ASSESSMENT OF A COMBINATION OF WET SIEVING AND TURBIDIMETRY TO CHARACTERIZE THE STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF MOIST AGGREGATES

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Abstract
A method of measuring the structural stability of moist soils using a combination of turbidimetry and wet sieving has been developed and assessed. Aggregates of 1–2 mm in diameter are shaken end-over-end in test tubes and dispersed clay and stable aggregates greater than 0.25 mm diameter measured. Stabilities determined using this method were compared to stabilities determined using a modification of the Yoder wet-sieving method on 20 soils of different textures, organic-matter content, and recent cropping history. Wet aggregate stabilities determined by the two methods were correlated although the two measurements exhibited different sensitivities to clay content, organic-matter content and moisture content at the time of sampling. Dispersible clay was found to be a function of total clay content, organic-matter content and water content at the time of sampling. The new method offers the advantage of stability measurements of structural units of much different size using the same energy input and can be readily adapted to the routine analysis of a large number of samples without a large investment in equipment or space. Key words: Wet aggregate stability, dispersible clay, cropping history, soil structure