www.elsevier.com/locate/geoderma
Received 4 October 2002; received in revised form 8 August 2003; accepted 5 September 2003
Abstract
The index of soil physical quality, S, which was introduced in Part I is applied to problems of agricultural soil mechanics,
especially soil tillage and hard-setting. S is equal to the slope of the water retention curve at its inflection point. The retention curve
must be plotted as the logarithm (to base e) of the water potential against the gravimetric water content (kg kg 1). The use of S is
illustrated with examples of soils with different friabilities, tillage at different water contents and the aggregate size distribution
resulting from tillage. It is shown that friability, and hence the ease of working of the soil, is linearly and positively correlated with
S. It is also shown in a short theoretical study that S can be used in a simple equation for estimation of the hard-setting behaviour of
soil on drying. In combination with pedo-transfer functions, this enables the hard-setting behaviours of soils of different textures to
be predicted and shows how hard-setting may be expected to increase with soil compaction. However, the predictions of hard-
setting should be considered as speculative until they have been tested experimentally.
D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
0016-7061/$ - see front matter D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2003.09.005
216 A.R. Dexter / Geoderma 120 (2004) 215–225
Methods for measurement of tensile strength and 3. Tillage of Urrbrae loam (17% clay content)
the three different methods for measurement and
calculation of friability are described in detail in Ojeniyi (1978) and Ojeniyi and Dexter (1979) did
Dexter and Watts (2001) and will not be reproduced tillage experiments on Urrbrae sandy loam in South
here. Ideally, the values obtained for F1, F2 and F3 Australia (17% clay content) at a range of water
should all be the same. However, real soil does not contents. Tillage was done with a tined implement
meet all the assumptions of the theory: especially the to a depth of 10 cm. After each tillage operation, the
assumption that the largest flaw or microcrack in a soil macrostructure was quantified at one-half the
sample is much smaller than the sample size. There- depth of tillage. Soil structure was quantified on
fore, values of F1, F2 and F3 obtained experimentally transects cut through resin-impregnated blocks of
are different. Watts and Dexter (1998) found experi- the soil using the statistical analysis method described
mentally that F1 and F2 were related approximately by Dexter (1976) and Dexter and Hewitt (1978). This
as: showed that the proportion of small aggregates (here
defined as P4 = the proportion of aggregates with
lnðF1Þc0:929lnðF2Þ: ð3Þ intercepted lengths smaller than 4 mm) at that depth
varied with the gravimetric water content at the time
Chan et al. (1999) found that for an Australian soil, of tillage as:
2
h h
F1c2F3: ð4Þ P4 ¼ 0:50 þ 1:88 0:91 ; r2 ¼ 0:54;
PL PL
In this paper, most of the values reported were ð5Þ
1
measured as F1. However, experimental values from where PL = 0.195 kg kg is the plastic (or lower
different sources are converted to ‘‘F1 equivalent Atterberg) limit of the soil. Values of the plastic limit
approximate values’’ using Eqs. (3) and (4) above. were measured according to British Standard 1377
This enables them to be compared and discussed on a (1975). Values of gravimetric water content, h, here
common basis. are ‘‘normalized’’ by expressing them as proportions
of the plastic limit, PL, because this greatly reduces
2.1. Soil structures produced by tillage differences between soil samples and usually soil
types. Eq. (5) shows a maximum at around h = 1.0PL,
Soil workability can be defined in terms of the which in this case is the optimum water content for
sizes of the soil aggregates that exist after tillage. At tillage.
the optimum water content for tillage, the proportion Using the same Urrbrae sandy loam, Utomo (1980,
of large aggregates or clods produced is smallest and, p. 140) and Utomo and Dexter (1981) measured how
conversely, the proportion of small aggregates pro- the friability, F (as introduced above), varied with
duced is largest. water content. They measured friability, F3, from the
It is often noted that the soil structure produced by decrease in tensile strength of aggregates with increas-
tillage depends much more on the physical properties ing sample size and obtained:
of the soil than on the details of the tillage implement 2
that is used. This emphasizes the need to be able to h h
F3 ¼ 0:32 þ 1:06 0:54 ; r2 ¼ 0:64
quantify the soil physical condition. PL PL
The optimum soil water content for tillage has been ð6Þ
identified with the inflection point of the water reten-
tion curve plotted as log h against h (Dexter and Bird, or taking account of Eq. (4):
2001). Although this tells us the optimum water
conditions for tillage, it still does not tell us whether 2
h h
the result of tillage will be a coarse or a fine structure. F3c 0:63 þ 2:12 1:08 ; r2 ¼ 0:64:
PL PL
To investigate this question, it is useful to refer back
to the results of field experiments. ð7Þ
218 A.R. Dexter / Geoderma 120 (2004) 215–225
The curves that correspond with Eqs. (5) and (7) Table 1
are shown in Fig. 2. Comparison of values predicted Parameters of the van Genuchten (1980) water retention equation as
used for the cropped Evesham clay, the Highfield (arable) silt loam
by Eqs. (5) and (7) shows that the ratio P4/F1 remains and the Urrbrae sandy loam
remarkably constant at 1.12 F 0.05 over the range of
Parameter Evesham Highfield (arable) Urrbrae
water contents from 0.60 < h/PL < 1.12. This strongly
hsat (kg kg 1) 0.5908 0.2568 0.2238
suggests that friability, F1, is a good predictor of the
hres (kg kg 1) 0 0 0
soil structure resulting from tillage. a (h Pa 1) 0.0519 0.0070 0.00562
Measurements of the water retention curve for this n 1.092 1.150 1.238
same Urrbrae soil were made by Grant (1989, pp. 175 S 0.0404 0.0258 0.0315
and 265) and the author (unpublished). The results for S is the modulus of the slope at the inflection point.
cropped soil have been averaged and fitted to the van
Genuchten equation. This gave the parameters shown
away from the inflection point because the shape of
in Table 1. The slope, S, of the water retention curve
the curve of S against h/PL is different.
was calculated using the Eq. (A7) from the Appendix
Measurements of the effects of water content on
to Part I. This is plotted as 10S in Fig. 2 so that it can
be shown on the same scale. It can be seen that the the friability of another Australian soil (Strathalbyn)
having a clay content of 12% were reported by Utomo
peaks of the curves occur at similar water contents (h/
(1980) and Utomo and Dexter (1981). This also
PL of about 0.9 for S and h/PL of about 1.0 for P4 and
showed a maximum of F at h/PL of about 1.0.
F1). However, such comparisons are only approxi-
However, the water retention characteristics of that
mate because the tillage experiments (giving P4), the
soil were not measured and so those data cannot be
friability experiments (giving F1) and the water re-
used here.
tention measurements (giving S) were all measured on
different samples by different people and at different
times.
4. Friability of Evesham clay
Nevertheless, it is possible to conclude that S is not
well correlated with either P4 or F1 at water contents
Soil samples were collected from Boot field at the
Silsoe Research Institute, England. The soil is classi-
fied as Evesham clay and has a very high clay content.
Some properties of the samples that were studied are
shown in Table 2. The values of F1 are for aggregates,
which were collected moist, and were then oven dried.
The arable plots were managed with conventional
machinery. The zero-traffic plots had not had any
Table 2
Some properties of the Evesham clay samples from Boot field,
Silsoe
Land use Clay Silt PL OM S F1
Arable 73 18 41 3.2 0.0404 0.557
Zero-traffic 73 17 39 3.5 n.d. 0.617
Wheelway 69 20 39 3.1 n.d. 0.337
Meadow 66 20 44 4.2 n.d. 0.702
Fig. 2. Experimental results for Urrbrae sandy loam showing how Hedgerow 61 29 47 5.9 n.d. 0.932
the friability, F1, the proportion of small aggregates produced by PL and OM are the plastic limit and the organic matter content in kg
tillage, P4, and 10 times the slope of the water retention curve, 10S, (100 kg) 1.
vary with the soil water content h. Here, the water contents have S is the modulus of the slope of the water retention curve at the
been normalized by dividing by the plastic (or lower Atterberg) inflection point. Values of friability, F1, were measured on oven-
limit, PL. dried samples.
A.R. Dexter / Geoderma 120 (2004) 215–225 219
(b) for Highfield soil (25% clay content): F1 from It is interesting to note that the value of S = 0.035,
Table 2 above and S from the parameters of the which was proposed in Part I as being a boundary
van Genuchten equation as given by Watts and between ‘‘good’’ and ‘‘poor’’ soil physical condi-
Dexter (1997) and Dexter and Bird (2001). tions corresponds to a value of F1 = 0.5 according to
(c) for Evesham clay (73% clay content): F1 from Eq. (10).
Table 2 above and S from the parameters of the
van Genuchten equation given in Table 1
(previously unpublished). 6. Prediction of friability using pedo-transfer
functions
The regression line for the three soils shown in
Fig. 4 is: It is possible to predict likely trends in soil
behaviour using pedo-transfer functions that give
F1 ¼ 0:018 þ 15:5 S; ð9Þ estimates of the parameters of a water retention
ðF 0:089ÞðF 2:6Þ equation in terms of soil particle size distribution,
r2 ¼ 0:88; p ¼ 0:0019 content of organic matter and bulk density. From
these parameters, the slope at the inflection point, S,
In Eq. (9), the intercept is not significantly different can be calculated and then F1 can be estimated using
from the origin. If the line is passed through the Eq. (10), above. In this way, the effects of soil
origin, it becomes: composition and density on friability can be inves-
tigated. This will not be done here because a graph
of F1 against bulk density for the 12 different FAO/
F1 ¼ 15:00S; r2 ¼ 1:00; p < 0:0001 ð10Þ
USDA texture classes will look exactly the same as
ðF0:06Þ
Fig. 6 in Part I of this series of papers. The only
difference being that the values on the y-axis would
These results show that the friability of dry soil, be larger by a factor of 15.0.
which is a measure of its ease of working, is If the ratio P4/F1 = 1.12, which was found for
positively and significantly correlated with the Urrbrae loam, is valid for other soils too, then, by
slope, S, at the inflection point of the water reten- implication, it is possible to predict the amount of
tion curve. small or large aggregates produced by tillage of any
soil. Another implication of this is the prediction that
soil, which is more dense, will produce more clods
when it is tilled. Considerable field experimentation
will be required to explore these hypotheses.
Fig. 4. Values of friability, F1, for the Highfield soil (triangles), the Therefore, some factors that have been found
Urrbrae soil (square) and the Evesham clay (circle) plotted as a experimentally to affect friability are discussed below
function of S. All of the values were measured and not estimated. briefly in terms of their likely effects on S.
A.R. Dexter / Geoderma 120 (2004) 215–225 221
7.1. Liming (100 kg) 1 clay content has received two different
treatments. Firstly, conventional mechanized agricul-
Chan et al. (1999) found that, for an Australian sodic ture in the field which gave a value of S = 0.027.
vertisol, additions of lime or lime + gypsum increased Secondly, experimental plots which have not been
the friability. Unfortunately, water retention data are subjected to machinery impacts but have only been
not available for this soil so values of S cannot be hand-dug for the last 120 years which gave a value of
calculated directly. Improved workability after gypsum S = 0.058.
treatment was reported in sodic vertisols by McKenzie In Boot field in Silsoe, England on the same
and So (1989). Similarly, lime (as chalk) has been Evesham clay as discussed above, soil which had
added to improve the physical properties of British not experienced wheel traffic for about 8 years
clay soils for hundreds of years. The observed produced a much finer tilth with fewer clods when
benefits include reductions in implement draft tilled as compared with soil which experienced
forces, increases in friability and increases in the conventional wheel traffic (Chamen et al., 1992).
number of days when the land can be worked after The non-wheeled soil was less dense by typically
rain (Gardner and Gardner, 1953). The implication 100 kg m 3 than conventionally wheeled soil
is that additions of lime or lime + gypsum may (Chamen et al., 1990). Application of Eq. (11) to
increase the soil physical quality as measured by the value of F1 for the intensively wheeled perma-
the index S. This can form the basis for an nent wheelways given in Table 3 yields a predicted
hypothesis for future experimental testing. value of S = 0.023, which is consistent with the very
poor physical conditions observed there. These
7.2. Dispersible clay observations are consistent with the concept that
compaction of moist soil by wheeling reduces
The clay component of the soil plays an impor- friability, F, and the value of the index of soil
tant role in controlling soil physical properties. physical quality, S.
When the arrangements of clay particles are stable
in water, then the whole soil will be stable in water. 7.4. Other factors affecting friability and S
However, if the clay particles disperse in the pres-
ence of water, then the soil will be unstable in water. Utomo (1980) and Utomo and Dexter (1981)
Shanmuganathan and Oades (1982) found that fria- used soil that had been moulded to destroy all pre-
bility decreased with increasing content of readily existing structure. They found increased friability
dispersible clay in the soil. Clay dispersion always after treatments involving wetting and drying cycles,
prevents the formation of stable structural arrange- freezing and thawing cycles, and ageing after the
ments with the associated microstructure and results moulding. Changes in the water retention data were
in a homogeneous structureless mass. Clay disper- consistent with increases of S being induced by these
sion has been found to be greater when the soil processes (Utomo, 1980). However, insufficient val-
organic matter content is smaller (Czyz et al., 2002) ues of h were used to enable water retention curves
and when mechanical energy has been applied to to be drawn or fitted with sufficient accuracy to
soil when it is wetter than the plastic limit (Watts et enable meaningful values of S to be obtained from
al., 1996a,b). It would be logical to expect, there- these data. The hypotheses that these treatments
fore, that loss of soil organic matter and increased increase the values of S could be tested in future
inputs of mechanical energy to wet soil would both studies.
result in reduced friability and correspondingly re-
duced values of S.
8. Hard-setting
7.3. Machinery impacts
Many soils exhibit the phenomenon of hard-set-
It is interesting to consider results from Kepa in ting. This can be the cause of problems for crop
Pulawy, Poland. Here, the same alluvial soil with 18 kg emergence and also for tillage. This effect is due
222 A.R. Dexter / Geoderma 120 (2004) 215–225
mainly to the water bridges, which remain between Greacen (1960) and Mullins and Panayiotopoulos
soil particles when soil dries. The water bridges pull (1984) used this approach in their studies of the
the particles towards each other as a result of two influence of effective stresses on soil strength.
phenomena: the negative pore water pressure in the In Appendix A, a simple equation is developed for
bridges and the surface tension of the water forming a measure or index of hard-setting, H. This is based on
the bridges. Many theories have been developed to the rate of change of effective stress (here estimated as
account for this. A relatively simple but still useful Hh) with unit change of gravimetric water content, h,
one is that of Towner and Childs (1972). According to at the inflection point, hi. The assumption is that a soil
this theory, when an external mechanical stress, r, is which exhibits a greater degree of hard-setting at hi
applied to soil, then the effective stress, re, can be exhibits greater hard-setting at other water contents
estimated from also. The inflection point is used because it is a unique
and readily identifiable reference point. H is given in
Z 1 Eq. (A5) by
re ¼ r þ Hp h þ 0:3 h:dH ð12Þ
Hp
hi hi
H¼ 1þ ; ð15Þ
hsat S
where the second term on the right-hand side is
generated by the pore water pressure and the third
where hi is the suction of the pore water in hPa at the
term is generated by the surface tension forces.
inflection point, and hi and hsat are in kg kg 1.
In Eq. (12), H is the effective degree of saturation
Typical values of the measure of hard-setting, H,
given at any water content, h, by
for the 12 FAO/USDA soil texture classes are shown
in Fig. 5. These were calculated using Eq. (15) with
the data given in Table 1 of Part I of this series of
h hres
H¼ ; ð13Þ papers and the pedo-transfer functions of Wösten et
hsat hres
al. (1999).
Whereas Fig. 5 shows a single, typical value of H for
and Hp is the prevailing value of H. each texture class, H should not be thought of as being
This effective stress increases the shear strength, ss, constant for a given soil. With the pedo-transfer func-
of soil as predicted by the Mohr – Coulomb equation:
ss ¼ Cs þ re tan/; ð14Þ
9. Conclusions
Appendix A Czyz, E.A., Dexter, A.R., Terelak, H., 2002. Content of readily-
dispersible clay in the arable layer of some Polish soils. Ad-
vances in GeoEcology, vol. 35. Catena Verlag, Reiskirchen,
As described in the main text, a measure of hard- pp. 115 – 124. 598 pp.
setting can be written as: Dexter, A.R., 1976. Internal structure of tilled soil. J. Soil Sci. 27,
267 – 278.
dðhHÞ Dexter, A.R., 1988. Advances in characterization of soil structure.
H¼ ; ðA1Þ
dh Soil Tillage Res. 11, 199 – 238.
Dexter, A.R., Bird, N.R.A., 2001. Methods for predicting the opti-
at the inflection point. mum and the range of water contents for tillage based on the
Here, the degree of saturation is simplified to water retention curve. Soil Tillage Res. 57, 203 – 212.
H = h/hsat and all the h are gravimetric water contents Dexter, A.R., Hewitt, J.S., 1978. The structure of beds of spherical
particles. J. Soil Sci. 29, 146 – 155.
(kg kg 1).
Dexter, A.R., Watts, C.W., 2001. Tensile strength and friability. In:
Smith, K.A., Mullins, C.E. (Eds.), Soil Analysis: Physical Meth-
1 dðhhÞ ods, 2nd ed. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 405 – 433.
H¼ ðA2Þ Fabiola, N., Giarola, B., Pires da Silva, A., Imhoff, S., Dexter, A.R.,
hsat dh
2003. Contribution of natural soil compaction to hardsetting
behaviour. Geoderma 113, 95 – 108.
1 dh Gardner, H.W., Gardner, H.V., 1953. The Use of Lime. Farmer and
¼ hþh ðA3Þ Stockbreeder Publications, London, pp. 25 – 40.
hsat dh
Grant, C.D., 1989. Soil structure and tensile strength in relation to
the microtopography of soil fracture surfaces. PhD thesis, Uni-
1 dlnh dh versity of Adelaide. 303 pp.
¼ hþh : ðA4Þ Greacen, E.L., 1960. Water content and soil strength. J. Soil Sci. 11,
hsat dh dlnh
313 – 333.
McKenzie, D.C., So, H.B., 1989. Effect of gypsum on Vertisols of
But S = dh/dln h and dh/dln h = h. Gwydir Valley, New South Wales: 2. Ease of tillage. Aust. J.
Therefore, at the inflection point: Exp. Agric. 29, 63 – 67.
Mullins, C.E., Panayiotopoulos, K.P., 1984. The strength of unsa-
turated mixtures of sand and kaolin and the concept of effective
hi hi
H¼ 1þ ; ðA5Þ stress. J. Soil Sci. 35, 459 – 468.
hsat S Munkholm, L.J., Kay, B.D., 2002. Effect of water regime on ag-
gregate tensile strength, rupture energy and friability. Soil Sci.
where the suffix i refers to the inflection point. Soc. Am. J. 66, 702 – 709.
Ojeniyi, S.O., 1978. Tilth structure and soil physical conditions.
PhD thesis, University of Adelaide, 309 pp. + appendices.
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