Effect of Intermittent Rainfall on Size Distribution and Phosphorus, Copper and Zinc Enrichment of Soil Aggregates
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S157.1

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National Natural Science Foundation of China, “13th Five-Year” Science and Technology Project by the Department of Education of Jilin Province

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    Abstract:

    [Objective] Effects of the soil wetting-drying alternations induced by intermittent rainfall on the temporal dynamics of soil aggregate size distribution (ASD) in the soil were studied in this paper, which is of great significance to in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of sediment transport and fractionation and revealing rules of associated trace elements transfer with runoff.[Method] In this study, a field experiment was carried out having the field of Cambisol subjected to five separate artificial rainfall events within 37 days. During the experiment, soil aggregate breakdown process triggered by the rainfall events and dynamic change in particle size distribution of the soil aggregates were observed. And through analysis of dynamic changes in the contents of P, Cu and Zn in soil aggregates of various particle size fractions, evaluation of impacts of intermittent rainfall on enrichment of pollutants in the soil was performed.[Result] Results show that soil wetting and drying cycles caused by the intermittent rainfall triggered drastic turnover in ASD, which consequently declined in stability as a whole with the experiment going on, especially the fraction of >250 μm, which as a result decreased in proportion (P<0.05), while the fraction of <250 μm increased. Changes in ASD also led concurrently to variations of P, Cu and Zn concentrations in the various aggregate size classes. The three elements gradually moved from aggregates of >250 μm to those of <63 μm, and peaked in concentrations in aggregates of <63 μm towards the end of the experiment. This shows that the intermittent rainfall triggered breakdown of aggregate structure, increased in the fraction of <250 μm aggregates, and enrichment of trace elements in the fraction (<250 μm), which in turn aggravated the risk of increasing soil and water loss and associated discharge of pollutants.[Conclusion] The experiment revealed how intermittent rainfall affect soil aggregate structure, fractionation of sediments and element transfer processes, which may serve as certain theoretical reference for better understanding the mechanisms of lateral transfer of soil materials caused by soil erosion.

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SHI Pu, CHIAHUE Doua Yang, ZHAO Pengzhi. Effect of Intermittent Rainfall on Size Distribution and Phosphorus, Copper and Zinc Enrichment of Soil Aggregates[J]. Acta Pedologica Sinica,2021,58(4):948-956.

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History
  • Received:January 08,2020
  • Revised:July 26,2020
  • Adopted:August 24,2020
  • Online: December 08,2020
  • Published: July 11,2021