Imaging soil pore characteristics using computed tomography as influenced by agroecosystems

Soil pore parameters are important for water infiltration into the soil and transport within the soil. The aim of this study was to compare influences of agroecosystems on soil pore characteristics (number of pores, macropores, coarse mesopores, porosity, macroporosity, coarse mesoporosity, pore circularity) using computed tomography (CT). This experiment was carried out four different agroecosystem field [Tucker Prairie (TP): native prairie, Prairie Fork (PF): restored prairie, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and row crop (RC): corn/soybean rotation] in Missouri state of United States during the year of 2017. Undisturbed soil samples were collected at four soil depths (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, and 30-40 cm) from each treatment with three replications. Five scan images from each sample were acquired using a X-ray CT scanner with 0.19 by 0.19 mm pixel resolution with 0.5 mm slice thickness and analyzed with Image-J. TP, PF, CRP, and RC treatments had 195, 88, 112, and 49 pores on a 2500 mm2 area, respectively across all the depths. Soil under TP and CRP treatment had significantly higher porosity (0.046 m3 m-3, 0.046 m3 m-3), and macroporosity (0.036 m3 m-3, 0.041 m3 m-3) values than other treatments. The CT-measured number of macropores (>1000 μm diam.) were 5 times higher for TP when compared with RC treatment. The CT-measured pore circularity values were lower for CRP and RC treatments. CT-measured number of coarse mesopores, and mesoporosity were significantly greater under TP treatment. Results show that native prairie can improve soil pore parameters.

Keywords:

Agroecosystems, computed tomograpy, Image-J soil pore,

PDF

___

Bharati, L., Lee, K.H., Isenhart, T.M., Schultz, R.C., 2002. Soil-water infiltration under crops, pasture, and established riparian buffer in Midwest USA. Agroforestry Systems 56(3): 249-257.
Buyanovsky, G.A., Kucera, C.L., Wagner, G.H., 1987. Comparative analyses of carbon dynamics in native and cultivated ecosystems. Ecology 68(6): 2023-2031.
Cadisch, G., Willington, P., Suprayogo, D., Mobbs, D.C., van Noordwijk, M., Rowe, E.C., 2004. Catching and competing for mobile nutrients in soil. In: Belowground Interactions in Tropical Agroeceosystems: Concepts and Models with Multiple Plant Components. van Noordwijk, M., Cardisch, G., Ong, C.K. (Eds.). CABI Publishing, Cambridge, USA. pp.171-192.
Eynard, A., Schumacher, T.E., Lindstrom, M.J., Malo, D.D., 2004. Porosity and pore-size distribution in cultivated ustolls and usterts. Soil Science Society of America Journal 68(6): 1927-1934.
Gantzer, C.J., Anderson, S.H., 2002. Computed tomographic measurement of macroporosity in chisel-disk and no-tillage seedbeds. Soil and Tillage Research 64(1-2): 101-111.
Jarvis, N.J., 2007. A review of non-equilibrium water flow and solute transport in soil macropores: principles, controlling factors and consequences for water quality. European Jornal of Soil Science 58(3): 523-546.
Kumar, S., Anderson, S.H., Udawatta, R.P., 2010. Agroforestry and grass buffer influences on macropores measured by computed tomography under grazed pasture systems. Soil Science Society of America Journal 74(1): 203-212.
Munkholm, L.J., Heck, R.J., Deen, B., 2012. Soil pore characteristics assessed from X-ray micro-CT derived images and correlations to soil friability. Geoderma 181-182: 22-29.
Pachepsky, Y., Rawls, W., Timlin, D., 2000. A one-parameter relationship between unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and water retention. Soil Science 165(12): 911–919.
Pachepsky, Y., Yakovchenko, V., Rabenhorst, M.C., Pooley, C., Sikora, L.J., 1996. Fractal parameters of pore surfaces as derived from micromorphological data: Effect of long-term management practices. Geoderma 74(3-4): 305–319.
Rab, M.A., Haling, R.E., Aarons, S.R., Hannah, M., Young, I.M., Gibson, D., 2014. Evaluation of X-ray computed tomography for quantifying macroporosity of loamy pasture soils. Geoderma 213: 460-470.
Rachman, A., Anderson, S.H., Gantzer, C.J., 2005. Computed-tomographic measurement of soil macroporosity parameters as affected by stiff-stemmed grass hedges. Soil Science Society of America Journal 69(5): 1609-1616.
Rachman, A., Anderson, S.H., Gantzer, C.J., Alberts, E.E., 2004. Soil hydraulic properties influenced by stiff-stemmed grass hedge systems. Soil Science Society of America Journal 68(4): 1386-1393.
Rasband, W., 2013. Image-J (Version 1.50i). National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. Available at [access date: 01.11.2017]: https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/
Scott, G.J.T., Webster, R., Nortcliff, S., 1998. The topology of pore structure in cracking clay soil: I. the estimation of numerical density. European Journal of Soil Science 39(3): 303-314.
Seobi, T., Anderson, S.H., Udawatta, R.P., Gantzer, C.J., 2005. Influence of grass and agroforestry buffer strips on soil hydraulic properties for an Albaqualf. Soil Science Society of America Journal 69(3): 893–901.
Tracy, S.R., Black, C.R., Roberts, J.A., Sturrock, C., Mairhofer, S., Craigon, J., Mooney, S.J., 2012. Quantifying the impact of soil compaction on root system architecture in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) by X-ray micro-computed tomography. Annals of Botany 110 (2): 511-519.
Tracy, S.R., Daly, K.R., Sturrock, C.J., Crout, N.M.J., Mooney, S.J., Roose, T., 2015. Three-dimensional quantification of soil hydraulic properties using X-ray computed tomography and image-based modeling. Water Resources Research 51(2): 1006-1022.
Udawatta, R.P., Anderson, S.H., 2008. CT-measured pore characteristics of surface and subsurface soils as influenced by agroforestry and grass buffers. Geoderma 145(3-4): 381–389.
Udawatta, R.P., Anderson, S.H., Gantzer, J.C., Garrett, H.E., 2006. Agroforestry and grass buffer influence on macropore characteristics. Soil Science Society of America Journal 70(5): 1763-1773.
Wildenschild, D., Sheppard, A.P., 2013. X-ray imaging and analysis techniques for quantifying pore-scale structure and processes in subsurface porous medium systems. Advances in Water Resources 51: 217-246.
Zaibon, S., Anderson, S.H., Kitchen, N.R., Haruna, S.I., 2016. Hydraulic properties affected by topsoil thickness in switchgrass and corn–soybean cropping systems. Soil Science Society of America Journal 80(5): 1365-1376.
Zhao S.W., Zhao, Y.G., Wu, J.S., 2010. Quantitative analysis of soil pores under natural vegetation successions on the Loess Plateau. Earth Sciences 53(4): 617-625.

Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 4 Sayı
Başlangıç: 2012
Yayıncı: Avrasya Toprak Bilimleri Dernekleri Federasyonu

Arşiv