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Stabilité structurale et évaluation de la sensibilité des sols à la battance et à l'érosion hydrique: II. Application à une série de sols limoneux à teneur en carbone organique variée
Author(s) -
BISSONNAIS Y.,
ARROUAYS D.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
european journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.244
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2389
pISSN - 1351-0754
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2389.1997.tb00183.x
Subject(s) - infiltration (hvac) , environmental science , soil water , topsoil , soil structure , soil science , loam , total organic carbon , surface runoff , erosion , soil carbon , aggregate (composite) , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental chemistry , geotechnical engineering , geology , chemistry , materials science , ecology , biology , paleontology , composite material
Summary Surface crusting results from aggregate breakdown under raindrop impact. It reduces the infiltration rate and may induce erosion by increasing runoff. Soil crustability and erodibility generally increase as organic carbon content decreases. Samples of topsoil were collected from fields cropped continuously for maize after land clearance at various dates. Organic carbon content ranged 4–30 g kg ‐1 . Aggregate stability was assessed by measuring fragment size distribution after different treatments. Samples were also subjected to simulated rainfall. The size of fragments forming the seal when the rain ceased and the infiltration rate during the rainfall were measured to characterize seal structure and hydraulic properties. Development of the seal and infiltration capacity were related to aggregate stability, which was itself a function of organic carbon content. The relations between aggregate breakdown, crusting and infiltration enabled us to predict soil physical behaviour from measurements of aggregate stability which are easier to make than direct measurements under rainfall. The proposed tests offer the opportunity to evaluate actual or potential soil physical degradation and erosion risks without extensive field measurements.