Abstract
The hysteresis effect of water retention curve (WRC) has significant implications for comprehending soil water and salt transport, especially in areas with soil salinization. This study evaluates the hysteresis of WRC in saline soils by measuring the drying and wetting WRC of silty clay loam exposed to different salinities using a tension meter. We find that WRC is influenced by the superposition coupling effect of salinity and dry density, which results in an upward shift of WRC and increases the soil water holding capacity. In addition, soil matrix suction also rises with the increasing salt concentration, leading to a gradual upward shift in WRC. The presence of salt in pore spaces weakens the “ink-bottle” effect, disjoining pressure and air entrapment effect, results in a 30.9% reduction in hysteresis of WRC with increasing salinity. Additionally, the volumetric shrinkage of low dry density silty clay loam also weakens the WRC hysteresis. Furthermore, we utilized a WRC hysteresis model that considers the “ink-bottle” effect and entrapped air, which reasonably predicts the main wetting WRC of saline silty clay loam. The root-mean-square error and mean absolute error between predicted and measured values are 0.027–0.039 and 0.036–0.060, respectively. These findings are significant to the research and guidance of salinization in expansive soil and heavy textured soil area where salinization occurs.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank all the members of the project group for their help with laboratory work.
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This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China, project no. 2020CFB750, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, project no. 41602246, the Science and Technology Project of Hubei Geological Bureau, project no. KJ2021-8, and the College Students’ Innovative Entrepreneurial Training Plan Program project no. Yz2022344.
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Fig. S1 . Schematic diagram of WRC hysteresis index: (a) the area between the drying and wetting curve (H); (b) the maximum deviation in soil water moisture between drying and wetting curve (Hd).
Fig. S2 . The drying WRC of silty clay loam under different salinity: (a) 1.3 g/cm3, (b) 1.4 g/cm3, (c) 1.5 g/cm3 and (d) 1.6 g/cm3.
Fig. S3 . The WRC drying curves of silty clay loam under different dry density:(a) TDS0, (b) TDS10, (c) TDS20, (d) TDS30, (e) TDS40, (f) TDS50, (g) TDS75 and (h) TDS100.
Fig. S4 . The wetting WRC of silty clay loam under different salinity: (a) 1.3 g/cm3, (b) 1.4 g/cm3, (c) 1.5 g/cm3 and (d) 1.6 g/cm3
Fig. S5 . Illustration of hysteresis of WRC due to (a) “ink-bottle” effect, (b) air entrapment and (c) contact angle hysteresis
Fig. S6 . The impact of salinity on surface tension: (a) The relationship between soil salt concentration and surface tension and (b) The calculated WRC drying curve with considering the effect of salinity on surface tension.
Fig. S7 . The relationship between volume shrinkage coefficient and salinity under varying dry densities: (a) 1.3 g/cm3, (b) 1.4 g/cm3 and (c) 1.5 g/cm3.
Fig. S8 . Characteristics of dynamic changes in soil salinity.
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Qiankun Tan, Huo, S., Wang, D. et al. Hysteresis of Water Retention Curve of the Capillarimetric Diapason in Saline Soils. Eurasian Soil Sc. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229323603426
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229323603426