Evaluation of soil aggregate microstructure and stability under wetting and drying cycles in two Ultisols using synchrotron-based X-ray micro-computed tomography

Abstract

Soil structure and the soil pore system are important for many soil environmental processes. However, little is known about the influence of intra-aggregate microstructure on aggregate stability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of soil pore characteristics on wet aggregate stability and aggregate tensile strength (TS) using synchrotron-based X-ray micro-computed tomography (SR-μCT) under wetting and drying cycles. Undisturbed topsoils (200cm3) derived from shale (S) and Quaternary red clay (Q) were submitted to three wetting and drying treatments under controlled laboratory conditions. 3–5mm aggregates were collected from different treatments and scanned at 3.7μm voxel-resolution for the reconstruction of 3D micro tomography images. The wet aggregate stability and TS were measured after each treatment. The relationships among pore characteristics, wet aggregate stability, and TS were analyzed using partial least squares regression (PLSR). The results indicated that porosity (P), percentage of pores >100μm (Pd>100), and fraction of elongated pores (FEP) all significantly increased with an increasing number of wetting and drying cycles, while the opposite trends were observed for the total number of pores (TNP), the percentage of pores with a diameter of 75–100, 30–75, and <30μm. Decrease in wet aggregate stability and TS of both soils was mainly due to higher P, a more extensive and complex pore network, which caused increased air pressure, increased rate of water entry, and high probability of crack propagation and interaction. The TNP, Pd75–100, P, and Pd>100, were identified as the primary factors controlling the wet aggregate stability and TS according to PLSR. The pore characteristics and soil clay content accounted for as much as 99% of the variation in wet aggregate stability and TS. This study provides insights for improved understanding of the change in topsoil microstructure; however, the effect of pore characteristics on the aggregate breakdown mechanism requires further investigation.