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Theories and Tests of Electrical Conductivity in Soils
Author(s) -
Bohn Hinrich L.,
BenAsher Jiftah,
Tabbara Hadi S.,
Marwan Mukhtar
Publication year - 1982
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/sssaj1982.03615995004600060005x
Subject(s) - soil water , microscale chemistry , water content , soil science , soil salinity , electrolyte , thermal conduction , electrical resistivity and conductivity , field capacity , conductivity , moisture , materials science , chemistry , environmental science , geotechnical engineering , electrode , composite material , geology , mathematics , electrical engineering , mathematics education , engineering
The soil's specific electrical conductivity (EC a ) is similar in principle to the EC of a pure solution, but the nonconducting soil air and solids cause complications. The EC a measured by four‐electrode Wenner arrays in laboratory and field experiments was linearly proportional to the product of the soluble salt concentration and the soil water content over a salinity range of 0 to 40 dS/m in the soil solution and 0.1 to 15 bar soil water suction. Theories of soil EC based on a conductivity cell and microscale conduction were compared to a macroscale theory and all explained the measured results equally well. Soil can be viewed as an intricate container for electrolyte solution, as a conductor having a tortuous path, or as many conduction paths of varying cross section and length. The macro model was extended to relate EC a to soil water potential, but EC a appears to be inherently dependent on both the soil moisture and salt contents.