scholarly journals Using Different Approaches of Particle Size Analysis for Estimation of Water Retention Capacity of Soils: Example of Keszthely Mountains (Hungary)

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-50
Author(s):  
Orsolya Szecsődi ◽  
András Makó ◽  
Viktória Labancz ◽  
Gyöngyi Barna ◽  
Borbála Gálos ◽  
...  

PSD (particle size distribution) is a key factor affecting soil hydro-physical properties (e.g. hydraulic conductivity and water retention), which makes its determination essential. Climate change increases the importance of water retention and permeability as extreme weather events can severely impair the water supply of drought-sensitive vegetation. The amount of water in soils is expected to decrease. The modified Thornthwaite model considers soil properties such as root depth, topsoil layer thickness and particle size distribution (silt and clay fraction) of soil particles combined with the most significant soil properties. At the beginning of the research, we developed a laser diffraction method to replace the standard based “pipette” sedimentation method. The theoretical background of laser diffraction measurements is already known, but their practical application for estimating soil water retention capacity is still poorly understood. The pre-sieving of soil aggregates, the pre-treatment (disaggregation and dispersion) of the samples greatly influence the obtained results. In addition to the sedimentation method, laser diffraction measurements (Malvern Mastersizer 3000) were applied with three variants of pre-treatment. For comparison, the results of a Leptosol, a Cambisol, and a Luvisol were prepared for the first modified Thornthwaite water balance model. Significant differences appeared, especially during drought periods, which could be a basis for studying soil drought sensitivity. The development of our method can estimate the water retention capacity of soil, which could support adaptive forest management plans against climatic and pedological transformations.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienn Horváth ◽  
András Makó ◽  
András Bidló ◽  
Orsolya Szecsődi

<p>Determining the particle size distribution of soils helps to monitor the hydrophysical properties of the soil (e.g. water conductivity or water holding capacity). Climate change increases the importance of water retention and permeability, as extreme weather events can severely impair the water supply of drought-prone plant stocks. The amount of water is expected to decrease. At the beginning of the research, we have developed a measurement method to replace the classical “pipette” sedimentation method with the laser diffraction method. The theoretical background of laser diffraction measurements is already known, but its practical application for estimating soil’s water holding capacity is uncommon in detail. The developed, modified Thornthwaite model considers soil properties (e.g. root depth, topsoil layer thickness) and size distribution (silt and clay fraction) of soil particles combined with the most significant soil properties. The pre-sieving of soil aggregates, the pre-treatment (disaggregation and dispersion) of the samples greatly influence the obtained results. In addition to the sedimentation method, instrumental measurements (Mastersizer 3000) were applied with three variants of pre-treatment. For comparison, the results of a Leptosol, a Cambisol, and a Luvisol were prepared for the first modified Thornthwaite water balance model. Significant differences appeared especially during drought periods that could be a basis for studying the drought sensitivity of soils. By the development of our method, the water holding capacity of soil can be estimated; therefore, adapting forest management could be planned against climatic and pedological transformations.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 177 (5) ◽  
pp. 803-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Lamorski ◽  
Andrzej Bieganowski ◽  
Magdalena Ryżak ◽  
Agata Sochan ◽  
Cezary Sławiński ◽  
...  

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 465
Author(s):  
Cezary Polakowski ◽  
Magdalena Ryżak ◽  
Agata Sochan ◽  
Michał Beczek ◽  
Rafał Mazur ◽  
...  

Particle size distribution is an important soil parameter—therefore precise measurement of this characteristic is essential. The application of the widely used laser diffraction method for soil analysis continues to be a subject of debate. The precision of this method, proven on homogeneous samples, has been implicitly extended to soil analyses, but this has not been sufficiently well confirmed in the literature thus far. The aim of this study is to supplement the information available on the precision of the method in terms of reproducibility of soil measurement and whether the reproducibility of soil measurement is characterized by a normal distribution. To estimate the reproducibility of the laser diffraction method, thirteen various soil samples were characterized, and results were analysed statistically. The coefficient of variation acquired was lowest (3.44%) for silt and highest for sand (23.28%). Five of the thirteen tested samples were characterized by a normal distribution. The fraction content of eight samples was not characterized by normal distribution, but the extent of this phenomenon varied between soils. Although the laser diffraction method is repeatable, the measurement of soil particle size distribution can have limited reproducibility. The main cause seems to be small amounts of sand particles. The error can be amplified by the construction of the dispersion unit. Non-parametric statistical tests should be used by default for soil laser diffraction method analysis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 941-944 ◽  
pp. 952-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dao Yuan Wang ◽  
Deng Hua Yan ◽  
Xin Shan Song ◽  
Hao Wang

Adding biochar to agricultural soil has been suggested as an approach to enhance soil carbon sequestration. Biochar has also been used as a soil amendment to reduce nutrient leaching, reduce soil acidity and improve water holding capacity. Walnut shells and woody material are waste products of orchards that are cheap, carbon-rich and good feedstock for production of biochar. The effectiveness of biochar as an amendment varies considerably as a function of its feedstock, temperature during pyrolysis, the biochar dose to soil, and mechanical composition. Biochar was produced from pyrolysis of walnut shell at 900 °C and soft wood at 600 to 700 °C. We measured the effect of these different parameters in two types of agricultural soil in Jilin and Beijing, China, a silt clay loam and a sandy loam, on the soils’ particle size distribution and water retention characteristics. Biochars with two different doses were applied to each soil type. Soil field capacity and permanent wilting point were measured using a pressure plate extractor for each combination of biochar and soil type. The results show that the effect of biochar amendment on soil water retention characteristics depend primarily on soil particle size distribution and surface characteristics of biochar. High surface area biochar can help raise the water holding capacity of sandy soil.


Author(s):  
S. Cazares ◽  
J. A. Barrios ◽  
C. Maya ◽  
G. Velásquez ◽  
M. Pérez ◽  
...  

Abstract An important physical property in environmental samples is particle size distribution. Several processes exist to measure particle diameter, including change in electrical resistance, blocking of light, the fractionation of field flow and laser diffraction (these being the most commonly used). However, their use requires expensive and complex equipment. Therefore, a Digital Microscopic Imaging Application (DMIA) method was developed adapting the algorithms used in the Helminth Egg Automatic Detector (HEAD) software coupled with a Neural Network (NN) and Bayesian algorithms. This allowed the determination of particle size distribution in samples of waste activated sludge (WAS), recirculated sludge (RCS), and pretreated sludge (PTS). The recirculation and electro-oxidation pre-treatment processes showed an effect in increasing the degree of solubilization (DS), decreasing particle size and breakage factor with ranges between 44.29%, and 31.89%. Together with a final NN calibration process, it was possible to compare results. For example, the 90th percentile of Equivalent Diameter (ED) value obtained by the DMIA with the corresponding result for the laser diffraction method. DMIA values: 228.76 μm (WAS), 111.18 μm (RCS), and 84.45 μm (PTS). DMIA processing has advantages in terms of reducing complexity, cost and time, and offers an alternative to the laser diffraction method.


2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 34-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ryzak ◽  
A. Bieganowski ◽  
R.T. Walczak

Particle size distribution affects many physical soil properties and processes taking place in soil. There are many methods to determine the particle size distribution. The most frequently used are the sieve, sieve-pipette and sedimentation methods. Technological progress in electronics permitted a wide use of new methods of particle size distribution measurement in soil, e.g. the laser diffraction method. A comparison of particle size distribution obtained with the universally used areometer method (Cassagrande, modified by Prószynski) with results from the laser diffraction method for soil material received from grey-brown podzolic soil is presented in this work. The largest differences between the results were obtained for the smallest fraction determined with the areometer and laser diffraction methods. In a majority of other cases the slopes of interpolated straight lines were contained within the range of 0.81 ÷ 1.09.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1232
Author(s):  
Dušan Igaz ◽  
Elena Aydin ◽  
Miroslava Šinkovičová ◽  
Vladimír Šimanský ◽  
Andrej Tall ◽  
...  

The paper presents the comparison of soil particle size distribution determined by standard pipette method and laser diffraction. Based on the obtained results (542 soil samples from 271 sites located in the Nitra, Váh and Hron River basins), regression models were calculated to convert the results of the particle size distribution by laser diffraction to pipette method. Considering one of the most common soil texture classification systems used in Slovakia (according to Novák), the emphasis was placed on the determination accuracy of particle size fraction <0.01 mm. Analysette22 MicroTec plus and Mastersizer2000 devices were used for laser diffraction. Polynomial regression model resulted in the best approximation of measurements by laser diffraction to values obtained by pipette method. In the case of particle size fraction <0.01 mm, the differences between the measured values by pipette method and both laser analyzers ranged in average from 3% up to 9% and from 2% up to 11% in the case of Analysette22 and Mastersizer2000, respectively. After correction, the differences decreased to average 3.28% (Analysette22) and 2.24% (Mastersizer2000) in comparison with pipette method. After recalculation of the data, laser diffraction can be used alongside the sedimentation methods.


2020 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 09016
Author(s):  
Vitaly Terleev ◽  
Roman Ginevsky ◽  
Viktor Lazarev ◽  
Aleksandr Nikonorov ◽  
Alexander Topaj ◽  
...  

A functional description of the hydrophysical properties of the soil as a capillary-porous medium is presented. The described functions of water retention capacity and hydraulic conductivity of the soil have common parameters, which are interpreted within the framework of physical and statistical concepts. The practical significance of the proposed functions lies in the fact that the volume of labor-intensive field measurements necessary, for example, for modeling the dynamics of soil moisture, is significantly reduced. To identify the parameters of these functions, it is sufficient to use data only on the water retention capacity of the soil. The parameters identified in this way can be used to predict the ratio of the hydraulic conductivity of the soil to the moisture filtration coefficient. The presented system of the hydrophysical functions of the soil is compared with world analogues using literature data on soils of different texture.


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