Diffusion‐controlled mobilization of water‐dispersible colloids from three German silt loam topsoils: effect of temperature

Abstract

SummaryThe effects of time and temperature on the release kinetics of water‐dispersible colloids (WDCs) from three German silt loam topsoils in deionized water were investigated in batch experiments under low‐energy rotating shaking conditions. The measured critical coagulation concentrations of Ca2+ and Na+ for extracted WDC were much larger than the experimental ionic conditions. This indicates a fast dispersion rate in the first detachment step of WDC mobilization from soil aggregates. The cumulative released WDC fraction F(t) (released WDC/clay content in bulk soil) was satisfactorily fitted to the square root of shaking time by a linear function in three soils with a similar clay content. This implies diffusion‐controlled release kinetics in the second step of the WDC mobilization process. The mobilization kinetics were modelled by considering a diffusion‐controlled transport through an immobile water layer in the macropores of soil aggregates formed by silt and sand particles. The effects of temperature on the mobilization kinetics and sedimentation volumes of saturated soils were compared at 7, 23 and 35°C. A linear correlation was found between immobile water layer thickness in soil macropores (lt) and the water volume (Vwater) in soil sediment, which indicates a strong dependence of lt on the soil texture. Temperature‐sensitive lt and Vwater influenced the effect of temperature on WDC release, which counteracts the estimated effect of temperature on particle diffusion according to the Stokes‐Einstein relation. A larger decrease in F(t) was found in grassland and forest soils than in an arable soil and can be related to greater stagnant water contents (larger lt and Vwater) in soil macropores, where particulate organic matter and polyvalent cations in their oxide forms at acidic pH will thus contribute to water immobilization.