Low-Charge to High-Charge Beidellite Conversion in a Vertisol from South Italy

Abstract
The fine silt (2–5 μm) coarse clay (0.1–2 μm) and fine clay (μm) fractions of a Vertisol from South Italy were studied with X-ray diffraction. The most reactive fine clay (8.0). After K-saturation and 25 wetting and drying cycles, the high-charge beidellite from the soil horizons lost expandability far more than the original low-charge smectites.