Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of the water and air permeability of soil is necessary for modelling the transport properties which depend on soil structure. We aimed to evaluate the suitability of image analysis to estimate gas and liquid transport in soil using resin-impregnated soil blocks. The soil texture, TOC, density, porosity, air capacity (VV), air permeability (logAP), and the saturated hydraulic conductivity (logKS) of a Cambisol developed from loess were measured. To characterise the pores, using the soil structure images, we determined the macroporosity (AA), index of soil pore-network growth rate, percolation number (lognPER), length of pore path/unit area (PLA), and relative volume of pores overlapping top and/or bottom edge of the image (VTB). logKS and logAP related to morphometric parameters of soil structure derived from the image analysis. The main factor controlling the soil’s infiltration was the total volume of soil pores (VV and AA). AA, PLA, VTB, and lognPER were equally useful for characterising the soil pore system. These results will contribute to more accurate estimations of gas and liquid transport in soils and allow to obtain historical hydraulic properties and model long-term trends in the soil water regime based on the existing collections of thin sections and polished blocks.
Highlights
A comprehensive understanding of the water and air permeability of soil is necessary for modelling transport properties that govern numerous environmental processes and functions, including groundwater horizontal and vertical flow, transport of dissolved nutrients and contaminants, and soil aeration
In our study on the Cambisol developed from loess of silt loam texture, we identified the correlations of logKS and logAP with the morphometric parameters of soil structure derived from an image analysis
Our study revealed that an image analysis of soil structure using resin-impregnated soil blocks was useful in evaluating air and water permeability
Summary
A comprehensive understanding of the water and air permeability of soil is necessary for modelling transport properties that govern numerous environmental processes and functions, including groundwater horizontal and vertical flow, transport of dissolved nutrients and contaminants, and soil aeration. This is useful in water management for assessing the water and air demand of vegetation, preventing environmental pollution, and irrigation practice, which is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 [1]. The water and air permeability of soil depend on its structure, which is shaped by soil properties, such as texture, organic matter, carbonates, clay minerals, and sesquioxides and by external conditions [3]. Fernández et al [27] measured the macropore shape via image analysis of thin sections and found that hydraulic conductivity and infiltration rate increased with an increasing number of elongated and irregular macropores
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