CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Introduction 1 Introduction Soil aggregation has been considered as an important factor not only for increasing soil productivity and soil quality but also improving nutrient availability and water use efficiency (Byung et al., 2007). Aggregate stability is often measured on a specific aggregate size class which is not a measurement of whole soil structure. Soil organic matter levels, soil biological activity and soil functions (such as water infiltration, water holding-capacity, aeration and nutrient availability) are related to soil aggregation (Pirmoradian et al., 2005; Six et al., 2004). A variety of time consuming and complex methods exist for measuring soil aggregation, however these methods frequently measure only a portion of the whole soil (i.e. one or more aggregate size class) (Six et al., 2004) and seldom separate dry aggregate size distribution (i.e. aggregate formation) from water-stable aggregation (WSA) (i.e. aggregate stabilization) (van Steenbergen et al., 1991) and are not quantitatively related to soil quality. Measurements of soil quality are dependent upon which chemical, biological or physical indicators are measured and how those indicators are interpreted (Andrews et al., 2004; Karlen et al., 2003). This makes soil quality assessment vulnerable to subjective interpretation based on the perspective and the level of scientific knowledge of the user. Good-quality soil is important for crop production sustainability on agricultural lands. Soil dry aggregate (DA) and water-stable aggregate (WSA) amounts and size distributions affect the soil quality. The soil organic carbon (OC) concentration is an indicator of soil quality (Doran and Parkin, 1994) and influences aggregate amounts and sizes. Close linear relationships between OC concentrations and water-stable aggregate variables (mean weight diameter or wet-sieve index) for various soils were found (Angers, 1992 and Carter, 1992). In contrast, increases in water-stable aggregates were not related to increases in total OC of a silt loam, which led Perfect and Kay (1990) to suggest that some components of the soil OC pool are more actively involved in soil aggregate stabilization than others. Soil OC also influences many other soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Therefore, knowledge of soil aggregate and OC interrelationships is useful for evaluating effects of management practices such as tillage methods, cropping systems and crops grown on soil regarding production sustainability. Soil OC generally declines when grasslands in semiarid regions are brought under cultivation, with tillage methods, cropping 1

Introduction systems and crops grown affecting the decline rate. The decline rate generally is greater with intensive than with reduced tillage methods (Beare et al., 1994), with cropping systems involving fallow than those without fallow (Johnson and Davis, 1972) and with row crops than with small grain crops (Hobbs and Brown, 1965). Dry aggregates (including clods) at the surface of cultivated soils help control wind erosion (Armbrust et al., 1982) with those >0.84 mm in diameter generally considered nonerodible by wind (Chepil, 1943). Tillage methods, crops grown and cropping systems used influence the DA size distribution (Layton et al., 1993; Singh et al., 1994). When including clods, the mean weight diameter of DAs (MWD-DA) usually is greater where tillage rather than no-tillage is used (Layton et al., 1993). As for DAs, tillage methods, cropping systems and crops grown affect WSA size distribution with tillage method generally having the greatest effect (Beare et al., 1994; La1 et al., 1994). In contrast, Unger (1995) found the MWD-WSAs to be lower with no-tillage than with other tillage methods in some cases, but water infiltration was greater with no-tillage, possibly because the no-tillage aggregates were more stable. Besides affecting the MWD-WSAs, no-tillage also resulted in greater surface or near-surface soil OC (Singh et al., 1994). There exits a closer inter-relation between SOC concentration and aggregation (Hermawan and Bomke, 1997). Aggregate stability is significantly correlated with SOC due to binding action of humic substances and other microbial by-products (Haynes et al., 1997; Shepherd et al., 2001). In some cases, however, SOC may be only moderately or weakly (Holeplass et al., 2004) correlated with aggregate stability. The objective of this study was to establish relationship between soil aggregate stability and organic carbon under different cropping patterns in Ganges river floodplain soils.

CHAPTER TWO
Literature REVIEW

Literature Review 2 Literature Review 2.1 Soil Aggregate Soil is a dispersed system consisting of particles in a fine state of division or dispersion. The primary particles or soil separates generally do not exist as completely dispersed fractions, but frequently combined together to form secondary particles. These secondary particles are generally referred to as secondary units, peds, clods, aggregates or concretions. An aggregate is a group of primary particles that cohere together more strongly than the surrounding soil particles (Ghidyal and Tripathi, 1987). 2.2 Aggregate Stability Soil aggregate stability is the result of complex interactions among biological, chemical and physical in the soil (Tisdall and Oades, 1982). Factors affecting aggregate stability can be grouped as abiotic (clay minerals, sesquioxides, exchangeable cations), biotic (soil organic matter, activities of plant roots, soil fauna and microorganisms) and environmental (soil temperature and moisture) (Chen et al., 1998). Plants contribute to water-stable aggregates by adding carbon materials to the soil that are decomposed by soil microbes. Exudates from roots and soil microbes contribute to the formation of microaggregates, while fine roots and mycorrhizal hyphae contribute to the stabilization of macroaggregates. The concept of aggregate stability depends on both the forces that bind particles together and the nature and magnitude of the disruptive stress (Beare and Bruce, 1993). Several methods have been proposed to determine soil aggregate-size distribution and stability (Kemper and Rosenau, 1986). The suitability of these methods depends on the purpose of the study. The most widely used approaches are based on the wet-sieving method (Kemper and Rosenau, 1986). In this method, cyclically submerging and sieving soil in water emulates the stresses involved in the entry of water into soil aggregates. The moisture content of the soil aggregates before wet sieving controls the severity of the disruption (Kemper and Rosenau, 1986). Several studies have used capillary-wetted and slaked pretreatments (Elliott, 1986; Cambardella and Elliott, 1993; Six et al., 1998) as a means to study soil aggregates. The capillary-wetted pretreatment involves slowly wetting the soil aggregates before wet sieving. This pretreatment produces minimal disruption, because misted 3

Literature Review aggregates do not buildup air pressure in the pores and the air escapes with minimal aggregate disruption. In contrast, the slaked pretreatment causes considerable disruption. When air-dry soil is submerged in water; the air that is trapped inside the soil pores is rapidly displaced with water. Weak aggregates are disrupted as a consequence of the sudden release of this large buildup of internal air pressure (Gale et al., 2000). The combined use of the capillary-wetted and the slaked pretreatments has been used for contrasting differences in aggregate-size distributions for soils with different management histories and also for understanding the factors that influence aggregate stability (Six et al., 1998). The combined use of the capillary-wetted and the slaked pretreatments has been used for contrasting differences in aggregate-size distributions for soils with different management histories and also for understanding the factors that influence aggregate stability (Six et al., 1998). More recently, Gale et al. (2000) used the comparison of slaked versus capillary-wetted pretreatments as a means to differentiate stable macroaggregates from un-stable macroaggregates based on their resistance to slaking. Although the conceptualization of Gales idea represents an important contribution, more work is needed to clearly separate the stable macroaggregates from the unstable macroaggregates and accurately specify aggregate-size stability distributions. The aggregate-size stability distribution is the quantity of stable and unstable soil aggregates categorized by their size and stability to disruption. 2.3 Hierarchical organization of soil aggregates The large aggregates (>1mm) so desirable for most soil uses are typically composed of smaller aggregates, which in turn are composed of still smaller units, down to clusters of clay and humus less than 0.001 mm in size. It may easily demonstrate the existence of this hierarchy of aggregation by selecting a few of the largest aggregates in a soil and gently crushing or picking them apart to separate them into many smaller-sized aggregates. Then it can be tried rubbing the tiniest of these granules between thumb and forefinger. It will be found that most of these break down into a smear of still smaller aggregates composed of silt, clay and humus. The hierarchical organization of aggregates seems to be characteristic of most soils, with the exception of certain Oxisols and some very young Entisols. At each level in the hierarchy of aggregate, different factors are responsible for binding together the subunits (Brady and Weil, 2002). 4

Literature Review 2.4 Importance of aggregate stability A stable soil structure is important to maintain agricultural productivity and reduce environmental pollution. Good soil structure is important for water infiltration and internal drainage, aeration for roots and soil microorganisms, root growth and nutrient uptake. The maintenance of aggregation is important for these soil functions. Processes that reduce aggregation (reduce aggregate stability) are detrimental to crop production and soil quality and can lead to soil degradation and erosion. Aggregation affects erosion, movement of water and plant growth. Desirable aggregates are stable against rainfall and water movement. Aggregate stability is one kind of soil quality that is one of the most significant factors for high agricultural productivity and sustainable agriculture (USDA, 1996). 2.5 Formation of aggregates Soils containing >5% clay tend to form structural units known as aggregates by both physical and biological processes (McKenzie, 1989). Aggregates may vary in size from crumbs (<2 mm) to polyhedrons or subangular blocks (0.005-0.02mm) to prisms and columns >0.1m (Horn et al., 1989). Aggregates have either sharp rectangular edges or are defined by nonrectangular shear planes (Babel et al., 1995). Aggregated soils are always stronger than homogenized material. Physical, chemical and biological processes vary between the inter-aggregate and intra-aggregate volumes. Thus, the dynamics of hydraulic, mechanical, biological and chemical processes affect soil intensity properties strongly (Horn et al., 1994). Furthermore, when strength is defined mechanically and/or hydraulically, one cannot extrapolate beyond the imposed limits which must be specified. Mechanical processes and their dynamic aspects will be described and compared in homogenized and structured soils in order to highlight the effect of soil structure, tillage and timber harvesting on properties and processes in an ecosystem. Both capacity and intensity parameters and their measurement will be discussed in relation to mechanical properties. Thereafter, the effects of structure on ion sorption and desorption and hydraulics will be discussed and modeled.

Literature Review 2.6 Factors involved in aggregation Factors affecting soil aggregation and its formation have been widely investigated. It is generally recognized that a relationship exists between the erodibility of the soil on the one hand and the degree of aggregation and stability of the structural aggregates on the other. In the instance of water erosion, resistance is attributed to the functioning of water-stable aggregates. Several methods have been developed which are designed to measure stability of the aggregates as an index of the resistance of the soil to erosion. Middleton (n) was the first to propose such a method. His dispersion ratio depends on the ratio of dispersed silt and clay to total silt and clay when a water suspension of the soil is shaken in a cylinder. The number and size, and to a lesser degree, the shape and arrangement of the soil aggregates will depend upon their stability. Consequently, any study of the factors which influence stability must take into consideration factors influencing or determining soil structure. 2.6.1 Effect of particle size distribution on aggregation Generally which soil contains much clay percentage has much aggregation ratio. All the experiments and results show that the clay content of the soils is related to the amount of aggregation. Rowles found that the content of clay was positively correlated with the aggregation ratio (Aggregation ratio clay = + 0.8152.) (Rost and Rowles, 1940). 2.6.2 Effect of wetting and drying and freezing and thawing on water-stable aggregates Changing weather conditions and the accompanying wetting and drying and freezing and thawing have been found to change the amount of aggregation in soil. It is obvious that many inherent qualities of the soil itself may and probably do influence the amount of aggregation produced and the stability of the aggregates. Thus, the kind and amount of colloids present, the amount of moisture in the soil, the rate of wetting and the rate of freezing have been found to influence aggregate formation (Rost and Rowles, 1940). 2.6.3 Organic matter and aggregation Organic matter was calculated from organic carbon by multiplying by the factor 1.724. Cultivation has had a marked effect upon organic matter. Tillage operations have mixed the soil so that organic matter content of the upper and lower layers of the 6

Literature Review A horizon is essentially the same, even in the forest soils. Cultivation and erosion have also led to a net decrease in organic matter. The loss of organic matter from the forest soils is more serious because they contained a smaller amount in their original condition. The amounts of total nitrogen and alkali soluble humus usually increase or decrease with the amounts of organic matter. It is to be noted that the discussion given in connection with organic matter applies also to total nitrogen and alkali soluble humus. In general, the soils which have the best aggregation contain the most organic matter, and the greatest reduction in aggregation as a result of cultivation has been in the soils which have suffered the greatest loss of organic matter. This relationship between organic matter and aggregation was positively correlated with the aggregation ratio (Aggregation ratio organic matter = + 0.6752.) (Rost and Rowles, 1940). 2.7 Processes of aggregate formation Both biological and physical-chemical (abiotic) processes are involved in the formation of soil aggregates. The physical-chemical processes tend to most important at the smaller end of the scale, biological processes at the larger end. Also, the physical-chemical processes of aggregate formation are associated mainly with clays and, hence, tend to be of greater importance in finer-textured soils. In sandy soils that have little clay, aggregation is almost entirely dependent on biological processes (Brady and Weil, 2002). 2.7.1 Physical-chemical processes Most important among the physical-chemical processes are 1) The mutual attraction among clay particles and 2) The swelling and shrinking of clay masses. 2.7.1.1 Flocculation of clays and the role of adsorbed cations Except in very sandy soils that are almost devoid of clay, aggregation begins with the flocculation of clay particles into microscopic clumps or floccules. If two clay platelets come close enough to attack the negative charges on the planar surfaces. Clay floccules or domains, along with charged organic colloids (humus), form bridges that bind to each other and to fine silt particles (mainly quartz), creating the smallest size groupings in the hierarchy of soil aggregates. These domains, aided by the flocculating influence of polyvalent cations (e.g. Ca2+ , Fe2+ , and Al3+ ) and humus, 7

Literature Review provide much of the long-term stability for the smaller (<0.03mm) microaggregates. The cementing action of inorganic compounds, such as iron oxides, produces very stable small aggregates sometimes called pseudosand in certain clayey soils (Ultisols and Oxisols) of hot, humid regions (Brady and Weil, 2002). 2.7.1.2 Volume changes in clayey materials As a soil dries out and water is withdrawn, the platelets in clay domains move closer together, causing the domains and hence, the soil mass to shrink in so volume. As a soil mass shrinks, cracks will open up along planes of weakness. Over the course of many cycles the network of cracks becomes more extensive and the aggregates between the cracks better defined. Plant roots also have a distinct drying effect as they take up soil moisture in their immediate vicinity. Water uptake, especially by fibrousrooted perennial grasses, accentuates the physical aggregation process associated with wetting and drying. This effect is but one of many examples of ways in which physical and biological soil processes interact (Brady and Weil, 2002). 2.7.2 Biological processes 2.7.2.1 Activities of soil organisms Among the biological processes of aggregation, the most prominent are 1) The burrowing and molding activities of earthworms, 2) The enmeshment of particles by sticky network of roots and fungal hyphae and 3) The production of organic glues by microorganisms, especially bacteria and fungi In both cultivated and uncultivated soils, earthworms move soil particles around, often ingesting them and forming them into pellets or casts. In some forested soils, the surface horizon consists primarily of aggregates formed as earthworm castings. Plant roots also move particles about as they push their way through the soil. This movement forces soil particles to come into close contact with each other, encouraging aggregation. At the same time, the channels created by plant roots and soil animals serve as macropores, breaking up large clods and helping to define larger soil structural units.

Literature Review Plant roots (particularly root hairs) and fungal hyphae exude sugarlike polysaccharides and other organic compounds, forming sticky networks that bind together individual soil particles and tiny microaggregates into larger agglomerations called macroaggregates. The threadlike fungi that associate with plant roots are especially effective in providing this type of relatively short-term stabilization of large aggregates, because they secrete a gooey protein called glomalin, which is very effective as a cementing agent (Brady and Weil, 2002). 2.7.2.2 Influence of tillage Tillage can have both favorable and unfavorable effects on aggregation. If the soil is not too wet or too dry when the tillage is performed, the short-term effect of tillage is generally favorable. Tillage implements break up large clods, incorporate organic matter, into the soil, kill weeds, and generally create a more favourable seedbed. Immediately after plowing, the surface soil is loosened and total porosity is increased. Over longer periods, however, tillage greatly hastens the oxidation of soil organic matter, thus reducing the aggregating effects of this soil component. Tillage operations, especially if carried out when the soil is wet, also tend to crush or smear stable soil aggregates, resulting in loss of macroporosity and the creation of puddle condition (Brady and Weil, 2002). 2.7.2.3 Influence of iron, aluminum oxides Some well weathered soils of the tropics have more stable aggregation than soils with comparable or even higher organic matter levels in temperate regions. This is thought to be due primarily to the bindings effects of the irofn and aluminum sesquioxides (particularly the amorphous forms) that are plentiful in many tropical soils. Films of such compounds coat and cement soil aggregates, thereby preventing their ready breakdown when the soil is tilled (Brady and Weil, 2002). 2.8 Determination of the aggregate size-stability distribution The experimental procedure was used to determine the aggregate-size stability distribution is shown in Fig. 2.1 (Mrquez, 2004). This procedure involved the slaked and capillary-wetted pretreatments; and a subsequent slaking treatment of aggregates >250 m in size. Theoretical considerations needed for the determination of the aggregate-size stability distribution are given below. The determination of aggregate-

Literature Review size stability distribution involves the assumptions that soil aggregates can be categorized in terms of their size and water stability. Therefore: 1. Soil aggregates with diameters >250 m are labeled macro aggregates. 2. Macroaggregates are categorized as large macroaggrearegates when their diameters are >2000 m and small macroaggregates when their diameters range between 250 and 2000 m. 3. Macroaggregates are also categorized in terms of their resistance to slaking. Macroaggregates that survive slaking are labeled as stable and those that do not survive are labeled as unstable. 4. Microaggregates have diameters ranging between 53 and 250 m. 5. The mineral fraction (silt + clay) has diameters <53 m (Mrquez, 2004).

Fig.2.1. Experimental procedure used to assess aggregate-size stability distribution (Mrquez, 2004).

10

Literature Review 2.9 Stability indices There are different stability indices for measuring soil aggregate stability. A number of the indices have been proposed for assessing soil stability including mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD), water-stable aggregation (WSA) (Kemper and Rosenau, 1986), aggregate stability index (ASI) (Niewczas and Witkowska-Walczak, 2003), and normalized stability index (NSI) (Six et al., 2004). Soil aggregate stability indices rarely express numerically the impacts of mechanical, environmental, or biological factors. 2.9.1 Mean weight diameter For wet sieving analysis mean weight diameter is an important index of aggregate stability. For wet sieving 2mm, 1mm, 0.5mm, 0.25mm and <0.25 mm sieves are used. The mean weight diameter (MWD) of the aggregates was calculated by the following formula (Van Bavel, 1949). MWD =

wixi
i 1

Where xi = The mean diameter of any particular size range of aggregates separated by sieving and wi = The weight of aggregates in that size range as a fraction of the total dry weight of the sample analyzed. 2.9.2 Normalized stability index A normalized stability index (NSI) is measured on selected soil samples (1025 g) according to the procedures described by Six et al. (2000a). Briefly, samples from each treatment are separated into three groups of four. One group is rewetted overnight prior to wet sieving (capillary). Another group is wet-sieved without rewetting (slaked) and the final group is processed for a maximum disruption to measure the coarse material. Maximum disruption used forced water to destroy aggregates and wash them through stacked sieves. The capillary-rewetted and slaked samples are wet-sieved for 2 min through three screens (2, 0.25, and 0.053 mm) individually by transferring the material that went through the screen onto the next smaller screen. The material (i.e. water-stable aggregates) on screens in both the capillary-rewetted and slaked treatments is collected, dried at 70C, weighed and 11

Literature Review corrected for the coarse material (i.e. sand and organic matter). The NSI is calculated using the equations provided by Six et al. (2000a). 2.9.3 Whole soil stability index (WSSI) Aggregate distribution and water-stable aggregation (WSA) are measured on drysieved aggregates in four aggregate size classes (9.5-2, 2-1, 1-0.25 and 0.25 -0.05mm) (Nichols and Toro, 2011). Dry sieving consisted of placing the soil atop a screen with the size equal to the size of the largest aggregates in the size class, tapping the sides at least 50 times with the palm of the hand to pass the soil through the screen, collecting the soil passing through the screen on a piece of kraft paper and pouring it onto a screen equal to the smallest aggregates in the size class followed by tapping. Each aggregate size class is collected individually from largest to smallest. The weight of aggregates in each size class is measured and used to calculate the proportion of aggregates in each size class relative to the whole soil (Eq. (1)). Soil on top of the 9.5 mm screen and below the 0.053mm screen is collected and weighed as part of the summed total weight (WT). The proportion of dry-sieved aggregates in each size class is:
, 0. / 1-

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (1) Where, Pai = Proportion of dry-sieved aggregates for each size class i; WA = Weight of total material in each size class i; Wc = Weight ofcoarse material measured during wet sieving for size i; Wo = Weight of aggregates placed on the sieve prior to wet sieving size i ; WT = Summed total weights of all the aggregate size classes plus the soil from above the 9.5 mm screen and below the 0.053 mm screen. Water-stable aggregation (WSA) is measured on four subsamples from each aggregate size class according to a modified Kemper and Rosenau (1986) method. Briefly, aggregates (4 g for the 9.52 and 21 mm aggregates, 2 g for the 10.25 mm aggregates, and 1 g for the 0.250.053 mm aggregates) are placed onto screens 1/4 of the smallest size and capillary-rewetted for 10 min. Stable aggregates are separated 12

Literature Review via mechanical wet sieving for 5 min using an apparatus described by Kemper and Rosenau (1986). Material collected on the sieve is washed gently into weigh boats, dried at 70C and weighed. The coarse material (sand, roots, and particulate organic matter) is removed by dispersing the aggregates in 0.5% sodium hexametaphosphate, shaking periodically over a 5 min period, and using forced water and rubber policemen to push the disrupted aggregates through a screen matching the smallest aggregates in the size class. The material remaining on the screen is collected, dried at 70C, weighed and subtracted from the weight of aggregates collected after wet sieving. The formula for calculating the WSA for each size class is: WSAi = [(Wa Wc) Wo] 100 Where, WSAi = water-stable aggregation for each size class i; Wa = weight of material on the sieve after wet sieving size i; Wc = weight of coarse material in size i; Wo = weight of aggregates placed on the sieve prior to wet sieving size i. The dry aggregate size distribution and WSA calculated above are used in the formula for the whole soil stability index (WSSI). WSSI = , ,( ) Where, WSSI = Whole soil stability index; n = The number of the aggregate size classes; i = n and decreases by an increment of 1 from the largest to the smallest aggregate sizes class; Pai = Proportion of aggregate weight for each size class i from Eq. (1); WSAi = Water-stable aggregation for each size class i from Eq. (2). 2.10 Soil organic carbon Carbon is the fundamental building block of all life. Carbon is present in the atmosphere, in plant and animal life, in nonliving organic matter, in fossil fuels, in rocks, and dissolved in oceans. Movement of carbon molecules from one form to 13 ( ) (( ) )-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (2)

Literature Review another is known as the carbon cycle. Plants acquire carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Using carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and energy from sunlight, plants convert CO2 to organic carbon as they produce stems, leaves, and roots. The cycle of life and death of plants results in accumulation of decomposing plant tissue, both aboveground and belowground (plant roots), and produces a significant amount of soil organic carbon (McVay and Rice, 2002). 2.11 Factors influence organic carbon levels in soil Organic carbon influences many soil characteristics including color, nutrient holding capacity (cation and anion exchange capacity), nutrient turnover and stability, which in turn influence water relations, aeration and stability. The amount of cation in a soil is dependent on the characteristics of the soil and the balance between inputs and losses. Many factors, such as rainfall, temperature, vegetation and soil type determine the amount of carbon in soil. Some of these factors are fixed characteristics of the soil, some are determined by the climate and some can be influenced other factors. 2.11.1 Climate Climate impacts on soil organic C content primarily through the effects of temperature, moisture and solar radiation on the array and growth rate of plant species, and on the rate of soil organic C mineralization. Post et al. (1982) found that amounts of soil organic C were positively correlated with precipitation and, at a given level of precipitation, negatively correlated with temperature. In the Great Plains of North America, precipitation controls net primary productivity and temperature controls rates of soil organic C mineralization (Parton et al., 1987; Sala et al., 1988; Burke et al., 1989; USDA-SCS, 1994). Ladd et al. (1985) compared the mean loss of
14

C-labeled plant residues from four soils in South Australia with those obtained by

Jenkinson and Ayanaba (1977) for soils in England and Nigeria and observed a doubling of the rate of substrate C mineralization for an 8-9C increase in mean annual temperature. An influence of temperature on decomposition can also be inferred from 14C signatures of soil organic C, which showed a latitudinal gradient in the mean residence time of soil organic C (Bird et al., 1996). 2.11.2 Soil mineral parent materials and products of pedogenesis The mineral phase of soils can exert a strong influence on soil organic C contents as a result of mechanisms capable of stabilizing organic materials against biological 14

Literature Review attack. Each soil has a given capacity to protect soil organic C dictated by the following soil characteristics: 1) The chemical nature of soil minerals 2) The presence of multivalent cations and their ability to form complexes with organic molecules in soils 3) The adsorptive capacity of soil minerals for organic materials as governed by particle size and surface area 4) Physical protection mechanisms which restrict access of organic materials to biological attack. 2.11.2.1 Chemical nature of the soil mineral fraction An analysis of different soil types indicates that soils with high contents of active CaCO3 and amorphous Al arid Fe tend to have higher organic C contents (Sombroek et al., 1993). In a study of influence of soil properties on soil organic C genesis, Duchaufour (1976) suggested that the presence of CaCO3 in a Rendzina could stabilize fresh and humified organic materials. Thin carbonate coatings visible under stereoscan examination, and a precipitation of organic molecules induced by Ca2+ complexation were implicated in the stabilization of fresh and humified organic residues, respectively, and helped to explain the observed impedance of mineralization. Stabilization of organic C in high base status soils with less reactive or low contents of CaCO3 results predominantly from the formation of Ca organic linkages. In such soils, the initial decomposition of plant residues is rapid, but the subsequent utilization of initial decomposition products is slow leading to higher soil organic C contents, lower C/N ratios and longer retention times. 2.11.2.2 Impacts of multivalent cations The presence of multivalent cations in soil has important implications on the behavior of clays and organic materials and the biological availability of organic C. When saturated with multivalent cations, clays remain flocculated, which reduces exposure of organic materials adsorbed onto their surface and macromolecular organic materials bearing functional groups become more condensed, and thus, less susceptible to biological attack. The dominant multivalent cations present in soils include Ca2+ and Mg2+ in neutral and alkaline soils and hydroxypolycations of Fe3+ 15

Literature Review and Al3+ in acidic, ferrallitic and andic soils. A stabilizing effect of Ca2+, relative to Na+, on organic C mineralization was effectively demonstrated by Sokoloff (1938), where the extent of mineralization and solubility of organic C in two soils was reduced by addition of Ca2+ salts and enhanced by addition of Na+ salts. 2.11.2.3 Adsorption of organic materials onto mineral surfaces Clay particles provide a reactive surface onto which organic materials can be adsorbed and it is generally accepted that such adsorption reactions provide a mechanism of stabilizing soil organic C against microbial attack. Correlation between soil organic C and clay contents have been observed (Schimel et al., 1985; Spain, 1990; Feller et al., 1991) and the various interactions- between soil clays and organic materials have been summarized by Oades (1989). Such interactions are principally defined by the chemical nature of organic materials (functional group content, molecular size etc.) and the type of clay mineral (kaolinite, illite, smectite etc.). Numerous studies utilizing isotopically labeled organic substrates have shown a positive relationship between the contents of residual substrate C and soil clay content (Amato and Ladd, 1992). 2.11.2.4 Physical protection within soil matrix offered by soil architecture The architecture or structural condition of a soil can exert significance control over processes of biological decomposition by limiting the accessibility of soil organic C to decomposer microorganisms and of microorganisms to their faunal predators. This limitation results from the ability of clays to encapsulate organic materials (Tisdall and Oades, 1982), the burial of organic C within aggregates (Golchin et al., I994, 1997), and the entrapment of organic C within small pores (Elliott and Coleman, 1988). As outlined by van Veen and Kuikman (1990) and Hassink (1992), evidence of the importance of these processes in the protection of organic C in soils can be inferred from the following observations: (1) a faster turnover rate of organic substrates in liquid microbial cultures relative to that of similar substrates in mineral soils, (2) an enhanced mineralization of C and N when soils are disrupted prior to incubation, and (3) a more rapid mineralization of organic C and plant residues in sandy soils than clay soils. The physico-chemical protection mechanism is more robust but monolayer or patchy adsorption of SOM onto clay surfaces requires further detailed research. The adsorption of SOM and exo-enzymes on pore walls and clay 16

Literature Review surfaces has been identified as a plausible concept of SOM stabilization (Rabbi et al., 2010). 2.11.3 Biota Vegetation and soil organisms are called together biota. These have a great effect on aggregate formation. 2.11.3.1 Vegetative inputs: Variations across and within ecosystems Vegetation can influence soil organic C levels as a result of the amount, placement and biodegradability (chemical recalcitrance) of plant residues returned to the soil. The greatest effects of vegetation on soil organic C contents are confined to the A horizon. Concentrations of organic C detected below the A horizon result from pedogenic processes, which occur over much longer time scales than the lifetime of current vegetation. It was showed that for Brazilian soil profiles, current vegetative cover was only in direct equilibrium with topsoil (A horizon) organic C, while that in subsoils was largely unaffected by the nature of vegetative cover. Once the organic C moves to depth (e.g. argillic or spodic horizons), it becomes less accessible to decomposer organisms, as exemplified by the increased radiocarbon ages of soil with depth (Pressenda et al., 1996). 2.11.3.2 Composition of plant materials: The parent material for soil organic C Plant materials can he viewed as the parent material for soil organic C in much the same manner as one views primary minerals as the parent materials of soil minerals components. Plant materials are altered by soil fauna and microorganisms, predominantly after deposition in or on the soil, resulting in changes in the original chemical structure and in the synthesis of new compounds, just as some soil minerals dissolve and others precipitate during pedogenesis. An understanding of the chemical nature of plant materials is, therefore, important to studies of soil organic C genesis and composition. 2.11.3.3 Relative impacts of soil fauna and microorganisms The requirement of soil organisms for chemical energy and nutrients drives processes of heterotrophic decomposition in soils, which account for the major pathways through which soil organic C is mineralized. Abiotic chemical oxidation is unlikely to

17

Literature Review account for >20% of total C mineralization (Moorehead and Reynolds, 1989) and more often accounts for C <5% (Lavelle et al., 1993). Microorganisms are the major contributors to soil respiration and are responsible for 80-95% of the mineralization of C. Hassink et al. (1994) calculated that the contribution of the fauna to C mineralization in two sandy and two loam grassland soils ranged from 5-13% of the total C mineralization. 2.11.4 Topography Topography exerts its major control over soil organic C contents through a modification of climate and soil textural factors and through its impacts on the redistribution of water within a landscape. Soils in downslope positions are often wetter, have warmer average temperatures, and have finer textures than soils in upslope positions or at the top of knolls. Burke et al. (1995) examined the extent to which soil organic C varied at a landscape scale at two sites differing in soil texture, but having similar climatic characteristics. Burke et al. (1995) noted increased organic C contents (and clay and silt contents) in downslope positions relative to the summits at both sites. Such a finding has been attributed to the downslope movement of organic C and organic rich clay (Reiners, 1983). However, additional gradients in available water along slopes, especially in water limited systems, influence plant production (Peterson et al., 1988) with greater biomass inputs and a greater potential biological stabilization of organic C via higher clay contents at the base of slopes. Where excessive water exists, drainage of depression in the landscape can be restricted, leading to the development of anaerobic conditions and preservation of organic C relative to the better drained higher landscape elements during wetter times of the year. 2.11.5 Land management practices Paustian et al. (1997) have comprehensively reviewed the influence of agricultural management practices on soil organic C levels. The influence of forestry management practices has been reviewed by Johnson (1992). The most dramatic influence of agricultural practices occurs when soils are first brought into production. Typically, soil organic C levels decrease for the first few years after cultivation and then stabilize at a new equilibrium level which is dictated principally by the ability of the soil to stabilize organic C and amount, quality and distribution of p1alnt residues inputs. For 18

Literature Review example, 28-59% of the soil C was lost following 30 to 43 yrs of cropping at 11 sites within the North American prairies (Haas et al., 1957). The following characteristics of cereal production systems, in comparison to those of native grasslands, help to explain the observed losses of soil organic C induced by cultivation: (1) 80% lower allocation of organic C to soils (Buyanovsky et al., 1987), (2) reduced below ground allocation of photosynthate (Anderson and Coleman, 1985), (3) enhanced aggregate disruption and exposure of physically protected organic C due to cultivation and (4) enhanced rates of decomposition of available organic C substrates due to more favorable abiotic conditions (e.g. aeration, temperature and water content). 2.12 Relationship between aggregate stability and soil organic carbon The uncertainty of aggregate-forming physical forces responsible for aggregate pore space stability makes further investigations and management difficult. It is well known that such cations as Ca2+, Fe2+ and Al3+ play the structure-forming role. The mechanism of aggregate formation with cations mentioned above implies that these cations are involved in crystalline-like linkages between soil mineral particles. Soil organic matter (SOM) is found multiplying %SOC by 1.724. Soil organic matter (SOM) is involved in aggregate formation, but the physical mechanism of this influence is not uniquely determined. Previously researches experimentally demonstrated that the organic matter of soils has amphiphilic properties and differs with the relationship between hydrophobic and hydrophilic components (Milanovsky and Shein, 2002). The aim of this research is to propose a new physical mechanism of stable aggregate formation under influence of such specific SOM physicochemical properties as relation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic components. It is shown that hydrophobic components of SOM give more effective stability of soil aggregates on different soils (chernozem, grey soils, podzolic, ferralitic and other soils). These components generated and remaining stationary in soil profile form the hydrophobic surfaces of soil mineral particles. The amphiphilic molecules of SOM as usual have hydrophilic and hydrophobic components. In the presence of water hydrophilic compounds are connected with soil mineral surfaces, which are also hydrophilic. So, these polarized mineral and organic compounds form the stable linkage. But another part of the same SOM molecule, the hydrophobic one, forms the stable hydrophobic linkage to the same part of another molecule. This enables to propose the hypothetic model of soil stable aggregate formation under influence of 19

Literature Review amphiphilic (with hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds) SOM. In the absence of amphiphilic SOM soil mineral particles are repelled from each other. This process is accounted for by the influence of exchangeable cations on soil mineral particles. An elevated osmotic pressure between the particles produces the water movement into interparticle space and mineral particles are repelled. The process of interparticle repulsion takes place because of increased water pressure between the soil mineral particles. So, this aggregate with two mineral particles is unstable. On the contrary, if the amphiphilic molecules of SOM present in interparticle space so polarized parts (hydrophilic) are combined readily with the hydrophilic surface of soil mineral particles. But the hydrophobic parts of SOM molecules enter into chemical hydrophobic combinations with each other. New energy connections, holding particles together are formed.These connections of hydrophobic organic nature provide either water or (supposedly) mechanical stability of soil aggregate. Hence, the hydrophobic compounds of SOM make the formation of stable soil aggregates possible. Mechanism of water stability of soil aggregates is governed by amphiphilic fragments of SOM molecules, which form interparticle connections in the system mineral particle (hydrophilic-hydrophobic components of SOM + hydrophobic-hydrophilic components of SOM) mineral particle.

20

CHAPTER THREE
METHODS AND MATERIALS

Materials and Methods 3 Materials and Methods A study was conducted to evaluate the relation between aggregate stability and soil organic carbon content of soils of Ganges river floodplain. General information about the methods of analysis is described in this chapter. 3.1 General information about sampling sites Top (0-15cm) soil samples were collected from different locations of Jessore and Khulna district under different cropping patterns. General information of sampling sites is presented in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1 General information about sampling sites Sample No. 1 GPS Reading N: 23 07.669 E: 89 15.903 N: 23 11.065 E: 89 13.009 N: 23 10.085 E: 89 12.009 N: 23 12.095 E: 89 13.001 N: 23 10.084 E: 89 11.052 N: 23 10.085 E: 89 13.023 N: 23 13.323 E: 89 13.753 N: 22 59.420 E: 89 26.195 N: 22 59.413 E: 89 26.186 Address Village: Shabati Union: Ramnagar Thana: Kotwali District: Jessore Soil Series Cropping Pattern Pumpkin/Spinach-Red Amaranth- T. aman Lentil/Onion-Jute-T Aman Village: Bahadurpur Union: Noapara Thana: Kotwali District: Jessore Brinjal/Mustard-Fallow-T. Aman Sara Mahogany garden Mustard-Fallow-T. Aman Wheat-Fallow-T. Aman Village: Bahadurpur Union: Noapara Thana: Kotwali District: Jessore Village: Jugnipasa Union: Bejer danga Thana: Phultala District: Khulna Village: Gaithghat Union: Bondhobila Thana: Bagherpara District: Jessore

Mirpur

2 3 4 5 6

Ishurdi

Wheat-Fallow-T. Aman

Amjhupi

Boro-Jute-T.aman

Ishurdi

Wheat-Dhaincha-T.aman

3.2 Preparation of Samples The samples were collected from field in polythene bags. Then these were air dried and crushed with wooden hammer. After crushing the samples were separated into three ranges by using three different size sieves. And the ranges were 8-2 mm, 2-0.25 mm and 0.25-0.05 mm. 21

Materials and Methods 3.3 Laboratory analyses Chemical and physical analyses were done which are interrelated with one another. 3.3.1 Chemical analyses 3.3.1.1 Soil pH Soil pH was determined electrochemically with the help of glass electrode pH meter as suggested by Jackson (1973). The ratio of soil to water was 1:2.5 as suggested by Jackson (1962). 3.3.1.2 Electrical conductivity (EC) The electrical conductivity of the soil was measured at a soil: water ratio of 1:5 with the help of EC meter (USDA, 2004). 3.3.1.3 Organic carbon (C) Organic carbon of samples was determined by Walkley and Blacks wet oxidation method as outlined by Jackson (1962). Organic matter was calculated by multiplying the percent value of organic carbon with the conventional Van-Bemmelenes factor of 1.724 (Piper, 1950). 3.3.2 Physical analyses 3.3.2.1 Particle size analysis The particle size analysis of the soils was carried out by combination of sieving and hydrometer method as described by Gee and Bauder (1986). Textural classes were determined using Marshalls Triangular Coordinator system. 3.3.2.2 Aggregate Stability (Normalized Stability Index) The stability of aggregates was determined by the method as described by Six et al. (2000b). For the determination of aggregate stability soil samples were air dried and crushed by a wooden hammer. The crushed soils were then sieved through 8 mm sieve. The air dried soils that were passed through 8 mm sieve but retained on 2 mm sieve divided into 8-2 mm, 2-0.25 mm and 0.25-0.05 mm size fractions by hand sieving. For wet sieving with slaking pretreatment 10 grams air dried samples from each aggregate size fraction were submerged for 5 minutes on the top of smaller sieve of each size range prior to sieving. Soils were separated manually by moving the sieve 22

Materials and Methods 3cm up and down under water with 50 repetitions during a period of 2 minutes. This manual separation technique was repeated for each size fractions. For wet sieving with wetted pretreatment the air dried samples were adjusted to field capacity by soaking with water for overnight before submerging in water. The soils were then sieved for 2 minutes by the method as stated before. The amount of aggregates retained after sieving was oven dried at 105C for 24 hours and then weighed. The amount of primary particles retained on the sieves during wet sieving was determined by sieving after dispersing the soils with 5% sodium hexametaphosphate. The weight of primary particles was recorded after oven drying at 105C for 24 hours. The normalized stability index (NSI) of aggregates was calculated by the following formula (Six et al., 2000b). NSI = 1- [DL/DL (max)] The whole soil disruption level (DL) was calculated as: DL = 1/n ,( Where, n = number of aggregate size classes. i = 1 for the smallest size class. The disruption level of a size class upon slaking (DLSi) was calculated by the following formula:
DLSi = ,*( ) ( )+ |( ) ( )|, -

) - DLSi

Where, DLSi = disruption level for each size class i; Pio = proportion of total sample weight in size class i before disruption (i.e., rewetted); Pi = proportion of total sample weight in size class i after disruption (i.e., slaked ); Sio = proportion of sand with size i in aggregates of size i (=aggregate-sized sand) before disruption; Si = proportion of sand with size i in aggregates of size i in aggregates after disruption. The whole soil DL (max) was calculated by the following formula: DL (max)= 1/n ,( ) - DLSi(max) 23

Materials and Methods The maximum disruption [DLSi (max)] was calculated with the following formula: DLSi(max) =
,( ) |( )|, -

Pp = primary sand particle content with the same size as the aggregates size class after complele disruption of the whole soil. 3.3.3 Statistical analysis Statistical analysis was performed by using MINITAB (V. 13) statistical package.

24

CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results and Discussion 4 Results and Discussion Soils were analyzed in laboratory. The physical properties such as particle size analysis and aggregate stability were determined. Chemical analysis including percentage of organic carbon with pH and EC of the samples were determined. 4.1 Soil reaction or pH The pH of the soils under study ranges from 7.32 to 7.85 which indicate that the soils are neutral to mildly alkaline. The highest pH value was 7.85 in soils of Ishurdi series located at Noapara in Jessore and the lowest was 7.32 in soils of Amjhupi series located at Bejer danga in Khulna (Table 4.1). This might be due to the presence of exchangeable bases within Ganges sediments in the surface soil. 4.2 Electrical conductivity (EC) The EC value of studied soils varied from 0.52 to 1.29 dS m-1 with an average of 0.79 dS m-1 (Table 4.1). These results indicated that all the soils of the studied series were nonsaline. This may be due to the land type of our investigated areas which were out of tidal ingression or any other sort of inputs of salts. The highest value of EC was obtained in soils of Ishurdi series developed in Bondhobila Union of Jessore and the lowest was at soils of Sara series in Noapara Union of same district (Table 1 and Table 2). The EC values were negatively correlated with pH, %Sand, %Silt and positively with %Clay, %Organic carbon and Nomalized Stability Index. 4.3 Organic carbon Organic carbon content was highest in Ishurdi Series of sample number 9. And it was 1.64%. The organic carbon content was greater than 1% in Ishurdi (Sample No. 7 and 9) and Amjhupi series (Sample No. 8). The soil organic carbon content of other samples has been shown in Table 4.1. Rahman (1990) reported that organic matter content from 0.3 to 1.5% in upland soils, 1.5 to 2.0% in the medium low land areas and 2.0 to 3.5% ii the low land areas in bill areas, this fraction was about 4%. The correlation analysis has been used to relate the aggregate stability with the organic matter that describe the interdependence through Pearson correlation between the NSI one of the best aggregation indices that correlated with other variables (i.e. %sand, %clay and %OC). Organic matter content was higher in fine textured soil Table 4.1. Cook (1962) reported that fine textured 25

Results and Discussion soils contain roughly twice as much total organic matter as do sandy soils in the same region.
Table 4.1 Chemical properties of soil samples Sample No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 EC dSm-1 0.67 0.66 0.81 0.62 0.52 0.62 0.90 1.07 1.29 pH 7.80 7.79 7.71 7.53 7.45 7.62 7.85 7.32 7.39 %OC 0.35 0.50 0.67 0.84 0.54 0.67 1.43 1.49 1.64

4. 4 Particle size distribution The term particle size distribution of a soil refers to the percentage distribution of various sized particles in a given volume of soils. Particle size distribution is one of the most stable soil characteristics, being little modified cultivation or other practices. Soil texture refers to the relative proportion of sand, silt and clay. Soil texture detects the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils. Textural classes of the soils were presented in Table 4.2. The highest value of percentage of sand was determined 49.00 and the lowest value is 12.50 (Appendix I). The average of percentage sand is 24.44(Appendix I). The highest value of percentage of silt was determined 57.50 and the lowest value is 34 (Appendix I). The average of percentage sand is 47.94(Appendix I). The highest value of percentage of clay was determined 30 and the lowest value is 17 (Appendix I). The average of percentage sand is 27.61(Appendix I). The textural class of Mirpur soil series (Sample no. 1) was detemined as clay loam. The textural class of Sara soil series (Sample no. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) were determined as clay loam, silt loam, silt loam, silt loam and clay loam. The texture of Mirpur and Sara soil series is Silt Loam. The causes of variation in texture may be the intensive cultivation of field and manmade hinderances. The textural class of Ishurdi soil series (Sample no. 7 and 9) were determined as clay loam and clay. The texture of this series 26

Results and Discussion is Silty Clay. Loam The textural class of Amjhupi soil series (Sample no. 8) was determined as silty clay loam. The texture of this series is Silty Clay. The texture of soils is generally determined from subsoil because there may occur different types of hinderances on top soil.
Table 4.2 Physical properties of soil samples Sample No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 %Sand 23 22.5 30 30 27.5 22.5 27.5 20 17 %Silt 47 47.5 55 57.5 57.5 42.5 42.5 48 34 %Clay 30 30 15 12.5 15 35 30 32 49 Textural Class Clay Loam Clay Loam Silt Loam Silt Loam Silt Loam Clay Loam Clay Loam Silty Clay Loam Clay NSI 0.98 0.89 0.89 0.47 0.70 0.40 0.97 0.83 0.95

4.5 Normalized stability index (NSI) The highest NSI value was estimated 0.98 (Appendix I) which texture was determined as clay loam (Table 4.2) where the cropping pattern was Pumpkin/Spinach-Red Amaranth-T. Aman (Table 3.1) and the lowest value was estimated 0.40 (Appendix I) which texture was determined as also clay loam (Table 4.2) where the cropping pattern was Wheat-Fallow-T. Aman (Table 3.1). The NSI values for Sara soil series varies from 0.40 to 0.89. The NSI values for Ishurdi soil series varies from 0.95 to 0.97. The NSI values for Amjhupi soil series varies from 0.40 to 0.89.
1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Soil Sample Fig. 4.1. Relation between NSI and %Organic carbon of nine soil samples.

NSI and %OC

NSI %OC

27

Results and Discussion 4.6 Correlation among soil properties Percent organic carbon is negatively correalated with soil pH, %Sand and %Silt. The correlation value between NSI and percent organic carbon is 0.251 and the P-Value is 0.515. So, it is non-significant at 5% level. The value of NSI usually varies between 0 to 1 (Six et al., 2000b). The NSI of studied soil varied from 0.98 to 0.40 which goes with Six et al. (2000b).
Table 4.3 Correlation among selected soil properties Parameters pH %Sand %Silt %Clay %OC NSI EC -0.396 0.292 -0.607 0.083 -0.672 0.047 0.684 0.042 0.878 0.002 0.510 0.161 pH %Sand %Silt %Clay %OC

0.374 0.321 -0.013 0.974 -0.137 0.726 -0.461 0.212 0.286 0.455

0.780 0.013 -0.909 0.001 -0.409 0.274 -0.256 0.505

-0.970 0.000 -0.557 0.119 -0.333 0.381

0.531 0.142 0.322 0.398

0.251 0.515

Cell Contents: Pearson correlation P-Value

In soils where SOM is the major binding agent an aggregate hierarchy has been observed (Tisdall and Oades, 1982; Oades and Waters, 1991). SOM is expected to be the primary binding agent in 2:1 clay-dominated soils because polyvalent-organic matter complexes form bridges between the negatively charged clay platelets. In contrast, SOM is not the only binding agent in oxide and 1:1 clay-dominated soils. Electrostatic attractions occur between and among oxides and kaolinite platelets due to simultaneous existence of positive and negative charges at field pH (El-Swaify, 1980). Thus in those soils aggregate formation is partly induced by electrostatic interactions and aggregate hierarchy should be less pronounced (Oades and Waters, 1991). The increased aggregate- and mineral-associated C content of small macroaggregates vs. microaggregates (within treatment) at Sidney, Wooster, and KBS indicates that both IPOM C and mineral-associated C are incorporated during formation of macroaggregates. This also suggests that IPOM C is a major C source for microbial

28

Results and Discussion activity and thereby induces the binding of clay- and silt-sized particles and microaggregates into macroaggregates (Jastrow, 1996; Six et al., 1998, 1999) in these 2:1 clay-dominated soils. In addition, the similarity of aggregate-associated C concentrations of slaked macroaggregates across management treatments indicates the stability of slaked macroaggregates is correlated to their C content (Cambardella and Elliott, 1993). The stability of aggregates, in contrast, did not seem to be correlated to C content. Where the organic carbon content was found high, there the NSI value was found low. And on the other hand, where the organic carbon content was found low, there the NSI value was found high. The possible causes may be the intensive cultivation of land due to food production. For intensive cultivation the land should be undergone with application of different organic and chemical fertilizer, application of pesticides and fungicides and other cultivation related activities which were responsible for these problems. These causes are enough to change the relationship between organic carbon and soil aggregate stability.

29

CHAPTER FIVE
Summary AND CONCLUSION

Summary and Conclusion 5 Summary and Conclusion Aggregate stability of soil closely related with the organic carbon content. Soil OC concentration is recognized as an important indicator of soil quality which has important implications regarding crop production sustainability. In most cases, soil OC declines with the length of time that land is devoted to crop production. The normalized stability index is an important index to determine the stability of aggregate. The interrelation between percent organic carbon and normalized stability index (NSI) has found very perfectly in sample 3 (Sara) and 5 (Sara) (Fig.1). In sample number 1 (Mirpur) and 2 (Sara) the NSI value is much than organic carbon concent (Fig.1). On the other hand, in sample number 4 (Sara), 6 (Sara), 7 (Ishurdi), 8 (Amjhupi) and 9 (Ishurdi) organic carbon content is much whereas the NSI is less (Fig.1). So, the relationship between soil organic carbon and aggregate stability isnt perfectly related for the all soil samples.

30

CHAPTER SIX
REFERENCES

References

6 References
Amato, M.A. and Ladd, J.N. 1992. Decomposition of
14

C-labelled glucose and

legume material in soils: properties influencing the accumulation of organic residue C and microbial biomass C. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 24: 455464. Anderson, D.W. and Coleman, D.C. 1985. The dynamics of organic matter in grassland soils. Journal of Soil Water Conservation, 40: 211-216 . Andrews, S.S.; Karlen, D.L.; Cambardella, C.A. 2004. The soil management assessment framework: a quantitative soil quality evaluation method. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 68: 19451962. Angers, D.A. 1992. Changes in soil aggregation and organic carbon under corn and alfalfa. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 56: 1244-1249. Armbrust, D.V.; Dickerson, J.D.; Skidmore, E.L. and Russ, O.G. 1982. Dry soil aggregation as influenced by crop and tillage. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 46: 390-393. Babel, U.; Vogel, H.; Krebs, M.; Leithold, G. and Hermann, C. 1995. Micromorphological investigation on soil aggregates. pp. 11-30. In: Hartge, K.H. and Stewart, R. (eds.), Soil structure: Its development and function. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. Beare, M.H. and Bruce, R.R. 1993. A comparison of methods for measuring waterstable aggregates: Implications for determining environmental effects on soil structure. Geoderma, 56: 87104. Beare, M.H.; Hendrix, P.F. and Coleman, D.C. 1994. Water-stable aggregates and organic matter fractions in conventional and no-tillage soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 58: 777-786. Bird, M.I.; Chivas, A.R. and Head, J. 1996. A latitudinal gradient in carbon turnover times in forest soils. Nature, 381: 143-146. Brady, N.C. and Weil, R.R. 2002. The Nature and Properties of Soils. 13th Edition. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA.

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References Burke, I.C.; Elliott, E.T. and Cole, C.V. 1995. Influence of microclimate, landscape position, and management on soil organic matter in agroecosystems. Ecological Application, 5: 124-131. Buyanovsky, G.A.; Kucera, C.L. and Wagner, G.H. 1987. Comparative analysis of carbon dynamics in native and cultivated ecosystems. Ecology, 68: 20232031. Byung, K.H.; Sug, J.J.; Kwan, C.S.; Yeon, K.S. and Won, K.J. 2007. Relationship between soil water- stable aggregates and Physico-chemical soil properties. Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer, 40(1): 57-63. Cambardella, C.A. and Elliot, E.T. 1993. Carbon and nitrogen distribution in aggregates from cultivated and native grassland soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 57: 1071-1076. Cambardella, C.A. and Elliott, E.T. 1993. Methods for physical separation and characterization of soil organic matter fractions. Geoderma, 56: 449457. Carter, M.R. 1992. Influence of reduced tillage systems on organic matter, microbial biomass, macro-aggregate distribution and structural stability of the surface soil in a humid climate. Soil and Tillage Research, 23: 361-372. Chen, Z.; Pawluk, S. and Juma, N.G. 1998. Impact of variations in granular structures on carbon sequestration in two Alberta Molli-sols. pp. 225243. In: Lal, R. et al. (eds.), Soil processes and the carbon cycle. Advance Soil Science, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Chepil, W.S., 1943. Relation of wind erosion to the water-stable and dry clod structure of soil. Soil Science, 55: 275-287. Cook, R.L. 1962. Soil Management for Conservation and Production. John Willey and Sons. Inc. New York. Doran, J.W. and Parkin, T.B. 1994. Defining and assessing soil quality. pp. 3-21. In: Doran, J.W.; Coleman, D.C.; Bezdicek, D.F and Stewart, B.A. (eds). Defining Soil Quality for a Sustainable Environment, SSSA Spec. Publ. 35, Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI. Duchaufour, P. 1976. Dynamics of organic matter in soils of temperate regions: its action on pedogenesis. Geoderma,15: 31-40. 32

References Elliot, E.T. and Coleman, D.C. 1988. Let the soil do the work for us. Ecological Bulletins, 39: 23-32. Elliott, E.T. 1986. Aggregate structure and carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in native and cultivated soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 50: 627633 El-Swaify, S.A. 1980. Physical and mechanical properties of oxisols. pp. 303-324. In: Theng, B.K.G. (ed.), Soils with variable charge. Offset Publication, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Felller, C.; Fritsch, E.; Poss, R. and Valentin, C. 1991. Lignin signature of aquatic humic substances. Science, 223: 485-487. Gale, W.J.; Cambardella, C.A. and Bailey, T.B. 2000. Root-derived carbon and the formation and stabilization of aggregates. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 64: 201207. Gee, G. W. and J. W. Bauder. 1986. pp. 383- 411. Particle-size analysis. In: Klute, A. (ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Part l (2nd edition), Agronomy Monograph, ASA and SSSA, Madison. Washington. Ghidyal, B.P. and Tripathi, R.P. 1987. Soil Physics. New age international (P) Ltd., Publishers, New Delhi. Golchin, A.; Clarke, P.; Baldock, J.A.; Higashi, T.; Skjemstad, J.O. and Oades, J.M. 1997. The effects of vegetation and burning on the chemical composition of soil organic matter in volcanic ash soil. I. Whole soil and humic fraction. Geoderma, 76: 155-174. Golchin, A.; Oades, J.M.; Skjemstad, J.O. and Clarke, P. 1994. Study of free and occluded particulate OM in soils by solid state
13

C CP/MAS NMR

spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 32: 285-309. Hassink, J. 1992. Effects of soil texture and structure on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in grassland soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 14: 126-134. Hassink, J.; Neutel, A.M. and De Ruiter, P.C. 1994. C and N mineralization in sandy and loamy grassland soils: the role of microbes and microfauna. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 26: 1565-1571.

33

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APPENDICES

Appendices Appendix: I Statistical analysis

Descriptive statistics of the studied soils

Variable EC pH %Sand %Silt %Clay %OC NSI

Mean 0.79 7.6 24.44 47.94 27.61 0.90 0.78

Median 0.67 7.62 23.00 47.50 30.00 0.67 0.89

Standard Deviation 0.25 0.19 4.54 7.80 11.70 0.48 0.21

Minimum 0.52 7.32 17.00 34.00 12.50 0.35 0.40

Maximum 1.29 7.85 30.00 57.50 49.00 1.64 0.98

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