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  • 1
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK; Malden, USA : Blackwell Science Ltd
    European journal of soil science 56 (2005), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2389
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Geosciences , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
    Notes: The water retention characteristic provides the traditional data set for the derivation of a soil's pore-size distribution. However, the technique employed to achieve this requires that assumptions be made about the way pores interconnect. We explore an alternative approach based on stray field nuclear magnetic resonance (STRAFI-NMR) to probe the water-filled pores of both saturated and unsaturated soils, which does not require information relating to pore connectivity. We report the relative size distributions of water-occupied pores in saturated and unsaturated samples of two sets of glass beads of known particle size, two sands, and three soils (a silty loam, a sandy loam and a loamy sand), using measurements of the NMR T1 proton relaxation time of water. The T1 values are linearly related to pore size and consequently measured T1 distributions provide a measure of the pore-size distribution. For both the sands and the glass beads at saturation the T1 distributions are unimodal, and the samples with small particle sizes show a shift to small T1 values indicating smaller voids relative to the samples with larger particles. Different matric potentials were used to reveal how the water-occupied pore-size distribution changes during drainage. These changes are inconsistent with, and demonstrate the inadequacies of, the commonly employed parallel-capillary tube model of a soil pore space. We find that not all pores of the same size drain at the same matric potential. Further, we observe that the T1 distribution is shifted to smaller values beyond the distribution at saturation. This shift is explained by a change in the weighted average of the relaxation rates as the proportion of water in the centre of water-filled pores decreases. This is evidence for the presence of pendular structures resulting from incomplete drainage of pores. For the soils the results are similar except that at saturation the T1 distributions are bimodal or asymmetrical, indicative of inter-aggregate and intra-aggregate pore spaces. We conclude that the NMR method provides a characterization of the water-filled pore space which complements that derived from the water retention characteristic and which can provide insight into the way pore connectivity impacts on drainage.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 2
    ISSN: 1365-2389
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Geosciences , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
    Notes: X-ray sedimentation is potentially attractive for estimating the particle-size distribution of soil, but has been thought to overestimate clay fractions because of the iron they contain. We have examined X-ray sedimentation for estimating the particle-size distribution of fully dispersed and of aggregated clay. We obtained good agreement between the pipette and X-ray sedimentation methods using two different kaolinite samples with a small iron concentration. We also studied montmorillonite saturated with Li, Na, K, Mg or Ca to investigate possible effects of hindered settling. For the Ca montmorillonite, we obtained good agreement between X-ray sedimentation and the pipette method at concentrations up to 40 g l−1. We also found that X-ray sedimentation could be used at concentrations less than those recommended by the manufacturer. Hindered settling was observed at concentrations 〉 20 g l−1 for Li- and Na-saturated montmorillonite. Our data suggest that conducting experiments at different mass concentrations is a sensitive test to detect such problems. Finally we used a fractal model to investigate the possible errors that might result from the size dependence of aggregate density and show that the error caused by assuming a single value for particle density of solids is small.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 3
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK : Blackwell Science Ltd
    European journal of soil science 50 (1999), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2389
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Geosciences , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
    Notes: Mercury porosimetry data can be interpreted in terms of soil structure using ideas drawn from (i) network modelling and percolation theory and (ii) fractal geometry. We linked mercury intrusion to soil structure quantified by image analysis within a relevant common pore radius scale. We compared (i) three independent methods for computing fractal dimensions of the matrix and of the solid–pore interface, namely fitted square boxes method and pore chord distribution on scanning electron microscope images of soil thin sections, and mercury porosimetry, and (ii) two independent methods for characterizing pore connectivity (image analysis) and percolation process (pressure threshold from mercury porosimetry). The results from analyses of the pore size distribution by mercury porosimetry differed from those from the image analysis. Mercury intrusion is controlled by both the connectivity of the pore space network and locally by pore throats leading to larger pore bodies. By contrast, image analysis is unaffected by pore connectivity and measures pore bodies. On the other hand, the chord length method might not adequately capture the scaling properties of the solid–pore interface, whereas the mercury porosimetry data were also difficult to interpret in terms of fractal geometry because of the effects of pore connectivity. However, fractal dimension values of both the solid phase and the solid–pore interface increased as a function of clay content, whereas both percolation probability values and throat radius values at the mercury percolation threshold decreased. The results show the merit of applying both fractals and percolation theory for determining structural parameters relevant to mercury and water transport in soil.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 4
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK : Blackwell Science Ltd
    European journal of soil science 51 (2000), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2389
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Geosciences , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 5
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK; Malden, USA : Blackwell Science Ltd
    European journal of soil science 56 (2005), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2389
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Geosciences , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
    Notes: The physical characteristics of the soil at the root–soil interface are crucial because they determine both physical aspects of root function such as water and nutrient uptake and the microbial activity that is most relevant to root growth. Because of this we have studied how root activity modifies the structure and water retention characteristic of soil adjacent to the root for maize, wheat and barley. These plants were grown in pots for a 6-week growth period, then the soil adjacent to the root (rhizosphere soil) and bulk soil aggregates were harvested. These soil aggregates were then saturated and equilibrated at matric potentials between −600 kPa and saturation, and the water retention characteristics were measured. From subsamples of these aggregates, thin sections were made and the porosity and pore-size distributions were studied with image analysis. Both image analysis and estimates of aggregated density showed that the rhizosphere soil and bulk soil had similar porosities. Growing different plants had a small but significant effect on the porosity of the soil aggregates. Image analysis showed that for all the plant species the structure of the rhizosphere soil was different to that of the bulk soil. The rhizosphere soil contained more larger pores. For maize and barley, water retention characteristics indicated that the rhizosphere soil tended to be drier at a given matric potential than bulk soil. This effect was particularly marked at greater matric potentials. The difference between the water retention characteristics of the bulk and rhizosphere soil for wheat was small. We compare the water retention characteristics with the data on pore-size distribution from image analysis. We suggest that differences in wetting angle and pore connectivity might partly explain the differences in water retention characteristic that we observed. The impact of differences between the water retention properties of the rhizosphere and bulk soil is discussed in terms of the likely impact on root growth.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 6
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd
    European journal of soil science 48 (1997), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2389
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Geosciences , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
    Notes: The derivation of pore size distributions from the soil water retention characteristic is complicated by the influence of the connectivity of the pore space on drainage. We examine this issue in the context of a random fractal pore network model. A two-dimensional one-parameter model simulates the drainage of water from an initially saturated pore network, explicitly accounting for the complex pore interactions which exist over a range of scales within the network. A parameter range is identified over which pore connections significantly hinder the advance of air into the network. The results demonstrate that connectivity between pores in a random structure can affect the drainage to an extent that in general it is not possible to obtain an accurate measure of the pore size distribution from the water retention data. These results, together with findings based on closely related multiscale network models, show that one should use with caution water retention models derived from fractal structures and based solely on pore size distributions.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 7
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK : Blackwell Science Ltd
    European journal of soil science 52 (2001), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2389
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Geosciences , Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
    Notes: In recent years the use of porous material sensors for matric potential, which were originally intended for soil drier than −100 kPa, has been extended to wet soils. In these wetter soils, unpredictable behaviour of the sensors has been reported. We have studied the design of porous material sensors of matric potential in soil and propose a hypothesis to explain this unpredictability, and suggest recommendations for a design of sensor which will behave more reliably. The development of an experimental porous material sensor of matric potential based on this design is described. It operates between 0 and −60 kPa, and both the drying and wetting moisture characteristics were measured. In this sensor the porous material was a ceramic and its water content was measured with a dielectric water content sensor. We tested a simple closed-form hysteresis model to convert the measured water content of the porous material into matric potential under laboratory conditions. This was shown to give better results than using a calibration based on the drying moisture characteristic curve, where the predicted matric potentials were too small. The use of the experimental sensors in the field environment is described. Both types of sensor were installed using the same procedure. As far as we are aware the experimental sensor described in this paper is the first porous material sensor of matric potential that can be installed in the same way as a conventional tensiometer. Both conventional tensiometers and the experimental porous material sensors gave similar estimates of matric potential.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 8
    ISSN: 1365-3040
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: The response of pre-emergent shoots of carrot and onion to mechanical impedance, water stress and suboptimal temperature was studied. We used model laboratory systems in which mechanical impedance and water stress could be varied independently of each other and independently of other complicating factors (e.g. aeration and hydraulic conductivity). Our results showed that mechanical impedance reduced the rate and extent of shoot development in both carrot and onion. Roots of both carrot and onion were less sensitive to mechanical impedance than shoots. The recovery of shoot length following the removal of impedance was studied. The data were used to develop a new model of shoot elongation as a function of mechanical stress, water stress, temperature, shoot length and time. Our results also provide a new insight into the physiology of shoot development in strong soils. We contrast the effect of mechanical impedance on pre-emergent seedling development in carrot and onion.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2010-04-27
    Description: Quantifying the connectivity of pore networks is a key issue not only for modelling fluid flow and solute transport in porous media but also for assessing the ability of soil ecosystems to filter bacteria, viruses and any type of living microorganisms as well inert particles which pose a contamination risk. Straining is the main mechanical component of filtration processes: it is due to size effects, when a given soil retains a conveyed entity larger than the pores through which it is attempting to pass. We postulate that the range of sizes of entities which can be trapped inside soils has to be associated with the large range of scales involved in natural soil structures and that information on the pore size distribution has to be complemented by information on a Critical Filtration Size (CFS) delimiting the transition between percolating and non percolating regimes in multiscale pore networks. We show that the mass fractal dimensions which are classically used in soil science to quantify scaling laws in observed pore size distributions can also be used to build 3-D multiscale models of pore networks exhibiting such a critical transition. We extend to the 3-D case a new theoretical approach recently developed to address the connectivity of 2-D fractal networks (Bird and Perrier, 2009). Theoretical arguments based on renormalisation functions provide insight into multi-scale connectivity and a first estimation of CFS. Numerical experiments on 3-D prefractal media confirm the qualitative theory. These results open the way towards a new methodology to estimate soil filtration efficiency from the construction of soil structural models to be calibrated on available multiscale data.
    Print ISSN: 1810-6277
    Electronic ISSN: 1810-6285
    Topics: Biology , Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus on behalf of European Geosciences Union.
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  • 10
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