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The leaching of salts from saline heavy clay soils: factors affecting the leaching process
Author(s) -
Tanton T.W.,
Rycroft D.W.,
Wilkinson F.M.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-2743.1988.tb00750.x
Subject(s) - leaching (pedology) , leaching model , wetting , soil water , environmental science , soil science , moisture , water content , geology , soil salinity , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , materials science , organic chemistry , composite material
. Cracks in dry saline montmorillonitic clay allow the soil to wet rapidly when flooded with negligible redistribution of salts. Once closed the only effective pathways remaining for the movement of leaching water are old root channels and faunal burrows. However, their effectiveness in conducting water and for leaching is severely restricted because of the lack of horizontal connections between them. Restructuring of clay can introduce sufficient permeability to a depth of about 0.7 to 0.8 m to allow salt to be leached provided that the soil's initial moisture content is sufficiently large to prevent disintegration upon wetting (about 24%) and that the clay is not allowed to become unsaturated during the leaching.