Soil surface matters
Project facts:
- Start date:
2nd January 2013
- End date:
1st January 2016
- Funder: BBSRC
- Award: £343477
- Principle Investigator:
Prof Karl Ritz
- Researcher:
Dr Amin Gabout
Figure 1. Different classification of pores identified in the soil crust. Unconnected pores (red), connected pores (blue), surface pores (geen)
Background
The soil surface is a crucial interface which connects the atmosphere to the outermost layer of the Earth, and the nature and properties of this zone play important roles in governing many aspects of soil function, including hydrological processes, propensity to erosion, gas exchange, seedling emergence, and biotic interactions.
Susceptible soils can develop a structurally distinct but thin layer at their surface, referred to as a crust, which is primarily generated by raindrop impacts. The presence of such a physical crust can alter the characteristics of the soil surface via smoothing and sealing processes, thus decreasing rainfall infiltration and increasing the volume and velocity of water runoff, with potential impacts on both agricultural sustainability and environmental protection. Since climate change scenarios for UK suggest conditions for crust development will be enhanced in the future it is urgent to:
Aims and Objectives
- Develop an imaging method to capture to the geometrical complexity of the extreme soil surface permitting to characterise and quantify the 3D structure of the crust. Figure 1 shows a visualisation and quantification of soil crust microstructure.
- Determine the roles that specific soil micro-organisms play in modulating the biophysical properties of the extreme soil surface
- Establish how rainfall and drying affects the biophysical properties of the extreme soil surface and how soil micro-organisms interacts in this zone