Features Production Research
The impact of flooding on soils

A recent study conducted in the Midwestern U.S. examined the effects of harsh wet conditions on both cultivated and uncultivated soils, vastly advancing the knowledge of water’s effects on aggregation.

A recent study conducted in the Midwestern U.S. examined the effects of harsh wet conditions on both cultivated and uncultivated soils, vastly advancing the knowledge of water’s effects on aggregation.

Soil aggregation is an important soil attribute that is related to the physical-chemical state of the soil, and is one of the essential processes that determine soil quality. During the wet season in parts of the U.S. and Canada, soils can be underwater for days or weeks, causing oxygen depletion, or reducing conditions, which may in turn affect the chemistry of the soil-water system and, consequently, soil aggregation. Loss of soil aggregation impacts agriculture by decreasing soil quality and crop production.

Recently, soil scientists investigated how changes in the reduction-oxidation (redox) status of the soil can impact soil aggregation during short-term ponding conditions. Results from the study were published in the March/April, 2009 issue of Soil Science Society of America Journal.

To carry out the research, six different upland soils – three cultivated and three uncultivated – with different organic carbon and similar mineralogy, were incubated up to 14 days in an anaerobic biogeochemical reactor. After each treatment, the soil solution was analyzed for metals and dissolved organic carbon. A simple laboratory procedure that measures the degree of aggregate breakdown during wetting was used to determine aggregate stability of the incubated soil samples.

The research revealed that the aggregate stability of upland soils was decreased under reducing conditions from short-term water ponding. The decrease in aggregate stability reached about 20 per cent during a 14-day ponding period, which is quite significant in terms of soil disaggregation. Changes in redox sensitive elements, alkaline metals, and dissolved organic carbon under reducing conditions contributed to the decrease in aggregate stability.

Overall, the aggregate stability of cultivated soils was more affected by the reducing conditions than that of uncultivated soils. This indicates that the management system plays an important role in the stability of aggregates.

The use of natural soils without addition of chemicals simulated a realistic field situation when aerobic upland soils remained saturated for several days and the oxygen level depleted to a minimum, causing reducing conditions. The authors believe that once the reducing reactions take place in the field and disaggregation has occurred, the process will not reverse itself because the natural drainage will carry away the released chemicals and the chemistry of the soil-water system will not return to the original state. The disintegrated aggregates may clog the soil pores and further degrade the soil structure.