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Some Physical and Chemical Changes in the Soil Brought about by Saturation With Natural Gas
Author(s) -
Adams Russell S.,
Ellis Roscoe
Publication year - 1960
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1960.03615995002400010019x
Subject(s) - soil water , chemistry , ferrous , saturation (graph theory) , ferric , environmental chemistry , carbon dioxide , bulk density , mineralogy , soil science , inorganic chemistry , geology , mathematics , organic chemistry , combinatorics
Severe chemical and physical changes may occur in soils saturated with natural gas. Plant growth may be retarded or completely eliminated. A study was made of the profile of four gas‐saturated field sites and the adjacent normal soils. Determinations were made for total carbon, available P, pH, exchange‐able Mn, exchangeable ferric iron, and exchangeable ferrous iron. At two sites pH titration curves were determined. A sharp inflection in the curve at pH 2 was observed with gas‐saturated soils. Substantial increases of total carbon, exchangeable Mn, and exchangeable ferric iron occurred in the gas‐saturated soil. Exchangeable ferrous iron increased moderately. Determinations of soil pH and available P gave varied results, but in general showed increases in the gas‐impregnated soils. Physical determinations at the two most severely affected sites revealed some increase in water retention and total porosity with a corresponding decrease in bulk density in the gassaturated soils. The disturbed Fe‐Mn relationships may be one of the major factors accounting for the frequently observed detrimental influence of gas‐saturated soils on vegetative growth. The change in water retention was not considered injurious to the plants.