A. I. Pozdnyakov

Structure and stability of soil aggregates

The formation and disintegration of macroaggregates into water-stable particles in a wide range of soil water contents—from the hygroscopic moisture to the capillary saturation moisture—were analyzed. It was found that the disintegration of macroaggregates into water-stable particles follows an exponential law. As the system becomes a three-phase system, neighboring particles in the macroaggregate are pressed together due to capillary pressure, and strong molecular bonds are formed. The disintegration curve of macroaggregates is an integral informative characteristic, which reflects the dynamics of changes in the strength properties of the macroaggregates.

Anisotropy of the properties of some anthropogenically transformed soils of podzolic type

It is shown that the horizons and profiles of anthropogenically transformed soils of podzolic type—light typical agrozems, typical texture-differentiated soils developed from glaciolacustrine loamy sands and clays and from noncalcareous mantle loams, agrosoddy deeply podzolic soils developed from noncalcareous mantle loams, and agrosoddy shallow-podzolic soils developed from noncalcareous mantle loams and from calcareous loams underlain by ancient glaciolacustrine loams and clays—are characterized by some anisotropy of most of their properties. The highest anisotropy is typical of the field water content, bulk density, and total porosity. The coefficients of anisotropy (gradients) calculated for the separate horizons as the ratios between the values of the properties measured in the horizontal and vertical directions (k = Phoriz/Pvertic) of these properties are much higher than those of other soil properties. The coefficient of anisotropy of the soil profile (K) is suggested as the coefficient of correlation between the values of a given property determined in the horizontal and vertical soil sections. For the considered properties, K varies from 0.4 to 0.6. For other soils properties, such as the solid phase density, the electrical resistance determined in a laboratory and in the field, and the organic carbon content, the coefficients of anisotropy are close to 1.0. The clay content has an intermediate anisotropy. The values of anisotropy and its direction (gradient) should be taken into account upon the assessment of the soil physical properties and the processes controlling them; this is particularly important in the study of soil transformation. The revealed regularities of the soil anisotropy make it possible to suggest a new interpretation of the data on the distribution of water and energy in soil profiles.

Electrical parameters of soils and pedogenesis

A concept of the relationship between the electrical parameters of soils (the electrical resistivity and the natural electrical potential) and their pedogenesis was advanced on the basis of the known classical laws of electromagnetism and the general theory of pedogenesis. It was shown that the electrical parameters of soils primarily depend on the density of the mobile electric charges, which include cations of the soil exchange complex and ions of the soil solution. Model notions were developed to explain the laws of the changes in the electrical parameters in the main genetic soil types for the catenary and zonal levels of the soil cover organization.

Actinomycetal complexes in drained peat soils of the taiga zone upon pyrogenic succession

The number and diversity of actinomycetes in peat soils vary in dependence on the stage of pyrogenic succession. In the cultivated peat soil, the number of actinomycetes after fires decreases by three-four times, mainly at the expense of acidophilic and neutrophilic groups. An increase in the number of mycelial prokaryotes (at the expense of alkaliphilic forms) is seen on the fifth year of functioning of the pyrogenic peat soil. The species diversity of streptomycetes in peat soils also decreases after fires. An increase in the range of streptomycetal species at the expense of neutrophilic and alkaliphilic forms takes place on the fifth year of the pyrogenic succession. Parameters of the actinomycetal complex—the population density, species composition, and ecological features—are the criteria whose changes allow us to judge the state of peat soils in the course of their pyrogenic succession.

Structure and properties of soil organic-mineral gel

Changes in the fractal dimension and scattering intensity of colloidal structures in a chernozem, soddy-podzolic soil, and a krasnozem were studied by small-angle neutron scattering at different temperatures and soil water contents. The character of the neutron scattering by soil colloids indicated that the latter were mass fractals in all of the soils studied; i.e., the colloidal particles were located apart from one another even in dry soils. The obtained results confirmed the supposition about the distribution of colloidal particles in the humus gel matrix. The changes in the fractal parameters of the soddy-podzolic soil and chernozem with increasing water contents were nonmonotonic in character, which indicated complex structural rearrangements of the colloidal component in these soils. From the results obtained, a conclusion was drawn that the destruction of the molecular network of reinforced humus gel occurred upon heating the soils to high temperatures: colloidal particles reinforcing the humus gel began to move and coagulate with the formation of dense aggregates. The electron-microscopic study of gel films released from the predried and then capillary wetted aggregates in water showed that the gel films were nonhomogeneous and included zones of humus gel reinforced by colloidal particles and zones almost free from these particles.

Aerobic and Microaerophilic Actinomycetes of Typical Agropeat and Peat Soils

A high number (from tens of thousands to millions of CFU/g of soil) of actinomycetes and a high diversity of genera were found in typical peat and agropeat soils. Agricultural use increases the number and diversity of the actinomycete complexes of the peat soils. In the peat soils, the actinomycete complex is represented by eight genera: Streptomyces, Micromonospora, Streptosporangium, Actinomadura, Microbispora, Saccharopolyspora, Saccharomonospora, and Microtetraspora. A considerable share of sporangial forms in the actinomycete complex of the peat soils not characteristic of the zonal soils was revealed. The number of actinomycetes that develop under aerobic conditions is smaller by 10–100 times than that of aerobic forms in the peat soils. Among the soil actinomycetes of the genera Streptomyces, Micromonospora, Streptosporangium, Actinomadura, Microbispora, and Microtetraspora, the microaerophilic forms were found; among the Saccharopolyspora and Saccharomonospora, no microaerophilic representatives were revealed.

Fabric of soil aggregates and characterization of their structural and functional stability

Results characterizing the fabric of soil aggregates are discussed. Experimental evidence and theoretical substantiation of the fabric of soil aggregate are given. Soil aggregates are characterized by the tight packing of water-stable particles arranged into certain layers. The curves of aggregate destruction follow the exponential law, which reflects the layered fabric of the aggregates and the distribution of the ”nuclei” of waterstable aggregates in them.

Structural transition in the humic matrix of soil gels and its effect on the soil properties

The analysis of drying-wetting cycles in soils has shown that the existence of the humic matrix of soil gels and, hence, the soil structure is ensured by hydrophilic bonds in dry soils and hydrophobic bonds in wet soils. This suggests that the structural transition from one mechanism controlling the stability of the soil gels and the existence of the soil structure to another mechanism occurs in the humic matrix of soil gels in a specific range of water content. The experimental results have confirmed the effect of the structural transition on the water stability of the soil structure, the pHwater, the hydrophilicity of the soil particle surface, and the structural-mechanical properties of the soils.

Bioelectric potentials in the soil-plant system

A detailed study of the electric potentials in the soil-plant system was performed. It was found that the electric potential depends on the plant species and the soil properties. A theoretical interpretation of the obtained data was given. All the plants, independently from their species and their state, always had a negative electric potential relative to the soil. The electric potential of the herbaceous plants largely depended on the leaf area. In some plants, such as burdock (Arctium lappa) and hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi), the absolute values of the negative electric potential exceeded 100 mV. The electric potential was clearly differentiated by the plant organs: in the flowers, it was lower than in the leaves; in the leaves, it was usually lower than in the leaf rosettes and stems. The electric potentials displayed seasonal dynamics. As a rule, the higher the soil water content, the lower the electric potential of the plants. However, an inverse relationship was observed for dandelions (Taraxacum officinale). It can be supposed that the electric potential between the soil and the plant characterizes the vital energy of the plant.

The method of cohesion determination in soil aggregates

Theoretical fundamentals and experimental methods to study the strength of water-stable bonds in soil aggregates are discussed. The strength of water-stable aggregates characterized by cohesion is proved to be one of the important structural and mechanical properties of soil. The regular variation of this parameter inthe soils under study is related to the content of humus and physical clay.