Aeration studies on arable soils, 3: Aeration regime in a light sandy loam and the effect of soil texture on soil aeration parameters.
1990
Lindstroem J. | McAfee M.
A number of soil physical and soil aeration parameters were measured in a ploughed light sandy loam (70% sand) in 3 successive years of autumn ploughing and continuous cropping following a 20-year pasture. The aim was to characterize aeration regime in this soil textural type during the growing season in a manner previously described for a silty clay loam and a heavy clay soil. Soil aeration in the field was good at all sampling times but air and water permeability were consistently low both with depth in the profile and with time during the season. Aeration parameters were used to detect structural differences in the sand after different crops and it was shown that the structure of this soil deteriorated less under cereal than under potatoes. Differences in aeration due to soil texture were primarily the result of differences in water retention at an applied matric tension, since air-filled porosity is the converse of water content in the pore space. At a particular air content, differences in the 3 soil types were the result of diffrences in pore continuity and tortuosity as shown by gaseous diffusion coefficients. Air permeability coefficients gave similar trends but data were less reliable.
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