Threshold water content beyond which hydrophobic soils become hydrophilic: The role of soil texture and organic matter content

Vogelmann, Eduardo Saldanha; Reichert, José Miguel; Prevedello, Juliana; Consensa, Claudine Ohana Barcellos; Oliveira, Anselmo E. de; Awe, Gabriel Oladele; Mataix-Solera, Jorge

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.06.019

Cited by 76 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Hydrophobicity also affects water affinity and, consequently, the soil's resistance to microbial degradation, the rate of wetting and absorption processes (Leelamanie, 2014). Nevertheless, some soils become hydrophilic with widely varying granulometric compositions and organic matter types (Vogelmann et al, 2013). When the organic matter is hydrophilic, the soil is able to hold large amounts of water.…”

Section: Physical Properties Of the Soilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of soil pore structure in water infiltration and CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and underground air in the vadose zone: A combined laboratory and field approach

Pla

Cuezva

Martı́nez-Martı́nez

et al. 2017

CATENA

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The soils above caves represent a membrane that regulates the connection between the underground environment and the outside atmosphere. In this study, soils from two different field sites (Cueva de Altamira and Cueva del Rull in Spain) are investigated. Field results are analysed and linked to laboratory tests. Several laboratory experiments are performed to quantify CO2 diffusion coefficients and water infiltration rates in these soils under different degrees of soil water saturation and compaction.Tests confirm that the grain size distribution, organic matter content, mineral composition and water content of soils affect gas transport through the soil pore network. Both field and lab results reveal that Altamira soil has a coarser texture and therefore has higher CO 2 diffusion coefficients, infiltration rates and hydraulic conductivity values than Rull soil. Rull soil contains a higher proportion of fine particles and organic matter, which explains the lower fluid transport coefficients.When soils are near saturation, fluid transport does not depend on the physical properties of soil but depends on the soil water content. In this state, liquid transport regulates the available space within the soil pores, which leads to a reduction in the gaseous diffusion coefficient of the soil. After rainfall episodes, the connection between the exterior atmosphere and underground cavities is hindered due to a rise in the soil water content, which is responsible for the closure of the overlying membrane. This study demonstrates that soil-produced CO2 reaches the underground atmosphere through diffusion processes that are controlled by the intrinsic properties of soil (porosity, grain size distribution, texture, mineralogy and organic matter content) and soil water content.

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Section: Physical Properties Of the Soilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of soil pore structure in water infiltration and CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and underground air in the vadose zone: A combined laboratory and field approach

Pla

Cuezva

Martı́nez-Martı́nez

et al. 2017

CATENA

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“…It is generally found to be most extreme when soils are dry, declining and eventually disappearing as soils become wet (e.g., de Jonge et al, 1999;Dekker and Ritsema, 1994;Fér et al, 2016;Lichner et al, 2013a;Vogelmann et al, 2013) although the soil moisture water repellency relationship is nevertheless complex (Doerr et al, 2000). When wet, amphiphilic compounds produced by plants are hydrophilic, but below a critical moisture threshold, their hydrophilic ends are bond strongly with one another and the soil particles, while hydrophobic ends are oriented towards the free space inducing water repellency (Ma'shum and Farmer, 1985;Tschapek, 1984).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the aim of estimating soil sorptivity, tension infiltration experiments are preferred to ponded ones to exclude the contribution of macropores that may overwhelm soil hydrophobicity (Cerdà, 1996;Ebel et al, 2012;Nyman et al, 2010). Miniaturized tension infiltrometers were proposed to determine SWR (Hallett et al, 2001;Vogelmann et al, 2013), but their use is confined to the aggregate scale and, for field use, standard infiltrometers are more suited. Hunter et al (2011) assessed the influence of disk size suggesting that the minidisk infiltrometer (MDI), having a 45 mm diameter disk, is appropriate for field assessment of SWR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of minidisk infiltrometer to estimate water repellency in Mediterranean pine forest soils

Alagna

Iovino

Bagarello

et al. 2017

Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics

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Assessment of soil water repellency (SWR) was conducted in the decomposed organic floor layer (duff) and in the mineral soil layer of two Mediterranean pine forests, one in Italy and the other in Spain, by the widely-used water drop penetration time (WDPT) test and alternative indices derived from infiltration experiments carried out by the minidisk infiltrometer (MDI). In particular, the repellency index (RI) was calculated as the adjusted ratio between ethanol and water soil sorptivities whereas the water repellency cessation time (WRCT) and the specifically proposed modified repellency index (RI m ) were derived from the hydrophobic and wettable stages of a single water infiltration experiment. Time evolution of SWR and vegetation cover influence was also investigated at the Italian site. All indices unanimously detected severe SWR conditions in the duff of the pine forests. The mineral subsoils in the two forests showed different wettability and the clay-loam subsoil at Ciavolo forest was hydrophobic even if characterized by organic matter (OM) content similar to the wettable soil of an adjacent glade. It was therefore assumed that the composition rather than the total amount of OM influenced SWR. The hydraulic conductivity of the duff differed by a factor of 3.8-5.8 between the two forested sites thus influencing the vertical extent of SWR. Indeed, the mineral subsoil of Javea showed wettable or weak hydrophobic conditions probably because leaching of hydrophobic compounds was slowed or prevented at all. Estimations of SWR according to the different indices were in general agreement even if some discrepancies were observed. In particular, at low hydrophobicity levels the SWR indices gathered from the MDI tests were able to signal sub-critical SWR conditions that were not detected by the traditional WDPT index. The WRCT and modified repellency index RI m yielded SWR estimates in reasonable agreement with those obtained with the more cumbersome RI test and, therefore, can be proposed as alternative procedures for SWR assessment.

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“…Under dry conditions, organo-mineral coatings may decrease the wettability of aggregate surfaces due to an increased hydrophobicity of the soil organic matter Vogelmann et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kořenková et al, 2015). It was shown (e.g., Blanco-Canqui and Lal, 2009;Goebel et al, 2008;Lachacz et al, 2009;Vogelmann et al, 2013) that soil water sorptivity decreased exponentially with increasing SOM content. Czachor et al (2013), Leelamanie and Karube (2007), Vogelmann et al (2013), and Woche et al, (2005) also reported a non-linear increase of the contact angle with SOM content.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Droplet infiltration dynamics and soil wettability related to soil organic matter of soil aggregate coatings and interiors

Fér

Leue

Kodešová

et al. 2016

Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics

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Abstract:The organo-mineral coatings of soil aggregates, cracks, and biopores control sorption and macropore-matrix exchange during preferential flow, in particular in the clay-illuvial Bt-horizon of Luvisols. The soil organic matter (SOM) composition has been hypothesized to explain temporal changes in the hydraulic properties of aggregate surfaces. The objective of this research was to find relations between the temporal change in wettability, in terms of droplet infiltration dynamics, and the SOM composition of coated and uncoated aggregate surfaces. We used 20 to 40 mm sized soil aggregates from the Bt2 horizon of a Haplic Luvisol from loess that were (i) coated, (ii) not coated (both intact), and (iii) aggregates from which coatings were removed (cut). The SOM composition of the aggregate surfaces was characterized by infrared spectroscopy in the diffuse reflection mode (DRIFT). A potential wettability index (PWI) was calculated from the ratio of hydrophobic and hydrophilic functional groups in SOM. The water drop penetration times (WDPT) and contact angles (CA) during droplet infiltration experiments were determined on dry and moist aggregate samples of the three types. The decrease in the CA with time was described using the power function (CA(t) = at -b ). For dry aggregates, the WDPT values were larger for coated as compared to uncoated regions on the aggregate surfaces, and increased with increasing PWI value (R 2 = 0.75). The a parameter was significantly related to the WDPT (R 2 = 0.84) and to the PWI (R 2 = 0.64). The relations between the b parameter and the WDPT (R 2 = 0.61) and the PWI (R 2 = 0.53) were also significant. The WDPT values of wet soil aggregates were higher than those of dry aggregates due to high water contents, which limited the droplet infiltration potential. At the wet aggregate surfaces, the WDPT values increased with the PWI of the SOM (R 2 = 0.64). In contrast to dry samples, no significant relationships were found between parameters a or b of CA(t) and WDPT or PWI for wet aggregate surfaces. The results suggest that the effect of the SOM composition of coatings on surface wettability decreases with increasing soil moisture. In addition to the dominant impact of SOM, the wettability of aggregate surfaces could be affected by different mineralogical compositions of clay in coatings and interiors of aggregates. Particularly, wettability of coatings could be decreased by illite which was the dominant clay type in coatings. However, the influence of different clay mineral fractions on surface wettability was not due to small number of measurements (2 and 1 samples from coatings and interiors, respectively) quantified.

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Threshold water content beyond which hydrophobic soils become hydrophilic: The role of soil texture and organic matter content

Cited by 76 publications

References 30 publications

Role of soil pore structure in water infiltration and CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and underground air in the vadose zone: A combined laboratory and field approach

Role of soil pore structure in water infiltration and CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and underground air in the vadose zone: A combined laboratory and field approach

Application of minidisk infiltrometer to estimate water repellency in Mediterranean pine forest soils

Droplet infiltration dynamics and soil wettability related to soil organic matter of soil aggregate coatings and interiors

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