with different salt contents and soil moistures were measured, and the spectral characteristics of the spectrums were analyzed. The results showed that under dry condition, the reflectance of the three kinds of saline soils presented obvious high-low patterns, while under damp condition, there was no obvious pattern. With continuum removed ,the three kinds of saline soils showed significant difference in reflectance spectral characteristics. There was significant difference in the absorption depth of the two absorption val eys un-der dry and damp conditions, which could be used to identify these 3 saline soils. The result of this research can be used for the parametric inversion and classifica-tion of saline soil retrieval and classification, as wel as for the remote sensing monitoring on saline soil.

Studies of Soil Physical Properties and Community Characteristics of Different Abandoned Lands in the Minqin Oasis,Downstream of the Shiyang River

[Objective] The aim was to explore physical properties and community characteristics of abandoned lands in different years in Minqin Oasis, downstream of the Shiyang River, [Method] The evolution of environment and plant community characteristics in different abandoned lands were analyzed after abandonment for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 15, 24 and 31 years, and the plant community characteristics, water content, bulk density, porosity and mechanical composition of soil in the different a- bandoned lands were also researched in the Minqin Oasis, downstream of the Shiyang River. [Result] Plant of 32 species spread over 14 family live through fifty years appeared in abandoned lands in the study area. Shrubs was 6 species, herbs was 26 species among them, which were 18.75%, 81.25% respectively. The goose- foot family （6 species）, the composite family（4 species）,the grass family（4 species）, caltrop family（3 species） were 53.13% among them. Within the range of 0-40 cm of different abandoned Land, the soil moisture content showed a trend of first increase and then decrease with the increase of soil depth changes in soil bulk density and porosity of less obvious. In the range of 0-40 cm soil depth, the largest proportion of fine sand, followed by silt and clay and the smallest proportion of coarse sand in every plot, but the proportion of the each silt size varies little with the years aban- doned. [Conclusion] The research provides references for vegetation reconstruction and eco-environment construction in abandoned lands in downstream of Shiyang River.

Effect of Salt Solution on Characteristics of Soil Infiltration

[Objective] The aim was to study the effect of salt solution on characteristics of soil infiltration, and to provide references for the further studies on the effect of water quality on soil infiltration characteristics and its mechanism. [Method] With the NaCl, CaCl2 solutions as the main test materials, the effect of different water quality and salt solution concentration on soil infiltration was studied under one-dimensional vertical ponded water infiltration at laboratory. [Result] The solution concentration could affect the infiltration performance. The trends of the infiltration rates, cumulative infiltrations and wetting front migration distances were all 50 mg/L 100 mg/L 10 mg/L. At the same concentration, the effect of NaCl solution on soil infiltration characteristics was more significant than CaCl2 solution： in the same time, cumulative infiltration and wetting front migration distance of NaCl solution were greater than CaCl2 solution; compared with NaCl solution, CaCl2 solution took longer time to infiltrate the same amount of water. The dynamic changes of infiltration rate, wetting front and cumulative infiltration were well fitted to the Philip model. [Conclusion] This study only conducted indoor experiment to the infiltration of salt solutions, involving in low concentration and small range. Although it provided some references for the study on the effect of water quality on soil infiltration characteristics and its mechanism, studies in larger areas and with bigger concentrations are demanding.

Nutrient Release Characteristics of Vinyl Chloride-Vinyl acetate Copolymers Coated SlowRelease Nitrogen Fertilizer and Its Effect on Soil Mineral Nitrogen

[Objective] The aim was to explore release characteristics of vinyl chlo- ride-vinyl acetate copolymer controlled-release N fertilizer and the effects on minerat nitrogen in soils. [Method] Vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer and hydroxyl-modi- fied VCNAc were taken as coating materials to prepare slow release fertilizer. Nutri- ent release characteristics of VC/VAc slow release fertilizer was evaluated by water immersion method and the effects of VC/VAc slow release fertilizer on mineral ni- trogen were researched by pot experiment. [Result] The release periods of VC-VAc controlled-release urea and hydroxyl-modified VC/VAc coated urea were 60 and 50 d, respectively. Furthermore, the content of ammonium nitrogen reached the peak on the 30th d and the content of nitrate nitrogen reached the peak on the 60th d in soils in treatments with VCNAc and hydroxyl-modified VC/VAc; the content of nitrate nitrogen rose again on the 120th d in the treatment with VC/VAc. In terms of wheat yield, different treatments showed insignificant differences and rice yield in the treatment with VCNAc was significantly higher than that in the treatment with hy- droxyl-modified VCNAc （P〈0.05）. [Conclusion] The release days of slow controlled- release fertilizer vary upon pot experiment method and water immersion method. Slow controlled-release fertilizer is not suitable for monoculture, due to long fertilizer efficiency, but multiple cropping would be optimal for its role to be fully exploited.