Physical and water properties of selected Polish heavy soils of various origins

Abstract

The paper presents the characteristics of selected physical, chemical, and water properties of four mineral arable soils characterized with heavy and very heavy texture. Soil samples from genetic horizons of black earths from areas near Kêtrzyn, Gniew and Kujawy, and alluvial soils from ¯u³awy were used. The following properties were determined in the samples of undisturbed and disturbed structure: texture, particle density, bulk density, porosity, natural and hygroscopic moistures, maximal hygroscopic capacity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, potential of water bonding in soil, total and readily available water, total retention in the horizon of 0-50 cm, drainage porosity, content of organic carbon and total nitrogen Parent rocks of these soils were clays, silts and loams of various origin. High content of clay fraction strongly influenced the values of all the analyzed properties. All the examined soils had high content of organic carbon and total nitrogen and reaction close to neutral or alkaline. High content of mineral and organic colloids and, what follows, beneficial state of top horizons' structure, determined -apart from heavy texture -low soil bulk density and high porosity. The investigated soils were characterized by high field water capacity and wide scopes of total and readily available water. The saturated hydraulic conductivity was low and characteristic to heavy mineral arable soils. The parameter which influenced the variability of analyzed parameters most was texture.

Water – an important element not only of the soil environment

“…1). As the content of colloidal particles increases, so does the capacity to store larger amounts of available water, although clay forms have slightly lower content of available water than structured dust forms (Brogowski and Kwasowski, 2015;Kaczmarek et al, 2015).…”

“…If these waters are not too deep underground, some of them may be available in the rhizosphere as a result of capillary infiltration. However, it is important to note that the heights (cm) of effective groundwater infiltration are limited and depend mainly on the size and distribution of soil grains (Mückenhausen andZakosek, 1961 after Bednarek et al, 2004;Kaczmarek et al, 2015). They amount to 10−50 cm for sands, 30−60 cm for clay and 5 cm for loams.…”

Distribution of iron forms in different types of black earths in the Chełmno Lake District (Northern Poland) as an indicator of soil-forming process

“…Phaeozems are represented by several subtypes with varying thickness of the humic horizon, degree of leaching and water table depth. They are often slightly leached with neutral to moderately acidic pH in the surface horizon and alkaline pH in the parent material (Habel et al, 2007;Łabaz and Kabała, 2014;Kaczmarek et al, 2015;Kobierski et al, 2015;Hristov, 2020). Morphological features identified during field descriptions pose problems in the accurate classification of Phaeozems because they lack the Fe-based redoximorphic features (Thompson et al, 2006).…”

Methane oxidation in lead-contaminated mineral soils under different moisture levels

“…Associated with oxygenation, soil water content is one of the most important elements, together with temperature, which controls many processes in soil (Sławiński et al 2012 ; Kaczmarek et al 2016 ; Lukowska and Józefaciuk 2016 ). By changing aeration, soil moisture determines two opposite processes.…”