Abstract
Population growth are leading to intensive and extensive land use even in gypsiferous and gypseous soils which resulted in a greater demand for information of these common soils. The soils of Jooyom region located in southern Iran were studied in order to estimate the rates of soil formation processes, such as gypsum accumulation, and how they affect soil porosity. Soils have gypsum contents ranging from 0.02 to 42.1%, which increases with depth. In the field, gypsum accumulations are described as powdery nodules and vermiform gypsum. Different kinds of micromorphological pedofeatures related to gypsum are observed, which include infillings and coatings of gypsum crystals, typic nodules and crystal twins. Nodules of micrite pseudomorphs after lenticular gypsum are found, where calcite has substituted the original gypsum, which are indicators of a more arid climate in the past, followed by a more humid one. The extent, morphology and size of gypsum crystals depend on the pedogenic processes. In regard to micromorphological classification of gypsiferous soil materials, they are classified in two groups of Eogypsic and Gypsic. Soil porosity changes related to gypsum accumulation were studied and quantified by image analysis. The understanding the retention and movement of water and air in the soil; therefore, these results have a practical importance for land use and management of gypsiferous soils.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Aghanabati, A., Geology of Iran, Tehran: Geol. Survey of Iran, 2004.
Aldaood, A., Bouasker, M., and Al-Mukhtar, M., Impact of wetting drying cycles on the microstructure and mechanical properties of lime-stabilized gypseous soils, Eng. Geol., 2014, vol. 174, no. 23, pp. 11–21.
Artieda, O., Morphology and micro-fabrics of weathering features on gyprock exposures in a semiarid environment (Ebro Tertiary Basin, NE Spain), Geomorphology, 2013, vol. 196, pp. 198–210.
Bergada, M.M., Poch, R.M., and Cervello, J.M., On the presence of gypsum in the archaeological burial site of Cova des Pas (Menorca, Western Mediterranean), J. Archaeol. Sci., 2015, vol. 53, pp. 472–481.
Chamizo, S., Rodriguez-Caballero, E., Canton, Y., Asensio, C., and Domingo, F., Penetration resistance of biological soil crusts and its dynamics after crust removal: relationships with runoff and soil detachment, Catena, 2015, pp. 164–172.
Hamdi-Aissa, B., Fedoroff, N., Halitim, A., and Vallès, V., Short and long-term soil-water dynamic in soils in Chott hyper-arid areas (Sahara of Algeria), Proc. 16th World Congr. of Soil Science, Montpellier, 1998, p. 10.
Khademi-Moghari, H., Stable isotope geochemistry, mineralogy and microscopy of gypsiferous soils from central Iran, PhD Thesis, Saskatoon: Univ. of Saskatchewan, 1997.
Khalaf, F.I., Al-Zamel, A., and Gharib, I., Petrography and genesis of Quaternary coastal gypcrete in North Kuwait, Arabian Gulf, Geoderma, 2014, vols. 226–227, pp. 223–230.
Mahjoory, R.A., The nature and genesis of some saltaffected soils in Iran, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 1979, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 1019–1024.
Mahmoodi, Sh., Properties and management of gypsiferous soils, The 4th Soil Science Congr., August 29–31, 1994, Isfahan: Isfahan Univ. Technol., 1994.
Poch, R.M., Artieda, O., Herrero, J., and Lebedeva-Verba, M., Gypsic features, in Interpretation of Micromorphological Features of Soils and Regoliths, Stoops, G., Marcelino, V., and Mees, F., Eds., Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2010.
Poch, R.M., De Coster, W., and Stoops, G., Pore space characteristics as indicators of soil behavior in gypsiferous soils, Geoderma, 1998, vol. 87, nos. 1–2, pp. 87–109.
Rhoades, J., Salinity: electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids, in Methods of Soil Analysis, Sparks, D.L., et al., Eds., Madison, WI: Am. Soc. Agron., 1996, part 3, pp. 417–436.
Soil Survey Staff, Soil Survey Manual, Washington, DC: USDA Nat. Resour. Conserv. Serv., 1993.
Soil Survey Staff, Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Washington, DC: USDA Nat. Resour. Conserv. Serv., 2014.
Stoops, G., Guidelines for Analysis and Description of Soil and Regolith Thin Sections, Madison, WI: Soil Sci. Soc. Am., 2003.
Stoops, G. and Poch, R.M., Micromorphological classification of gypsiferous soil materials, in Soil Micromorphology: Studies in Management and Genesis. Developments in Soil Science, Humphreys, G.S. and Ringrose-Voase, A.J., Eds., Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1994, vol. 22, pp. 327–332.
Sullivan, L., Micromorphology and genesis of some calcite pseudomorphs after lenticular gypsum, Austral. J. Soil Res., 1990, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 483–485.
Sumner, M.E. and Miller, W.P., Cation exchange capacity and exchange coefficients, in Methods of Soil Analysis, Sparks, D.L., et al., Eds., Madison, WI: Am. Soc. Agron., 1996, part 3, pp. 1201–1229.
Thomas, G.W., Soil pH and soil acidity, in Methods of Soil Analysis, Sparks, D.L., et al., Eds., Madison, WI: Am. Soc. Agron., 1996, part 3, pp. 475–490.
Thompson, T.L., Hossner, L.R., and Wilding, L.P., Micromorphology of calcium carbonate in bauxite processing waste, Geoderma, 1991, vol. 48, nos. 1–2, pp. 31–42.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The article is published in the original.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fazeli, S., Abtahi, A., Poch, R.M. et al. Gypsification processes and porosity changes in soils from southern Iran (Jooyom region-Fars province). Arid Ecosyst 7, 80–91 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096117020093
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096117020093
Keywords
- micromorphology
- gypsum
- image analysis
- soil porosity
- arid soils