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Gel structures in soils

  • Soil Physics
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Abstract

The colloidal structures in soils were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Small-angle neutron scattering was used in the pioneering study of the colloidal soil structures and their rearrangements under the effect of different factors. It was found that colloidal particles are fixed apart in a gel matrix formed by organic molecules. The results obtained suggest that the organomineral gel is composed of soil humus occurring, at least in part, in a gel-like status and reinforced by organic and inorganic colloidal particles. In the interaction with water, the reinforced humus gel behaves as many polymers: it swells, absorbing water and increasing in volume; it shrinks under drying conditions. Different impacts on the soil affect the status of the reinforced humus gel, which results in the observed changes of the soil properties.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Moscow State Forestry University, ul. Pervaya Institutskaya 1, Mytishchi-5, Moscow oblast, 141005, Russia

    G. N. Fedotov & E. I. Pakhomov

  2. Faculty of Soil Science, Moscow State University, Leninskie gory, Moscow, 119899, Russia

    G. N. Fedotov & G. V. Dobrovol’skii

  3. Department of Chemistry, Moscow State University, Leninskie gory, Moscow, 119899, Russia

    V. I. Putlyaev & V. K. Ivanov

  4. Department of Materials Science, Moscow State University, Leninskie gory, Moscow, 119899, Russia

    A. V. Garshev

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  1. G. N. Fedotov
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  2. G. V. Dobrovol’skii
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  3. V. I. Putlyaev
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  4. A. V. Garshev
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  5. V. K. Ivanov
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  6. E. I. Pakhomov
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Original Russian Text © G.N. Fedotov, G.V. Dobrovol’skii, V.I. Putlyaev, A.V. Garshev, V.K. Ivanov, E.I. Pakhomov, 2006, published in Pochvovedenie, 2006, No. 7, pp. 824–835.

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Fedotov, G.N., Dobrovol’skii, G.V., Putlyaev, V.I. et al. Gel structures in soils. Eurasian Soil Sc. 39, 738–747 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229306070076

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229306070076

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