Soil-structure Analysis Research Articles

Exploring the Soil Structure Analysis of a Subtropical Watershed by Introducing a Blanket Physico‐Hydraulic Health Index

ABSTRACTMultiple disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected to assess the soil structure health in support of water use and management in a subtropical watershed, which is composed of shallow Entisols, near to Canguçu, RS state—Brazil. Various physico‐hydraulic properties related to soil structure, such as bulk density, total, micro and macroporosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, organic carbon, soil water retention curve (SWRC), and the ranges of plant available water (PAWC) and drainable porosity (DP) were measured to be analyzed. The hydraulic‐energy indices of soil aeration and water retention were determined by integrating the areas under SWRC. Combining these properties with the contents of sand and clay, a unique blanket soil physico‐hydraulic health index (BSPHI) was formulated and applied to investigate the impact of land use and management on the soils of the Ellert Creek Watershed (ECW), thereby supporting soil physical health analysis and, consequently, the analysis of water and human health. The favorable outcomes found in the ECW soils under annual crops indicated good root aeration in the surface layer due to the balance between DP and PAWC. The BSPHI results showed that only about 19% of the areas exhibited unhealthy physical health. The soil structure in pasture areas of ECW was not significantly impacted by the extensive cattle grazing, whereas lands under native forest served as a control for the natural soil quality status. The BSPHI successfully captured small changes in soil structure, regardless of land use and management, highlighting its potential as a promising tool for evaluating soil health by assessing the soil physical quality.

Control and Analysis of Layered Soil Structure to Ensure Railway Roadbed Stability

Control and Analysis of Layered Soil Structure to Ensure Railway Roadbed Stability

Nonlinear 3D Finite Element Analysis of a Coupled Soil–Structure System by a Deterministic Approach

Fully coupled soil–structure analyses were performed for a building of strategic importance located in the city of Messina (Sicily, Italy). The structure was built after the destructive 1908 earthquake, also known as the ‘Messina and Reggio Calabria earthquake’, which caused severe ground shaking. A parametric study considering three seismograms of this earthquake was performed. Deep in situ and laboratory investigations allowed the definition of the geometric and geotechnical model of the subsoil. Numerical analyses were performed with PLAXIS3D finite element software (Version 21.01.00.479). The Hardening Soil model with small-strain stiffness was accurately calibrated using laboratory and field data. The dynamic response was investigated in terms of accelerations, response spectra, amplification functions, displacements and stress–strain hysteretic loops. The findings show that many aspects must be investigated for the retrofitting of buildings with shallow foundation in areas characterized by a medium to high level of seismic risk: (i) a key role is played by an accurate investigation of the soil; taking into account the specific conditions of the soil, it was possible to investigate its filtering effects; (ii) the dynamic response of the fully-coupled soil–structure system deviates from the free field-site response analysis; (iii) the results reveal the importance of considering the soil nonlinearity in seismic soil–structure interaction problems.

Enhancing adoption studies of LID-BMP’S for Storm Water Management Drainage (SWMD) national stadium in Jayapura, Indonesia

The essential of this paper is implementing Low Impact Development (LID) type stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP’s) to reduce stormwater run-off in urban areas. The case study taken is the development area of Jayapura National Stadium. The drainage system at the main stadium is divided into subsurface and surface drainage. Meanwhile, the development area will enhance the study of adopting several LID-BMP’s practices to manage and optimize the design to control stormwater run-off in the stadium before it is discharged into the urban drainage system. The methodology in this study is divided into data collection and planning. The data collected include daily maximum rainfall data, stadium master plan, soil investigation, macro drainage system, drainage master plan, and topography around the stadium. Meanwhile, planning includes calculating rainfall design, soil structure analysis, hydraulic planning, pipe dimensions, and planning for water storage. The rainfall design used is a 5-year return period with Log Person III, the best design from the suitability test analysis, which is 134.39 mm/day. The study examined drainage design effectiveness to control stormwater run-off on the drainage design at the main stadium and surrounding stadiums using the LID-BMP’s framework and compared them. The LID-BMP’s adoption study was to optimize the drainage design to obtain maximum run-off control that can reduce up to 7-10% of stormwater run-off due to design and soil structure. The results provided recommendations to the authorities to modify the current design to achieve the benefits.

Circunstances affecting the protection against electrode potential rise (EPR)

In this paper the earthing resistance of substations with different earth electrode and soil structures is investigated by simulation studies with the use of CDEGS (Current Distribution, Electromagnetic Fields, Grounding and Soil Structure Analysis) software code. The paper presents the effect of grid geometry, soil characteristics, the effectiveness of the vertical earth rods and the conductor diameter.

Importance of soil fertility for climate-resilient cropping systems: The farmer's perspective

Healthy and productive agricultural soils are the basis for global food security as they are a prerequisite for yield-stable cropping systems under climate change. Despite the expansion of agricultural research activities in this area through field experiments, lab analyses, and modelling frameworks, current empirical insights from farming practice on a more national scale are still rare. For this reason, the agronomic importance of soil fertility for farming practice was the focus of this nationwide empirical study conducted in Germany (winter/spring 2022) with a total sample size of 585. The views and needs of 370 farmers and 215 agricultural institutionalists were evaluated, i.a., regarding the importance of soil fertility and related soil properties, as well as preferred agronomic management strategies and needs for the promotion of soil fertility. The results showed that most farmers and institutionalists consider soil fertility to be very important. Moreover, it was emphasized that the importance of this factor will increase in the future due to changing climatic conditions (e.g., heat/drought stress) and the need for more sustainable land use including the protection of biodiversity. The main motivations for agronomic investments in greater soil fertility were improving the climate resilience and yield stability of cropping systems. In this context, the top soil properties of interest were ranked by the respondents as follows: (1) water storage capacity, (2) rootability, (3) biological activity, and (4) water infiltration rate. To promote soil fertility, farmers mainly considered catch cropping, diversified crop rotations with a positive humus balance, and year-round ground plant cover/mulch as the most useful agronomic measures. In terms of methods for the assessment of soil fertility, soil structure analyses, biological indicators, yield/biomass production, soil nutrient analyses, and field methods were most important, whereas sensor systems and apps/digital tools were of minor importance. For the future improvement of soil fertility promotion in farming practice, simple indicators and reference values for assessing soil fertility as well as 'workshops, field days, and field schools' for training aspects were suggested by the participants. Overall, there were few differences between the perceptions of farmers and agricultural institutionalists. Both groups pointed out the need for improved communication between politics, science, and practice such that agriculture can respond more quickly to changing climatic conditions in the future.

Soil health metrics reflect yields in long-term cropping system experiments

Soil health metrics with strong links to ecological function and agricultural productivity are needed to ensure that future management of agricultural systems meets sustainability goals. While ecological metrics and crop yields are often considered separately from one another, our work sought to assess the links between the two in an agricultural context where productivity is a key consideration. Here, we investigated the value of soil health tests in terms of their relevance to agricultural management practices and crop yields at contrasting long term cropping systems experiments. One site was on a sandy loam Leptic Podzol and the other on a sandy clay loam Endostagnic Luvisol. Furthermore, the experiments had different management systems. One contained legume-supported rotations with different grass-clover ley durations and organic amendment usage, while the other compared a range of nutrient input options through fertiliser and organic amendments on the same rotation without ley periods. Metrics included field tests (earthworm counts and visual evaluation of soil structure scores) with laboratory analysis of soil structure, chemistry and biology. This analysis included bulk density, macroporosity, pH, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, soil organic matter and potentially mineralizable nitrogen. Using a novel combination of long-term experiments, management systems and distinctive soil types, we demonstrated that as well as providing nutrients, agricultural management which resulted in better soil organic matter, pH, potassium and bulk density was correlated with higher crop yields. The importance of ley duration and potentially mineralizable nitrogen to yield in legume-supported systems showed the impact of agricultural management on soil biology. In systems with applications of synthetic fertiliser, earthworm counts and visual evaluation of soil structure scores were correlated with higher yields. We concluded that agricultural management altered yields not just through direct supply of nutrients to crops, but also through the changes in soil health measured by simple metrics.

Soil CT image quality enhancement via an improved super-resolution reconstruction method based on GAN

Computed tomography (CT) is an effective instrument to characterize the internal structure of soil. However, the resolution of soil CT images is often limited by the physical properties of the scanner and the imaging protocol, which can lead to difficulties in accurately characterizing fine-scale features of soil. At present, the super-resolution reconstruction results of CT images often have the problems of blurred feature boundaries and low image quality, causing inaccuracies in the analysis of soil structure. Therefore, this study developed an improved super-resolution reconstruction method based on generative adversarial networks (SRLGAN) to accurately reconstruct high-resolution CT images from low-resolution CT images and assist in digital soil descriptions. SRLGAN utilized a lightweight CNN super-resolution reconstruction module as the generator model, which can improve the reconstruction image quality while reducing the number of trainable parameters and inference time. Meanwhile, a closed-loop loss function was employed to reduce input image information loss and improve method generalization. Compared with traditional reconstruction methods and deep learning methods, the proposed SRLGAN method showed superior performance with a higher peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 45.869 dB and a structural similarity index (SSIM) of 0.992. Particularly, the PSNR was 9.95% and 4.49% higher than the best-performing traditional method (Bicubic) and deep learning method (SRGAN), respectively. Furthermore, compared to the SRGAN, trainable parameters and inference time of the SRLGAN have decreased by 77.84% and 57.86%, respectively, which indicates the highest degree of lightweighting. This study demonstrated that SRLGAN can generate high-quality, high-resolution soil CT images that can be used for subsequent segmentation and 3D structural analysis, offering an intelligent approach to understanding the internal soil structure.

Simultaneous enhancement of soil properties along with water-holding and restriction of Pb–Cd mobility in a soil-plant system by the addition of a phosphorus-modified biochar to the soil

Soil quality deterioration and heavy metal contamination have greatly limited soil productivity in mining areas. As soil is a complex system with various properties and interactions, it is imperative to conduct a comprehensive investigation to understand the amendment's mechanisms at work in the soil in mining areas as well as effective ways to address its deteriorating quality. In this study, a potassium dihydrogen phosphate-modified maize straw-cow dung biochar (PBC) was applied as a soil amendment. Various physicochemical properties of the soil including organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and pore characteristics were analyzed. This study also assessed soil-saturated water content and soil moisture characteristic curve. Lettuce biomass was measured and changes in various speciation of Pb and Cd in the soil, and the accumulation of Pb and Cd in lettuce were examined. Results showed that the addition of PBC increased soil organic matter, total nitrogen, and available phosphorus while reducing soil bulk density, it also increased soil porosity, saturated water content, and capillary water capacity. Soil structure analysis using CT scanning revealed that 3% PBC increased the macrospores volume fraction while 5% PBC made the pores more uniform. Lettuce biomass increased by 53.3%. 5% PBC resulted in a 56.79% and 38.30% reduction in Pb and a 44.56% and 16.60% reduction in Cd in roots and shoots of lettuce respectively. PBC facilitated the transformation of Pb and Cd from unstable fractions to stable fractions through complexation and precipitation. Overall, the addition of PBC effectively improved soil nutrients, porosity, and water-holding capacity, promoted plant growth, immobilized Pb and Cd, as well as reduced the bioavailability in contaminated-soil from mining areas. This study provides an effective strategy and a new perspective for the remediation of Pb–Cd-contaminated soils.

Soil-Structure Analyses of Cable-Supported Bridges under Multiple-Support Excitation

Bu çalışmada eşit merkez açıklığa sahip asma ve eğik kablo askılı köprülerin dinamik davranışının karşılaştırılması amacıyla önce merkez açıklığı 1000 m olan bir eğik kablo askılı köprü ile bir asma köprü sistemi tasarlanmıştır. Tasarımı yapılan köprülerin dinamik davranışlarını incelemek için köprülere üniform ve mesnetlerinden farklı yer hareketi uygulanıp, yapı-zemin etkileşiminin dikkate alındığı ve ihmal edildiği durumlar için zaman-tanım alanında doğrusal olmayan analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, mesnetlerinden farklı yer hareketi uygulamasının ve yapı-zemin etkileşiminin her iki köprü modelinde de yapısal tepkileri genel olarak arttırdığı gözlenmiştir. Bunun yanında, üniform ve mesnetlerden farklı yer hareketi uygulanmasına bağlı olarak hangi köprü sisteminin daha fazla etkilendiğine ilişkin değerlendirmelerde bulunulmuştur.

A Case Study of Deep DNAPL Contamination in Marine Soft Clays

Aquifers in China’s southeast coastal areas are protected by the overlying marine soft clays formed in Holocene transgression. However, a fundamental understanding of the characteristics of DNAPL (dense nonaqueous phase liquid) contamination in marine soft clays is limited. The study was conducted on the site of a former pharmaceutical factory in Shanghai, where serious 1,1,2-trichloroethane (DNAPL) contamination was detected up to the depth of 22.0 m below the existing grade. Partitioning calculation method was used to identify the presence of pure phase, and the results showed that pure 1,1,2-trichloroethane was accumulated at the interface of the upper soft silty clay and lower soft clay. The vertical transport was believed to be the pure DNAPL displacing pore water following the principle of two-phase flow, rather than the convection and diffusion of aqueous phase. The contamination (NAPL-soil interaction) impacted the soil properties slightly, and this effect could not account for the deep contamination. Soil structure analysis showed that these clays contained a proportion of large interaggregate pores, providing pathways for the transport of pure DNAPL. Considering their flocculated structure, the marine soft clays are not capable to perform as a barrier to prevent the downward migration of pure DNAPL.

Pedotransfer Functions for Estimating Soil Bulk Density Using Image Analysis of Soil Structure.

Soil bulk density is one of the most important soil properties. When bulk density cannot be measured by direct laboratory methods, prediction methods are used, e.g., pedotransfer functions (PTFs). However, existing PTFs have not yet incorporated information on soil structure although it determines soil bulk density. We aimed therefore at development of new PTFs for predicting soil bulk density using data on soil macrostructure obtained from image analysis. In the laboratory soil bulk density (BD), texture and total organic carbon were measured. On the basis of image analysis, soil macroporosity was evaluated to calculate bulk density by image analysis (BDim) and number of macropore cross-sections of diameter ≥5 mm was determined and classified (MP5). Then, we created PTFs that involve soil structure parameters, in the form BD~BDim + MP5 or BD~BDim. We also compared the proposed PTFs with selected existing ones. The proposed PTFs had mean prediction error from 0 to -0.02 Mg m-3, modelling efficiency of 0.17-0.39 and prediction coefficient of determination of 0.35-0.41. The proposed PTFs including MP5 better predicted boundary BDs, although the intermediate BD values were more scattered than for the existing PTFs. The observed relationships indicated the usefulness of image analysis data for assessing soil bulk density which enabled to develop new PTFs. The proposed models allow to obtain the bulk density when only images of the soil structure are available, without any other data.

Investigation on microstructure evolution of clayey soils: A review focusing on wetting/drying process

Variability in moisture content is a common condition in natural soils. It influences soil properties significantly. A comprehensive understanding of the evolution of soil microstructure in wetting/drying process is of great significance for interpretation of soil macro hydro-mechanical behavior. In this review paper, methods that are commonly used to study soil microstructure are summarized. Among them are scanning electron microscope (SEM), environmental SEM (ESEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and computed tomography (CT) technology. Moreover, progress in research on the soil microstructure evolution during drying, wetting and wetting/drying cycles is summarized based on reviews of a large body of research papers published in the past several decades. Soils compacted on the wet side of optimum water content generally have a matrix-type structure with a monomodal pore size distribution (PSD), whereas soils compacted on the dry side of optimum water content display an aggregate structure that exhibits bimodal PSD. During drying, decrease in soil volume is mainly caused by the shrinkage of inter-aggregate pores. During wetting, both the intra- and inter-aggregate pores increase gradually in number and sizes. Changes in the characteristics of the soil pore structure significantly depend on stress state as the soil is subjected to wetting. During wetting/drying cycles, soil structural change is not completely reversible, and the generated cumulative swelling/shrinkage deformation mainly derives from macro-pores. Furthermore, based on this analysis and identified research needs, some important areas of research focus are proposed for future work. These areas include innovative methods of sample preparation, new observation techniques, fast quantitative analysis of soil structure, integration of microstructural parameters into macro-mechanical models, and soil microstructure evolution characteristics under multi-field coupled conditions.

Effect of lightning mast placement on underground power cable jacket stress within high voltage substations

This study aims to investigate the impact of lightning masts placement on underground cables within high voltage substations. While the subject of lightning discharges near to underground cables has been covered with open cable runs and wind farms in many papers, this study focuses on lightning events within high voltage substations considering the associated effective zones, which were not covered in the available literature. Substations built within areas prone to high lightning activity experience frequent discharges that cause the potential rise of the earthing system into hundreds of kilovolts. The potentials propagating within the soil and the earthing grid affect underground cables jackets terminated within the substation. The numerical analysis of the problem is carried out using Current Distribution, Electromagnetic fields, Grounding and Soil structure analysis (CDEGS) software engine for different configurations of lightning mast placements with varied separation, electrode placement and length, soil resistivity, and lightning current. Study findings indicate that provision of lightning masts/down conductors as far as possible or at least twice the effective zone radius from cable termination/route electrodes ensures relatively lower stress voltages. Electrodes with effective zone radius length placed as close as possible to lightning masts further reduce the attainable jacket stress voltages.

CAPACITIVE INFLUENCE OF HIGH VOLTAGE OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION LINES ON THE MEASUREMENT OF SOIL RESISTIVITY

In this article, an analysis is presented of the impact of high voltage overhead transmission lines on the measurement of soil resistivity. Through analysis, the measurement noise level due to the vicinity of the phase conductors of a high voltage overhead transmission line is determined. The soil is modeled as an anisotropic homogeneous half-space of finite resistivity. In order for the article to be of practical use to engineers, simple mathematical instrumentation has been used. Detailed expressions and the physically objective hypotheses under which the cited model is valid have been derived. For the simplicity and generality of the presentation, analysis was performed using a practical example of the measurement of soil resistivity by the Wenner method. The example refers to a single system high voltage transmission line with a steel tower. The results obtained by the theory presented are compared to the results obtained with the software package CDEGS (Current Distribution, Electromagnetic Fields, Grounding and Soil Structure Analysis). The results obtained are presented analytically, graphically and are discussed.

Simplex Lattice Design and X-ray Diffraction for Analysis of Soil Structure: A Case of Cement-Stabilised Compacted Tills Reinforced with Steel Slag and Slaked Lime

Evaluating the structure of soil prior to building construction is valuable in a large variety of geotechnical and civil engineering applications. To built an effective framework for assessing the strength of the stabilised soil, the presented workflow includes a complex approach of simplex lattice design and X-ray diffraction for the analysis of soil structure. Different from the traditional in situ measurements, we propose a statistical framework for effective decision-making on binder combination to stabilise soil collected in three localities of Southern Sweden—Bromölla Municipality (Skåne County), Petersborg (Östergötland County) and Örebro (Örebro County). A practical solution is presented that includes the evaluation of strength properties of various types of soil using ordinary Portland cement (OPC), slaked lime and steel slag as pure agents and blended binders. The specimens were collected in Southern Sweden and included sandy silty tills and clay till (clay content 6–18%). The preprocessing included the mineralogical analysis of mineral composition and soil structure by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a sieve. The soil samples were fabricated, compacted, rammed, stabilised by six binder blends and assessed for uniaxial compressive strength (UCS). The moisture condition value (MCV) and water content tests were done for compacted soil and showed variation in the MCV values for different binders. The study determined the effects from binder blends on the UCS gain in three types of soil, measured on days 7, 28 and 90. Positive effects were noted from the steel slag/lime blends on the UCS gain in sandy silty tills. A steel slag/slaked lime mixed binder performed better compared to the pure binders. The effectiveness of the simplex lattice design was demonstrated in a series of ternary diagrams showing soil strength evaluated by adding the stabilising agents in different proportions.

Simplex Lattice Design and X-ray Diffraction for Analysis of Soil Structure: A Case of Cement-Stabilised Compacted Tills Reinforced with Steel Slag and Slaked Lime

Simplex Lattice Design and X-ray Diffraction for Analysis of Soil Structure: A Case of Cement-Stabilised Compacted Tills Reinforced with Steel Slag and Slaked Lime

Menthol as a Cementing Agent for Superficial Undisturbed Sands: Applicability and Soil Structure Analysis

Menthol as a Cementing Agent for Superficial Undisturbed Sands: Applicability and Soil Structure Analysis

Effects of innovative long-term soil and crop management on topsoil properties of a Mediterranean soil based on detailed water retention curves

Abstract. The effectiveness of conservation agriculture (CA) and other soil management strategies implying a reduction of tillage has been shown to be site-dependent (crop, clime and soil), and thus any new soil and crop management should be rigorously evaluated before its implementation. Moreover, farmers are normally reluctant to abandon conventional practices if this means putting their production at risk. This study evaluates an innovative soil and crop management (including no-tillage, cover crops and organic amendments) as an alternative to conventional management for rainfed cereal cropping in a calcareous soil in a semi-arid Mediterranean climatic zone of Navarra (Spain), based on the analysis of soil water retention curves (SWRCs) and soil structure. The study was carried out in a small agricultural area in the municipality of Garínoain (Navarre, Spain) devoted to rainfed cereal cropping. No other agricultural area in the whole region of Navarre exists where soil and crop management as proposed herein is practiced. Climate is temperate Mediterranean, and the dominant soil is Fluventic Haploxerept. Within the study area there is a subarea devoted to the proposed soil and crop management (OPM treatment), while there is another subarea where the soil and crop management is conventional in the zone (CM treatment). OPM includes no-tillage (18 years continuous) after conventional tillage, crop rotation, use of cover crops and occasional application of organic amendments. CM involves continuous conventional tillage (chisel plow), mineral fertilization, no cover crops and a lower diversity of crops in the rotation. Undisturbed soil samples from the topsoil and disturbed samples from the tilled layer were collected for both systems. The undisturbed samples were used to obtain the detailed SWRCs in the low suction range using a HYPROP©device. From the SWRCs, different approaches found in the literature to evaluate soil physical quality were calculated. The pore-size distribution was also estimated from the SWRCs. Disturbed samples were used in the laboratory to assess soil structure by means of an aggregate-size fractionation and to perform complementary analysis from which other indicators related to soil functioning and agricultural sustainability were obtained. The approaches evaluated did not show clear differences between treatments. However, the differences in soil quality between the two forms of management were better observed in the pore size distributions and by the analysis of the size distribution and stability of soil aggregates. There was an overabundance of macropores under CM, while the amount of mesopores (available water) and micropores were similar in both treatments. Likewise, more stable macroaggregates were observed in OPM than in CM, as well as more organic C storage, greater microbial activity, and biomass. The proposed management system is providing good results regarding soil physical quality and contributing also to the enhancement of biodiversity, as well as to the improvement in water-use efficiency. Finally, our findings suggest that the adoption of the proposed practice would not result in a loss in yields compared to conventional management.

Visual assessment of soil structural quality across soil textures and compaction levels – Part I: Examination of intact soil cores

Soil structural degradation has become very common and leads to a serious decline in soil health. Improving or maintaining soil structure is key to build resilience against drought and flooding, and thus contributes to assuring food and water security. Quantification of soil structural quality is usually accomplished by traditional laboratory-based methods, which are time-, labour- and money-consuming. Visual soil evaluation and examination methods comprise rapid and simple tests that offer a numeric semi-quantitative assessment of soil structure. The common criteria are aggregate size and shape, ease of break or rupture resistance, and inter- or intra-aggregate porosity. In this study, the CoreVESS method, a variant of the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) method originally developed for topsoil assessment, was applied on 250 cm3 undisturbed soil core samples. Resulting soil quality scores (Sq, ranging between 1, good, and 5, poor) were compared with soil quality indicators (SQi) derived from traditional quantitative methods of soil structure analysis. Tested SQi’s included penetration resistance, bulk density, soil hydraulic properties, soil organic carbon and texture (percentage of clay, silt and sand). The objective of the study was to assess and quantify the state of soil structural degradation induced by agricultural operations using a suite of methods of analysis at a regional scale, with a special focus on CoreVESS. Soil core samples were taken in Belgium from 42 cropped fields, at two positions (headland and in-field zone) and from three layers, notably the ploughed topsoil (TOP, 10–20 cm), the compacted subsoil (CSUB, 30–40 cm) and the deeper subsoil (SUB, 60–70 cm), totalling the sample horizons to 252. Test and sampling sites comprised all major soil texture classes within the Belgian soil textural triangle and varied from sand to heavy clay. In-field positions (IN-FIELD) showed significantly better coreVESS-based Sq scores as compared to headland positions (HEAD), with the CSUB layers always exhibiting significantly lower quality than the other two layers. Laboratory-derived soil quality indicator (SQi) values portrayed the same trend, with CSUB layers always indicating the poorest soil quality. Significant differences in SQi’s were also found between soils of acceptable (Sq ≤ 3) and degraded (Sq > 3) structure. Likewise, grouping soils into the same categories resulted in significant differences in the soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity curves in their wet ranges. There were good significant relationships between the SQi values and CoreVESS-based Sq scores, with for example Pearson R correlation coefficients of 0.64 for both penetration resistance and bulk density. Also, Sq scores related well with an SQi-based soil quality index (SQI) value averaged per layer and texture class (Pearson R of 0.60). The study confirmed that agricultural operations and their intensity clearly affect soil structural quality across various soil textures, with CoreVESS being as responsive to variation in soil structure quality as traditional quantitative methods, even when applied in the subsoil. VESS methods thus have a potential for monitoring soil structural quality over a variety of textures in a rapid, intuitive, practical and cheap way, as an alternative for or being complementary to more expensive labour-intensive traditional quantitative methods.