Effect of Structural Type of Clay Minerals on Physical Properties of Mountainous Grassland Soils

Abstract

Soil amendment, especially addition of clay minerals, has been widely conducted to improve the physical and chemical properties of cultivated soils. However, there are no systematic studies on the effects of the structural type of clay minerals added. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of structural type of clay minerals on physical properties of soils. Two experimental soils, layer-dominant and granule-dominant ones, were mixed with either a layer-type smectite or a granule-type zeolite at a level of 2.0 wt%. It was observed that water permeability of soils was decreased by smectite whereas not significantly changed by zeolite. This effect was much greater in layered clay-dominant soil than in granular clay-dominant soil. Our results clearly indicated that the relationship of structural type between a soil and an amendment plays a decisive role in the soil properties. Therefore, it is highly recommended that the structural types of both soil and amendment be taken into consideration for soil amendment by clay minerals.