Open AccessUsing Different Approaches of Particle Size Analysis for Estimation of Water Retention Capacity of Soils: Example of Keszthely Mountains (Hungary)
Author(s) -
Orsolya Szecsődi,
András Makó,
Viktória Labancz,
Gyöngyi Barna,
Borbála Gálos,
András Bidló,
Adrienn Horváth
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta silvatica and lignaria hungarica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.202
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1787-064X
pISSN - 1786-691X
DOI - 10.37045/aslh-2021-0003
Subject(s) - water retention , soil water , silt , soil science , water retention curve , environmental science , topsoil , hydraulic conductivity , particle size distribution , soil texture , water content , hydrology (agriculture) , particle size , geology , geotechnical engineering , geomorphology , paleontology
PSD (particle size distribution) is a key factor affecting soil hydro-physical properties (e.g. hydraulic conductivity and water retention), which makes its determination essential. Climate change increases the importance of water retention and permeability as extreme weather events can severely impair the water supply of drought-sensitive vegetation. The amount of water in soils is expected to decrease. The modified Thornthwaite model considers soil properties such as root depth, topsoil layer thickness and particle size distribution (silt and clay fraction) of soil particles combined with the most significant soil properties. At the beginning of the research, we developed a laser diffraction method to replace the standard based “pipette” sedimentation method. The theoretical background of laser diffraction measurements is already known, but their practical application for estimating soil water retention capacity is still poorly understood. The pre-sieving of soil aggregates, the pre-treatment (disaggregation and dispersion) of the samples greatly influence the obtained results. In addition to the sedimentation method, laser diffraction measurements (Malvern Mastersizer 3000) were applied with three variants of pre-treatment. For comparison, the results of a Leptosol, a Cambisol, and a Luvisol were prepared for the first modified Thornthwaite water balance model. Significant differences appeared, especially during drought periods, which could be a basis for studying soil drought sensitivity. The development of our method can estimate the water retention capacity of soil, which could support adaptive forest management plans against climatic and pedological transformations.