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- Title
An improved method for determination of aggregate stability using laser diffraction.
- Authors
Bieganowski, Andrzej; Zaleski, Tomasz; Kajdas, Bartłomiej; Sochan, Agata; Józefowska, Agnieszka; Beczek, Michał; Lipiec, Jerzy; Turski, Marcin; Ryżak, Magdalena
- Abstract
Soil aggregate water stability is very important from both scientific and practical points of view. This stability is a critical factor in a soil's susceptibility to water erosion and, in turn, land degradation. The most popular measure of soil aggregate stability is the water resistance index (WRI), which is commonly measured using the wet-sieving method. Using the laser diffraction method in order to observe changes in the median of the particle size distribution and determine soil aggregate stability was first proposed in 2010. However, the method was not suitable for weak aggregates. The aim of this study was to present a measure of aggregate stability using laser diffractometry, aggregate stability index (ASILD). Determination of the ASILD is based on the calculation of the directional coefficient of the straight line interpolated from 2 points: (a) the value calculated as the mean of the lower and upper nominal sieve sizes used for soil aggregate separation and (b) the median of the first measurement after the adding of the dry aggregates into the measuring system of the laser diffractometer. This proposed method for the calculation of the ASILD can be applied to very weak aggregates (i.e., aggregates that, in practice, are not at all water resistant). For weak and moderately stable aggregates, the correlation between ASILD and WRI is higher than 0.9. This method also enables differentiation between the water resistance of aggregates which, by the wet-sieving method, are indistinguishable (i.e., those which have the maximum WRI).
- Subjects
SOIL structure; PARTICLE size distribution; SOIL erosion; SOIL moisture; LASER beams; LAND degradation
- Publication
Land Degradation & Development, 2018, Vol 29, Issue 5, p1376
- ISSN
1085-3278
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/ldr.2941