Persistence Of Repellency Research Articles

Effect of vegetation cover and soil moisture on water repellency persistence of drained peat soils

AbstractPeatlands play an essential role in the environment and their conservation requires knowledge of water-related processes. Their hydrophobicity is an important factor influencing the flow of water in soils. Drainage of fens and adapting them for agricultural production have contributed to the degradation of peat soils. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of vegetation cover (meadows, alder swamp and birch forest) of drained peat soils on the persistence of their water repellency as a function of their moisture content. Soil samples (Rheic Fibric Histosol and Rheic Murshic Hemic Histosol) were collected from four sites in the Biebrza Wetlands (Poland). The sites include extensive meadows, intensive meadows, alder swamp forest, and secondary birch forest. The study used the Water Drop Penetration Time (WDPT) to assess the persistence of soil water repellency during the drying of soil samples in laboratory conditions. The study proposed a three-straight lines model to describe the relationship between WDPT and soil moisture content. Results revealed that the peat soils in intensive meadows showed the highest WDPT, followed by the secondary birch and alder swamp forest. and then by semi-natural meadows, which has the lowest WDPT.

Can rainfall seasonality trigger soil water repellency in a tropical riparian forest?

Though riparian areas generally have a shallow water table and higher soil moisture compared to upslope areas, climatic seasonality may trigger water repellency in tropical riparian forests, which, if persistent, could negatively affect essential ecosystem functions related to water resources protection such as reduced overland-flow, sediment transport, and nutrient filtration. The objective of this study was to answer the following: can tropical riparian forests develop water repellency? If so, does water repellency affect infiltration on a seasonal basis? For this, water repellency and infiltration were measured in a grid of 72 points during a dry and a wet month of a tropical riparian forest with a shallow water table in a region with highly marked climatic seasonality. Water repellency and infiltration were significantly different between the wet and dry months. Water repellency affected negatively infiltration in the dry month, its effect in the wet month was insignificant. As a result, a higher infiltration capacity was observed over the wet period. Previous research has claimed that the development and persistence of repellency in soils could promote other hydrological processes such as overland flow. The findings shown here demonstrate that such phenomenon does not persist longer than the dry season.

DOSE-PERSISTENCE RELATIONSHIP OF THREE TOPICAL REPELLENT COMPOUNDS AGAINST AEDES ALBOPICTUS AND CULEX NIGRIPALPUS

The experimental piperidine compounds 1-(3-cyclohexen-1-ylcarbonyl)-2-methylpiperidine (AI3-37220), 1-(3-cyclohexen-1-ylcarbonyl) piperidine (AI3-35765), and N, N-diethyl -3- methylbenzamide (DEET) were evaluated for the persistence of repellency against laboratory-reared Aedes albopictus Skuse and Culex nigripalpus Theobald using a modified dose-persistence test procedure on human volunteers. The protection time (hours) provided by the tested repellent compounds against the two species of mosquitoes were proportional to the dose applied. Overall, higher application rates of each repellent compound were found to provide longer mean duration of protection from bites (MDPB) of the two species of mosquitoes. The repellent DEET tested against each mosquito species provided better protection time than the experimental repellent compounds AI3-37220 and AI3-35765. The three repellent compounds at 20 and 25% application rates provided the MDPB of Ae. albopictus for 5-8 hours and at 5, 10 and 15% provided the MDPB of Cx. nigripalpus for 5-7 hours. The MDPB provided by the three repellent compounds against Cx. nigripalpus was longer than that against Ae. albopictus. Also, the MDPB provided by each tested repellent compound varied from the individual human volunteer.

BEST-WR: An adapted algorithm for the hydraulic characterization of hydrophilic and water-repellent soils

Water-repellent soils usually experience water flow impedance during the early stage of a wetting process followed by progressive increase of infiltration rate. Current infiltration models are not formulated to describe this peculiar process. Similarly, simplified methods of soil hydraulic characterization (e.g., BEST) are not equipped to handle water-repellent soils. Here, we present an adaptation of the BEST method, named BEST-WR, for the hydraulic characterization of soils at any stage of water-repellency. We modified the Haverkamp explicit transient infiltration model, included in BEST for modeling infiltration data, by embedding a scaling factor describing the rate of attenuation of infiltration rate due to water repellency. The new model was validated using analytically generated data, involving soils with different texture and a dataset that included data from 60 single-ring infiltration tests. The scaling factor was used as a new index to assess soil water repellency in a Mediterranean wooded grassland, where the scattered evergreen oak trees induced more noticeable water repellency under the canopies as compared to the open spaces. The new index produced results in line with those obtained using the water drop penetration time test, which is one of the most widely test applied for quantifying soil water repellency persistence. Finally, we used BEST-WR to determine the hydraulic characteristic curves under both hydrophilic and hydrophobic conditions.

Contributions of soil organic carbon to soil water repellency persistence: Characterization and modelling

Soil water repellency (SWR) affects hydrological processes such as water infiltration, preferential flow, run-off, and evapotranspiration. Understanding the relationship between SWR and volumetric soil water content (θ) is critical for predicting hydrological processes in hydrophobic soils. In this study, water droplet penetration time (WDPT) was used to investigate the SWR persistence (SWRP) in three soil types with contrasting drainage levels, namely a well-drained Lismore (LIS) stony silt loam, a moderately well-drained Templeton (TEM) silt loam, and a poorly drained Waterton/Temuka (WAT) clay loam under three long-term (>20 years) land uses (irrigated pasture [IP], dryland pasture [DP], and irrigated crop [IC]) in Canterbury, New Zealand. The three soils belong to different soil orders (i.e., Brown, Pallic, and Gley, respectively) in the New Zealand soil classification. Within each land use, 9, 12, and 9 sites were sampled in the LIS, TEM, and WAT soils respectively. There was strong evidence of SWR in all three soil types under three land uses. The maximum SWRP (WDPTmax), ranging from 6 to 1470 s with the median value of 56 s, differed with land use by following descending order of IP > DP > IC. The effects of land use on SWRP differed with soil type. Compared with other two soils, LIS soil had higher differences in WDPTmax between IP and DP, but lower differences in WDPTmax between DP and IC. Most of the SWRP parameters were significantly correlated with soil organic carbon (SOC) content. In soils with higher SOC content, SWR usually developed under drier conditions and declined as soils were maintained under wetter conditions. This study suggests that the WDPTmax appears at soil water contents of 0.17 to 0.19 cm3 cm−3 (equivalent to 0.15 to 0.16 g g−1). Soil water repellency persistence was positively related to SOC content. Soils with SOC content < 2% tended to be wettable, while soils with SOC content > 4% tended to be water-repellent. A Gaussian model with three physically meaningful parameters was developed to successfully fit the SWRP curve (SWRPC, LnWDPT as a function of θ). Our study also showed the possibility to predict the model parameters and SWRPC using SOC content. The model needs to be tested across other soil types, land uses, and climates before it can be widely applied to predict the SWR occurrence from SOC data. Future work should also focus on the impacts of SOC composition on SWRP parameters and other hydrological properties for predicting soil water processes in water-repellent soils.

The Relationship between Soil Moisture and Soil Water Repellency Persistence in Hydrophobic Soils

In this work, we modelled the response of soil water repellency (SWR) persistence to the decrease in moisture in drying soils, and we explored the implication of soil particle size distribution and specific surface area on the SWR severity and persistence. A new equation for the relationship between SWR persistence and soil moisture (θ) is described in this paper. The persistence of SWR was measured on ten different hydrophobic soils using water drop penetration time (WDPT) at decreasing levels of gravimetric water content. The actual repellency persistence showed a sigmoidal response to soil moisture decrease, where Ra(θ)=Rp/1+eδ(θ−θc). The suggested equation enables one to model the actual SWR persistence (Ra) using θ, the potential repellency (Rp) and two characteristic parameters related to the shape of the response curve. The two parameters are the critical soil moisture θc, where the Ra increase rate reaches its maximum, and the parameter δ affecting the steepness of the curve at the inflexion point of the sigmoidal curve. Data shows that both soil carbon and texture are controlling the potential SWR in New Zealand pastures.

Toxicity and repellency of two anthranilates against Aedes albopictus Skuse (Diptera: Culicidae)

The ability of Aedes albopictus Skuse to transmit several pathogens to humans makes it a very important mosquito with public health significance. Ecofriendly products as alternatives to synthetic chemicals for the control of mosquito vectors are needed. Therefore, the larvicidal and repellent effects of two nontoxic chemicals, butyl anthranilate (BA) and ethyl anthranilate (EA), at different concentrations were compared in A. albopictus. The repellency persistence of BA and three commercial mosquito repellent products (Liushen repellent spray, DKB Korean, Raid repellent spray) against A. albopictus was compared. The results showed that 0.1% concentrations of BA and EA solutions were highly toxic to A. albopictus larvae, and the mortality rate was >90% after 4 h of treatment. We found that BA was more repellent than EA, and at 0.1% BA and 1% EA, and the repellency rates were 53.62% and 38.47%, respectively. Overall, 5% BA presented a significantly longer repellency time than the three commercial repellent products against female A. albopictus. These results indicate that BA has significant larvicidal and repellent effects and can be exploited further for the development of ecofriendly alternatives to existing toxic chemicals currently used for mosquito control.

Soil water repellency after slurry fertilization in a dryland agricultural system

In the context of the circular economy, the use of animal excrements as fertilizers is encouraged, but the addition of such organic materials can develop soil water repellency (SWR) or hydrophobicity. There is a lack of consensus about how to assess SWR in agricultural soils. This work evaluated SWR when pig slurries were applied onto soil using the two most common testing methods: the water drop penetration time (WDPT) and the molarity of ethanol droplet (MED) tests. The experiment consisted of five different slurry treatments plus a control (no slurry added). At sowing, slurry from fattening pigs (SF) or no slurry application was combined with a second application at the cereal tillering stage, in which SF, slurry from sows (SS) or no-slurry were the treatments. Soil water repellency was tested at cereal tillering before slurry application and then during the following 47 days. At each sampling date, hydrophobicity was tested in undisturbed samples at field-moist and after 25 °C, 65 °C, and 105 °C oven drying. Disturbed samples were tested after 40 °C oven drying. Soil disturbance removed SWR. Under field conditions, undisturbed samples attained the maximum SWR expression 7d from pig slurry application; moderate and very severe scores using WDPT and MED were respectively attained. From 14d to the end of the experiment, the highest SWR was observed after 105 °C oven drying and when SF applications at sowing (900 kg TOC ha−1) had been combined with SS applications at cereal tillering (1894 kg TOC ha−1). Slurry hydrophobic compounds rather than slurry dry matter influenced SWR expression which is enhanced as the soil dries. The persistence of repellency (WDPT test) was more sensitive to detecting changes in SWR between treatments than the changes in its severity (MED test). The importance of the SWR described hereafter slurry application will depend on plant cover over the soil and the effects in slaking prevention in order to avoid superficial water runoff.

Changes in Topsoil Properties after Centennial Scots Pine Afforestation in a European Beech Forest (NE Spain)

In this work, we studied the effects of centenary Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) afforestation on topsoil properties conducted in a deforested area that was previously occupied by a natural European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest. Organic layers and topsoil Ah mineral horizons (0–10 cm) were sampled in the Scots pine and European beech forests of Moncayo Natural Park (north-eastern Spain). The physical (stoniness, aggregate stability, and water repellency persistence and intensity), chemical (total organic C, total N, C/N, pH, and exchangeable Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Al3+, and Fe3+), and physicochemical (cation exchange capacity) properties of soil were analyzed. Total organic C and N were also obtained for litter samples. The studied topsoils shared a series of common properties, such as a high stoniness and aggregate stability, very low base content, high cation exchange capacity, and extreme acidity. Soils that developed under the pinewood showed a higher soil water repellency intensity. However, K+ content was significantly higher in the beechwood soil. In both forest types, total organic C and N were similar in topsoil and litter (Hemimoder type), although C and N were pooled in different O-layers. Results indicate that pine afforestation in a deforested area was an adequate measure for soil protection since it did not show significant differences in the long term (ca. 100 years) compared to the nearby natural beech stands.

Influence of manure, compost additions and temperature on the water repellency of tropical soils

Soil water repellency is a major concern in many systems as it substantially reduces infiltration and enhances surface runoff. While it is recognised that repellency is affected by the soil organic matter in natural ecosystems, the impact of manure and compost additions on the development and persistence of repellency in agroecosystems, particularly in the tropics, is poorly understood. We therefore examined the impact of different manure, compost additions and temperature on soil water repellency of tropical soils. We monitored the change in repellency in a Cambisol (Talparo – clay loam), Acrisol (Piarco – silt loam) and Arenosol (Arena – loamy sand), amended with three different manure and compost combinations at three different concentrations and four temperatures. Water repellency was the strongest among soils with higher clay content, which was likely due to the higher levels of organic matter observed in the clay loam. The cattle manure produced the most severe repellency despite having the lowest total organic carbon, whereas the sugarcane bagasse produced the lowest repellency. The increases in temperature had the strongest influence on repellency in sandy soils. Our results strongly support the findings of other studies that the quality of the organic material is more important than the total organic carbon in controlling the severity of repellency. This exploratory work also highlighted the importance of plant compost in reducing the level of repellency caused by cattle manure while still having a positive influence on the nutrient status of soils.

Formation of soil–water repellency in olive orchards and its influence on infiltration pattern

Water-repellent (hydrophobic) soils do not wet instantaneously, but only after some time (a few seconds to hours) of soil-particle contact with water. Some plant species can render soils hydrophobic but in this respect, olive trees have scarcely been examined. Measurements of water repellency in olive orchards of different ages in different locations in Israel using the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test have shown that soils tend to become hydrophobic, regardless of texture and structure. A comprehensive study was then performed for an irrigated young and mature olive grove and nearby uncultivated bare soil in the southern part of Israel. The study included intensive WDPT measurements, initial (repellency intensity) and rate of decrease (repellency persistence) for sessile drops placed on the soil surface, cumulative infiltration using tension disc infiltrometer, and monitoring flow in a transparent flow chamber packed with soils from the different plots. The soil from the mature olive plot was noticeably more water repellent than the young plot's soil, and both differed from the uncultivated soil that was fully wettable. The contact angle of a drop placed on the surface of a single layer of soil particles decreased exponentially with time, with a lower decay rate for the mature orchard soil. Cumulative infiltration had a convex pattern for wettable soils and a concave pattern for water-repellent ones. The difference in infiltration pattern was attributed to water/pressure buildup behind the wetting front as a result of the dynamic contact-angle-induced pore resistivity to wetting. The supplemental pressure, also known as dynamic water-entry pressure, increases the infiltration rate beyond that obtained by the capillary pressure per se. The significant correlation between soil sorptivity and the asymptotic infiltration rate, both calculated from the cumulative infiltration curves, and the WDPT substantiates the dependence of pressure overshoot and the rate at which the contact angle decreases prior to pore wetting. The considerable differences in plume shape, size, and internal saturation distribution between the wettable and water-repellent soils, indicating unstable flow in the latter, were also explained by the wettability-dependent water-entry pressure. The outcome of this study indirectly supports the findings that higher surface runoff and erosion are associated with no-till farming in olive orchards, due to the combination of no-till cropping and the near-surface accumulation of hydrophobic organic carbon compounds.

Environmental Factors Governing Soil Water Repellency Dynamics in a Pinus Pinaster Plantation in NW Spain

AbstractSoil water repellency (SWR) is a dynamic property that changes throughout the year. The objective of this work was to identify the environmental factors governing the temporal patterns in SWR in a pine plantation in northwest Spain with a view of predicting its occurrence and persistence. For this purpose, 24 samples were collected from the soil surface (0–5 cm) at 25 different times over a 1‐year period and analysed for SWR by using water drop penetration time test and soil moisture measurements. Temporal variations in SWR exhibited a well‐defined seasonal pattern. The soil surface was largely wettable from late autumn to early spring and extremely water repellent during summer and early autumn. Repellency persistence was rather variable during spring. There was highly significant correlation between SWR and soil moisture content. The moisture range defining the presence or absence of repellency under field conditions was 22–57%. There were also significant correlations with the target variables (maximum temperature, minimum temperature, precipitation and water balance during variably long antecedent periods), with coefficients that increased with increasing length of the antecedent period considered. The moisture content of soil at the time of sampling and the average maximum temperature for the 28 days before sampling are the best predictors of occurrence of SWR and its persistence in different seasons. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Infiltration of water and ethanol solutions in water repellent post wildfire soils

Dynamic soil water repellency is a pending challenge in water repellency research. The dynamic change or temporal dependence of repellency is commonly expressed as the persistence of repellency. Persistence, or dynamic changes in contact angle, are however, difficult to directly measure and incorporate into mechanistic conceptual and numerical models. To provide insight into the mechanistic nature of infiltration in variably repellent porous media over larger spatial and temporal scales than afforded by commonly applied characterization approaches (i.e. drop tests), this study reports upon observations made during in situ 3D tension infiltration experiments conducted at a post-wildfire site. Tension infiltration tests have proven to be uniquely sensitive to changes in repellency over time. Tension infiltration experiments using mini-disk infiltrometers were conducted. Drop tests provided initial measures of repellency. Tension infiltration experiments were used to generate insights on longer term infiltration behaviours using water, ethanol, and aqueous-ethanol solutions. Molarity of Ethanol Drop (MED) – derived aqueous ethanol solutions (of 5%, 25% and 50% ethanol concentration) were used as intermediate infiltration fluids to generate greater insight into the transitional behaviours between repellent and apparently wettable infiltration. Early time infiltration rates are not reliable indicators of longer term infiltration rates. However, relating the two measures was informative in characterising repellency across materials and at different sites, while preserving temporal differences in fluid behaviours. Comparison of the late-time infiltration rates of aqueous solutions of varying ethanol concentrations proved a useful indicator of repellency and fractional wettability effects.

How severe and subcritical water repellency determines the seasonal infiltration in natural and cultivated sandy soils

Infiltration into meadow and fallow (cultivated) sandy soils was evaluated after several prolonged rainy and dry spells during the years 2005–2011. Both soils evolved on fluvio-eluvial sandy sediments planted with pine forest, were originally strongly water repellent, but their management after deforestation was different. The fallow soil was intensively cultivated since 1950 while the other was left for natural grassland succession. For comparison, the perfectly wettable bare sediment of similar origin and texture was taken as reference material.We focused on soil porosity, hydraulic conductivity (k(−20mm)) and sorptivity (S) estimated by mini-disc infiltrometer, water drop penetration time (WDPT), and water repellency index (R).The results indicate that cultivation (mainly liming) the fallow soil alleviated the water repellency to its subcritical level, what is also the main explanation for different water repellency persistence levels in fallow versus meadow soil. Notwithstanding, cultivation has not substantially increased water infiltration properties confirming the hypothesis that subcritical water repellency may still retard water infiltration. Some stability of wetting patterns observed in the meadow and fallow soils resulted in only insignificant increase of k(−20mm) during the rainy periods.Long dry spells enhanced the infiltration capacity in wettable reference material because of sorptivity increase. Sorptivities of water repellent meadow and fallow soils, however, remained restrained during both, the rainy and dry spells due to higher water content (when wet) and to stronger water repellency (when dry). As a result, only small seasonal variability in infiltration rates was observed in both water repellent soils.

Soil water repellency persistence after recurrent forest fires on Mount Carmel, Israel

Variations in forest fires regime affect: (1) the natural patterns of community structure and vegetation; (2) the physico-chemical properties of soils and consequently (3) runoff, erosion and sediment yield. In recent decades the Mediterranean ecosystem of Mount Carmel, north-western Israel, is subjected to an increasing number of forest fires, thus, the objectives of the study were to evaluate the long-term effects of single and recurrent fires on soil water repellency (WR) and organic matter (OM) content. Water repellency was studied by applying water drop penetration time (WDPT) tests at sites burnt by single-fire, two fires, three fires and unburnt control sites. Water repellency in the burnt sites was significantly lower than in the unburnt control sites, and the soil maintained its wettability for more than 2 decades, whereas after recurrent fires, the rehabilitation was more complicated and protracted. The OM content was significantly lower after recurrent than after a single fire, causing a clear proportional decrease in WR. The rehabilitation of WR to natural values is highly dependent on restoration of organic matter and revegetation. Recurrent fires may cause a delay in recovery and reduced productivity of the soil for a long period.

Role of Divalent Fatty Acid Salts in Soil Water Repellency

The effect of pH and counterions on the persistence of soil water repellency was examined. Repellency persistence increased at elevated pH in the presence of Ca2+ but not Na+, increased at high cation concentrations, and decreased with increasing temperature. These results are explained by the behavior of monolayers of long‐chain fatty acids on solid and liquid substrates. Other hydrophobic film‐forming compounds, including long‐chain alkanes, long‐chain amines, and hydrophobins, cannot account for the observations. A conceptual model for repellency in soils was developed: (i) fatty acid headgroups are complexed with cations at positively charged surfaces and via divalent cation bridges at negatively charged surfaces, with chains facing outward, rendering the surface hydrophobic; (ii) these complexed fatty acid molecules have a relatively slow rate of reorientation when contacted by water; and (iii) there are relatively few easily hydrated hydrophilic moieties at the surface. The factors that determine whether a hydrophobic film will form at soil surfaces, and the stability and longevity of that film, include the abundance and nature of fatty acids and other components at particle surfaces, the mineralogy of the substrate, and the chemistry of the soil solution. This model explains many observed inconsistencies of repellent soils, including spatial and temporal variability, development on soils of differing acidities, changes in repellency upon heating, and more. In accordance with the model, we suggest that the molarity of ethanol droplet test is an indirect measure of the fatty acid abundance and strength of attachment at surfaces, and not of the initial contact angle.

A bimodal four‐parameter lognormal linear model of soil water repellency persistence

AbstractSoil water repellency may be characterized in terms of the delayed infiltration time of a water droplet resting on the soil surface, which is, water drop penetration time (WDPT), or repellency persistence. Such repellency persistence varies nonlinearly with soil water content (θg), although no models have been proposed to reproduce the variation of WDPT with θg in soils. Dynamic factor analysis (DFA) is used to identify two common patterns of unexplained variability in a scattered dataset of WDPT versus θg measurements. A four‐parameter lognormal distribution was fitted to both common patterns obtained by DFA, and these were combined additively in a weighted multiple linear bimodal model. We show how such an empirical model is capable of reproducing a large variety of WDPT versus θg curve shapes (N = 80) both within a wide range of measured WDPTs (0–17 000 s) and for samples with organic matter content ranging from 21·7 to 80·6 g (100 g)−1. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Immediate effects of wildfires on water repellency and aggregate stability in Mediterranean calcareous soils

Alkaline soils are considered much less prone to developing water repellency induced by fire than acidic soils. Here we report on the persistence of water repellency present in calcareous soils immediately after wildfires in 10 burned areas in SE Spain, its distribution in different aggregate size fractions (< 2, 2–1, 1–0.5, 0.5–0.25 and < 0.25 mm) and on results from aggregate stability tests. We also distinguished between soil samples taken beneath pine (Pinus halepensis) and beneath understory vegetation. Burning appears to have increased the frequency of water repellency occurrence, with 74% of burned samples being classified as water repellent compared to 33% from unburned terrain in the composite fraction (< 2 mm). The persistence of water repellency after fire was highly variable but nevertheless showed statistical differences at p < 0.001 comparing burned vs unburned. Moreover, statistical differences in the persistence of water repellency were found in soil samples taken from beneath pine between burned and unburned, and also beneath understory vegetation. Results showed that soil beneath understory tend to have lower values of water repellency persistence than soil beneath pine. Burned soils showed higher aggregate stability. A positive tendency was observed between aggregate stability and water repellency. The observed changes in WR and AS could have implications for soil hydrological behaviour.

Occurrence, prediction and hydrological effects of water repellency amongst major soil and land‐use types in a humid temperate climate

SummaryKnowledge of soil water repellency distribution, of factors affecting its occurrence and of its hydrological effects stems primarily from regions with a distinct dry season, whereas comparatively little is known about its occurrence in humid temperate regions such as typified by the UK. To address this research gap, we have examined: (i) water repellency persistence (determined by the water drop penetration time method, WDPT) and degree (determined by the critical surface tension method, CST) for soil samples (0–5, 10–15 and 20–25 cm depth) taken from 41 common soil and land‐use types in the humid temperate climate of the UK; (ii) the supposed relationship of soil moisture, textural composition and organic matter content with sample repellency; and (iii) the bulk wetting behaviour of undisturbed surface core samples (0–5 cm depth) over a period of up to 1 week. Repellency was found in surface samples of all major soil textural types amongst most permanently vegetated sites, whereas tilled sites were virtually unaffected. Repellency levels reached those of the most severely affected areas elsewhere in the world, decreased in persistence and degree with depth and showed no consistent relationship with soil textural characteristics, organic matter or soil moisture contents, except that above a water content of c. 28% by volume, repellency was absent. Wetting rate assessments of 100 cm3 intact soil cores using continuous water contact (–20 mm pressure head) over a period of up to 7 days showed that across the whole sample range and irrespective of texture, severe to extreme repellency persistence consistently reduced the maximum water content at any given time to well below that of wettable soils. For slightly to moderately repellent soils the results were more variable and thus hydrological effects of such repellency levels are more difficult to predict. The results imply that: (i) repellency is common for many land‐use types with permanent vegetation cover in humid temperate climates irrespective of soil texture; (ii) supposedly influential parameters (texture, organic matter, specific water content) are poor general predictors of water repellency, whereas land use and the moisture content below which repellency can occur seem more reliable; and (iii) infiltration and water storage capacity of very repellent soils are considerably less than for comparable wettable soils.

Evaluation of different clay minerals as additives for soil water repellency alleviation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of kaolinite, illite, Na- and Ca-montmorillonite in alleviating water repellency for a simple model soil material of known composition before and after wetting and drying phases. Sand was rendered water repellent by adding 10 and 30 g kg − 1 stearic acid followed by adding different amounts (1, 2 and 3 mass %) of respective clays. Treated and untreated control sand were wetted and exposed to prolonged drying phase at 50 °C to simulate the effects of wetting followed by drying under a hot spell. The persistence of water repellency was measured with the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test. During the wetting/drying cycle, the control samples (stearic acid treated sand) and clay treated sands behaved in a fashion typically observed in water repellent soils: they were wettable above and water repellent below a critical water content, with repellency persistence (WDPT) increasing with decreasing water content. Kaolinite and Na-montmorillonite were found to be the only clay minerals able to lower the persistence of repellency of the stearic acid sand. The difference between Ca- and Na-montmorillonite ability to alleviate water repellency is explained by the differences in inter-particle forces in the clay–exchangeable cation–water system. During the prolonged drying phase at 50 °C, the persistence of water repellency increased with the duration of heating at 50 °C, with the increase being greatest during the first 48 h in the majority of the samples. While kaolinite and Na-montmorillonite addition resulted in a reduction in the persistence of water repellency of the stearic acid sand, Ca-montmorillonite and illite addition increased the persistence of water repellency of the stearic acid sand. The net effect of clay mineral addition is dependent on the amount of Ca 2+ ions occurring at the surface of clay minerals. Pools of available (exchangeable) calcium decrease in the order as follows: Ca-montmorillonite >> illite >> Na-montmorillonite ≈ kaolinite.