Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Geoderma
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / g e o d e r m a

Impact of lime and mineral fertilizers on mechanical strength for various soil pHs
Véronique Chaplain a,⁎, Pauline Défossez b, Ghislaine Delarue a, Jean Roger-Estrade c, d, Anthony R. Dexter e, f,
Guy Richard e, Daniel Tessier a
a
INRA, UR 251 PESSAC: Physico-chimie et Ecotoxicologie des Sols Contaminés, F-78026 Versailles, France
b
INRA, UR 1263 EPHYSE, F-33140 Villenave d'Ornon, France
c
AgroParisTech, UMR 211 Agronomie, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
d
INRA, UMR 211 Agronomie, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
e
INRA, UR 272 Sols, Ardon, F-45075 Orléans 2, France
f
IUNG-PIB, ul. Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Application of lime and fertilizers might impact soil properties by affecting their physico-chemical
Received 21 January 2011 parameters. The focus of the Versailles 42-plots experiment that was started in 1929 has always been to
Received in revised form 18 July 2011 determine in fallow conditions the impact of mineral fertilization over time on the physico-chemical
Accepted 7 August 2011
properties of a loamy soil. This paper's aim is to assess the impact of long-term mineral fertilization on
Available online 28 September 2011
mechanical strength and soil stability. Soil samples of similar texture and bulk density were taken from the
Keywords:
42-plots site, with pH ranging from 3.5 to 8.2. Aggregate stability followed the procedure of Le Bissonnais
Compression behavior (1996). Compression tests were performed in drained conditions and short loading time (300 s). Remolded
Aggregate stability and saturated soil samples were used to focus on the impact of chemical changes due to repeated fertilization.
Mineral fertilization The pre-compression stress values Pc were derived from compression curves using various model fits
Acid soils according the shape of curve. Chemical discrepancies among soils provided from pH, organic matter and
Interfacial properties diversity of treatments. The decrease of pH reduced the cationic exchange capacity (CEC) value due to the
protonation of variable charges and retention of positively charged hydroxyl-Al polymers. Exchangeable
aluminum represented up to 90% of the CEC in acid soils as calcium ions represented from 80 to 98% of CEC
with increasing pH of neutral and alkaline soils. Compression curves showed different global shapes according
pH values and the contrasted behavior of acid soils when compared to other ones. The Pc values of highly acid
soils were much greater than other treatments (greater than 150 kPa compared with 30 kPa). Nevertheless
their Pc values decreased down to 40 kPa, when soils were air-dried before compression. Meanwhile the
deformation rate decreased when the pH dropped. This lower deformation cannot be explained by kinetic
aspects and was not sensitive to drying. So the hypothesis of a set of yield stress avoiding drainage of the
water phase and limiting soil compression was proposed. Aggregate stability tests revealed the unstable
nature of all plots especially with the highly acid soils. The size distributions of fragment were very similar for
all three tests with a narrow distribution in elementary particle class suggesting the predominance of
dispersion in fragmentation process. But we found opposite results for this soil by comparing mechanical
strength and water stability of aggregates. This contrast raised the question of the crucial role of the air-drying
step on aggregate stability measurements. A small increase of aggregate stability was observed in neutral and
alkaline soils due to calcium bridges when compared to reference plot. Such effect was not observed in
compression behavior of remolded soils. Future studies will require the use of structured soil samples; in
particular for neutral and alkaline soils to gather evidence of the effects of calcium bridges on soil stability and
mechanical strength. Our results showed the need to consider interfacial processes in the soil stability and
compression behavior and the great interest of the 42-plots experiments at INRA Versailles to relate chemical
and physical soil properties.
© 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

⁎ Corresponding author at: INRA, Pessac Rd 10, F-78026 Versailles, France. Tel.: + 33
1 30 83 37 04; fax: + 33 1 30 83 32 59.
E-mail address: chaplain@versailles.inra.fr (V. Chaplain).
The critical role of soil structure in soil quality has been recognized
for many years because it affects transport phenomena as well as
biological activity inherent to soil organic matter dynamic (Six et al.,
2004), or to the fate of organic contaminant (Mamy et al., 2011). The
structure of soil depends on soil texture and organic matter (Carter,

0016-7061/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2011.08.003
 V. Chaplain et al. / Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368
2004; Dexter, 2004a, 2004b). It is also affected by practices including
crop rotations, effects of grasses, tillage, wetting–drying, chemical
amendments especially organic ones (see for instance Bronick and Lal,
2005). This work concerns the impact of mineral fertilizers and lime
on mechanical strength and water-stability of soil, both properties
being related to soil structure.
The soil structure is basically characterized by the bulk density and
the dual nature of porosity divided into micro and macro pores.
However, due to the complexity of soils and the multiplicity of processes
involved in soil structure, the bulk density changes with the observation
scale as described by the hierarchical concept (Braudeau and Mohtar,
2009; Dexter, 1988; Hadas, 1987). Structure of small size samples
(typically less than 1 mm) are dominated by high short range variations
of the micro porosity and could be characterized by a specific fractal
dimension. When the size of the samples is increased up to the
mesoscopic scale (typically from 1 mm up to 10 cm) both micro and
macro porosity participate to the global porosity (Bartoli et al., 2005).
The fractal dimension at this scale could differ from those determined at
smaller scale (Bartoli et al., 2005). Fractal properties applied at a specific
range cannot be directly applied to predict soil physical properties at
another scale range. Those structural properties are either directly
observed or deducted from physical properties such as water retention
and hydraulic conductivity but rarely in mechanical behavior (Van
Damme, 1995). Such structural properties demonstrate the need to
consider the scale's complementarity in studying physical properties of
soil. Microstructure appears to be responsible for most of the soil
physical properties and can be well described by a single soil physical
parameter S (Dexter, 2004a, 2004b). Soil structure and soil–water
interaction are closely related (Braudeau and Mohtar, 2009).
The water-stability can be namely approached by dispersion of
elementary particles and dried-aggregate breakdown by slaking and
micro-cracking processes. At clays scale, the higher is the dispersive clay
content in water, the more unstable is the soil considered (e.g. de
Oliviera et al., 2005). At the aggregate scale, the higher is the mean
weight diameter of slaked aggregate fragments, the more stable is the
soil considered (Le Bissonnais, 1996). Soil strength can be namely
approached by internal cohesion of saturated aggregates (small scale)
and compression behavior usually measured at a larger core scale.
Uniaxial compression curves show the relationship between stress
applied on a soil sample and volumetric parameters such as strain, void
ratio or porosity. They have two main mechanical parameters: (i) the
pre-compression stress, Pc, beyond which plastic deformation occurs,
(ii) the slope of the virgin compression line, VCL, namely the com-
pression index Cc. Pc and Cc are considered an indicator of the soil's load
support capacity and soil resistance to compression respectively. High
strength of a soil structure is associated with high values of Pc.
These different approaches have been compared only infrequently.
However the macroscopic behavior of the soil is usually related to the
behavior of individual aggregates (Blanco-Canqui et al., 2005). Soils
with high tensile strength values of aggregates offer higher mechan-
ical resistance as a whole (Perfect and Kay, 1994). Pc values are related
to the ratio of aggregate density to bulk density of soils (Rücknagel et
al., 2007). Recent detailed analysis shows that particle size and dry
aggregate size distribution weakly impacts soil compression proper-
ties (Keller et al., 2011).
Few studies have dealt with long-term effects of mineral fertilization
on soil stability, because most studies focused on the effect of fertilizers
on crop production and organic content of soil. Most of long-term
experiment site involve plants that limit the impact of fertilizers. So the
aggregate stability was found to be not significantly affected by cropping
systems and fertilizer level (Subbian et al., 2000). The increase in water
stable aggregation results from increased crop yields and organic matter
returns (Haynes and Naidu, 1998). Adding fertilizers also has direct
physico-chemical effects, influencing soil aggregation with conse-
quences on bulk density (Haynes and Naidu, 1998). The application of
various N sources reduced the soil pH, but did not significantly affect soil
361
physical properties including bulk density, water interaction, geometric
mean diameter of water-stable aggregates, compression behavior after
10 years of successive applications (Intrawech et al., 1982). Tensile
strength, (TS) of aggregates was measured on soils having received
various fertilizers (Munkholm et al., 2002). Results showed that soils
treated with mineral fertilizers (NPK) had properties intermediate
between those of soils having received manure amendments, and
unfertilised soils. However the observed effects depend greatly on the
water regime and the wet–dry cycle (Munkholm et al., 2002). The
impact of NPK treatments on TS seems to be related to the dispersive
clay contents. This discrepancy in wet conditions might be related to
differences in the nature and amount of bonding materials. Many
parameters affect soil stability so, that a specific impact of NPK
treatment is hard to demonstrate. It is often low, when compared to
the impact of other parameters, such as the presence of crop residues or
management practices (Simansky et al., 2008). Soil aggregate stability
decreased with NPK treatment in the case of an acidic Alfisol under an
annual soybean–wheat crop rotation (Hati et al., 2008). At a small rate,
liming can result in dispersion of clays, but the aggregation progresses,
when the rate increases due to the contribution of Ca2+ cations.
Contrasted effects of liming on aggregate stability were reported (Castro
and Logan, 1991; Roth and Pavan, 1991; Tama and El-Swaify, 1978). The
major effects of fertilizers on soil physical properties are to improve crop
yields and to act on organic matter both in nature and content. But
addition of lime or fertilizers on soils has also a direct impact by
modifying the chemical composition of the soil solution, its ionic
strength and in some cases soil pH. In particular, soil acidification from
long-term use of nitrogen fertilizers has been reported (Schroder et al.,
2011; Stroia et al., 2011), with consequences on plant growth. All
physico-chemical parameters influence the dispersion/flocculation
processes and are then expected to influence mechanical strength and
soil stability. Indeed chemical fertilization was found to reduce
mechanical properties of a paddy soil (Li and Zhang, 2007).
The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of long-term mineral
fertilizers and lime on mechanical strength and water stability of
aggregates. For that we compared compression curves in saturated
conditions and dried aggregate stability in water. Soil samples were
taken from the 42-plots experiment in INRA Versailles, whose aim is to
test the long-term impact of mineral treatments on physico-chemical
properties of soils. Mechanical tests were performed using remolded
soil samples at a given bulk density and water saturation. Therefore, soil
structure can be considered as homogeneous. Results will be discussed
as a function of chemical changes induced by repeated fertilization
considering both chemical composition of water phase and interfacial
properties of soil.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Experimental site and soil characteristics
The 42-plots experiment in INRA, Versailles uses a loamy soil in
fallow conditions. It has been managed by the French National Institute
for Agricultural Research (INRA). The 5 m 2 plots have received fertilizers
or amendments every year. Ten reference plots without any treatment
are randomly located through the site, and 16 different treatments are
tested in duplicate plots. All plots are dug to 20 cm depth twice a year
and are systematically weeded to suppress plant cover. Since 1929, soils
samples have been regularly taken from all plots, air-dried, ground and
sieved b2 mm. This collection is stored in dark conditions for further
analysis. The choice of treatments, at the beginning of the experiment,
was made in order to be able to distinguish the effects of associated ions.
For example, the ammonium fertilizers were respectively associated
with sulfate, phosphate, nitrate or chlorohydrate anions. Simple
observation of the site shows the effect of mineral fertilization on soil
structure and soil–water interactions. It also shows the influence of
362 V. Chaplain et al. / Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368

nitrogen source on this impact and the role of the chemical nature of Table 2
cation (or anion) associated with fertilizer. Exchangeable cations 42-plots site Versailles 2000: H1 (0–20 cm)/H2 (25–40 cm).

The changes from the initial soil in 1929 and the reference plots in Plot Treatment CEC (Co)a b
Ca2+ b
Mg2+ Al3+ (KCl)b
1999 are (i) a decrease of soil pH from 6.3 to 5.6 (ii) a decrease of organic
H1/H2 H1/H2 H1/H2 H1/H2
carbon from 1.62 ± 1.2 to 0.7 ± 0.2 in% w/w due to the absence of plants
1 (NH4)2HPO4 6.2/8.0 0.2/0.3 0.2/0.4 6.4/7.8
(iii) a decrease of the cationic exchange capacity, (CEC) in cmol+ kg− 1
2 NH4NO3− 7.6/9.8 0.4/0.2 0.2/0.1 6.6/8.5
from 14.8 ± 0.8 to 8.7 ± 0.3 (Pernes-Debuyssier, 2003). The textures of 3 No 8.7/10.2 5.1/7.3 0.7/0.8 2.2/1.4
the reference soil measured in 1929 then in 1999 are respectively in 3 (1929) 15.3/NDc 13.3/ND 1.4/ND b 0.05
w/w%: clays 19.4 (18.4); fine silt 19.5 (19.5); coarse silt 38.7 (37.1); fine 4 superP 11.3/14.2 9.7/12.4 0.4/0.8 0.06/b0.05
sand 19.5 (21.7) and coarse sand 2.9 (3.3). Texture of others plots 5 CaCO3 13.3/14.7 13.1/14.4 0.2/0.4 b 0.05
6 CaO 13.6/14.7 13.3/14.6 0.3/ND b 0.05
showed overall the small impact of treatments on the particle size
a
distribution (Chaplain et al., 2008; Pernes-Debuyssier, 2003). The first Cationic Exchange Capacity (Cobaltihexamine method).
b
Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, in cmol+.kg− 1.
noticeable result of fertilizers applied on others plots is the impact on c
Not Determined.
soil pH that varies from very acid (3.5) to alkaline (8.2) depending on
the fertilizer or amendment type. Small variations in particle size
distribution between the treatments were also reported (Chaplain et al., placed inside the cylindrical cell used for mechanical measurements and
2008; Pernes-Debuyssier, 2003). then saturated on a porous membrane for 24 h. Soil cores were then
In this work, we choose five different treatments for which soil pH used for compression tests. If required core samples were put at an
ranged from 3.5 to 8.2 as the bulk density of undisturbed structured initial water potential of pF 2.5 by equilibration in a 5 bar Ceramic Plate
aggregates were quite similar from 1.42 to 1.52 Mg.m− 3 (Chaplain et al., Extractor (Soil Moisture Equipment Corp., model 1600) for one week.
2008). These plots were selected in order to minimize discrepancy in soil Shrinkage during the preliminary wet–dry cycle was systematically
structure at small scale and focus on the chemical changes induced by controlled by the height of the core given by the position of the captor of
treatment. All analyses were carried out on b2 mm air-dried samples. displacement at the beginning of the compression test (Hill and Sumner,
The treatments, the soil pH in water, the clay fraction and the total 1967; Panayiotopoulos, 1996). The bulk density 1.45 Mg.m− 3 was
organic content, (TOC) values were reported in Table 1 for all selected chosen to limit the initial shrinkage during core preparation and to
plots and both horizons used in this study: H1 correspond to the 0– permit sufficient deformation during the compression tests (Chaplain et
20 cm and H2 to 25–40 cm. The pH was measured in water by the French al., 2011). The bulk density value was also close to the bulk density of
standard method AFNOR (NF X31-103) (AFNOR, 1996). The clay fraction undisturbed aggregates.
b2 μm was extracted from soil, without destruction of organic matter, by
mechanical dispersion and sedimentation (Pernes-Debuyssier and 2.2.2. Compression curves
Tessier, 2002). The organic content was determined by elemental Uniaxial compression curves were measured for the soils using a
analysis (C&N Fison Carlo Erba). The CEC value was determined using hydraulic oedometer apparatus in drained conditions. The cell was a
the cobaltihexamine method. Values are reported for both horizons in cylinder of 50 mm diameter and 20 mm height providing lateral
Table 2 together with earth alkaline ions, exchangeable Al3+ extracted constraint. Successive uniform vertical stresses were applied: 1, 2, 5,
by a KCl solution (see Pernes-Debuyssier and Tessier, 2002, for a more 10, 15, 30, 50, 100, 200, 300, 600, 800, and 1000 kPa. Each load was
complete description of analysis). The change in pH values induced applied for 5 min, which is an intermediate time between typical
strong variations in the chemical properties of soil, in response to the geotechnical and agricultural loading times. The vertical deformation
chemical diversity of the inputs. and internal pressure in the case of saturated soil samples, were
measured each 10 s for the duration of each load. The void ratio was
calculated using a particle density value given in Table 3. The real
2.2. Compression tests density of particles is identical in all the samples collected on a same plot
except for the reference plot where a lower value (2.63 Mg.m− 3) was
2.2.1. Samples and core preparation measured in horizon 25–35 cm (Pernes-Debuyssier, 2003). Compres-
Soil monoliths were collected in 2008 in the 25–35 cm horizon, wet sion curves showed the variation of void ratio measured at the end of
sieved minimizing the drying of soils before compression tests. Other each load with the logarithm of external stress. At the end of
monoliths were collected in the 0–20 cm horizon in 2002. Soils were air- compression, the external pressure was progressively decreased with
dried, ground and sieved b2 mm and stored in the dark until 2008, the same loading time following the same but reversed successive
when mechanical tests were performed. Remolded and water saturated pressures. Again the vertical deformations were measured each 10 s for
cylindrical soil samples were used to ensure homogeneous and similar the duration of each load to draw the unloading curves. At the end of
soil structure among soils and focus on the impact of chemical changes. each unloading test, the soil sample was weighed to determine its water
Samples were made of successive layers of sieved soil and water, with a content.
maximum water content of 20% by weight. After that, soil samples were Normalized deformation was calculated from compression and
relaxation curves according to the following equation (Baumgartl and
Köck, 2004):
Table 1
Physico-chemical data of soils of 42-plots site 2000: H1 (0–20 cm)/H2 (25–40 cm).
eT = ðe−ef Þ=ðe0 −ef Þ ð1Þ
Plot Treatment Clay % w/w pH TOCa % w/w
H1/H2 H1/H2 H1/H2

1 (NH4)2HPO4 14/18 3.6/4.0 0.9/0.5 Where e0 and ef are respectively the initial and final void ratio values
2 NH4NO3− 17/19 4.5/4.1 0.7/0.5 for each test.
3 No 18/18 5.6/5.8 0.7/0.7
3 (1929) 19/NDb 6.3/ND 1.6/NDb
4 superP 17/22 7.1/7.2 0.5/0.4 Table 3
5 CaCO3 14/22 8.2/8.1 0.6/0.4 Particle density 42 plots site in Versailles 2000 (10–20 cm).
6 CaO 17/21 8.2/8.1 0.6/0.4
Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6
a
Total Organic Carbon.
b Particle density, in Mg.m− 3 2.63 2.62 2.67 2.61 2.65 2.65
Not determined.
 V. Chaplain et al. / Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368
The global deformation rate is assimilated to the difference in bulk
density between the start and the end of the compression test, divided
by the initial bulk density.
2.2.3. Determination of mechanical parameters
The method and model fit used to determine the virgin compression
line, (VCL), and calculate mechanical parameters differed according the
global shape of compression curves: rounded, bi-linear or S-shape ones.
The classical Casagrande method was used with rounded compression
curves by a fourth-grade polynomial fit to determine the position of the
point of maximum curvature as described in Cavalieri et al. (2008). A
bisector was drawn between the tangent at this point and a horizontal
line. The pre-compression stress Pc was defined as the intercept
between this bisector and VCL (Arvidsson and Keller, 2004). In the
cases of bi-linear and S-shaped compression curves, the Pc value was the
intercept of VCL with a horizontal curve taken at e0. The VCL was simply
obtained by linear regression in the second part of curve in the first case.
As it was the tangent to the compression curve at inflexion point in the
second case. The Gompertz's model fit was applied to S-shape curves to
determine the position of the inflexion point. Pc values were calculated
from the model parameters as described in Gregory et al. (2006) and
Keller et al. (2011).
2.3. Aggregates stability in water
The aggregate stability was measured according to the unified
methodology proposed by Le Bissonnais (1996) on 3–5 mm air dried
aggregates AFNOR (NF X31-515) (AFNOR, 2005). This method is a
combination of three tests, that take into account two basic mechanisms
responsible for the fragmentation of aggregates under the action of
water, namely: slaking (tests I and III) and mechanical breakdown of
saturated aggregates (test II). In the former case, fragmentation is due to
the compression of air trapped in the aggregates following immersion in
water. Tests I and III correspond to fast and slow wetting processes
respectively. In the latter case (test II) slaking is prevented by a
preliminary wetting of aggregates in ethanol before immersion in water.
Fragmentation is obtained by stirring. After the fragmentation treat-
ment, the granulometric distribution of the remaining aggregates was
determined by dry-sieving. Seven classes were defined: N2 mm; 1–
2 mm; 0.5–1 mm; 0.2–0.5 mm; 0.1–0.2 mm; 0.05–0.1 mm; b0.005 mm.
A detailed description of the procedure is also given in Li and Zhang
(2007). The mass of the aggregate samples was 5 g per test. Tests started
by an oven-drying step at 40° for 24 h. Results are expressed in% weight
of the total weight (% w/w) for each size class and by the ratio
[b50 μm]/[0.1–1 mm] value. Samples and measurements were made in
2000 in the 0–25 cm horizon.
2.4. Statistical analysis
The spatial variability of physico-chemical properties was esti-
mated on the reference plots to limit the number of analyses. For that,
ten samples dating from 1929 of any reference plots were taken into
the collection and 10 samples collected in 2000 into a single reference
(Plot 3). Measurements performed on the initial samples gave a
relative standard deviation of 7% for TOC and CEC values. This variability
slightly increased with time. The variability within a single plot gave a
relative standard deviation of 3% for TOC and CEC and 5.8% for the clay
fraction. The impact of treatment is determined by comparing the
difference between mean values among plots and reference soils on one
hand and the standard deviation previously measured on reference
plots on the other hand.
All mechanical and aggregate stability tests were performed as three
replicates with the same initial conditions. Results represent mean
values; standard deviation is also reported. The number of replicates
being too low to use complex statistical tools, the set of results of Pc
values is given. Standard error in the Pc value was estimated from each
363
compression curves using the sum of the standard errors in parameters
of the model fit. Fitting was done using Sigmaplot and Excel statistical
tools according to the ordinary least squares method.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effects of treatments in chemical properties of soils
The discrepancies in physico-chemical properties given in Tables 1
and 2 measured between both horizons are less than the standard
deviation estimated in reference soils. Only a small decrease of clay
content is suspected in (Plot 1 and Plot 5) when compared to the
reference soil. The clay mineralogy was not affected by treatment
(Pernes-Debuyssier et al., 2003). A change in particle size distribution of
the clay fraction is also described in Plot 1 for which finest particles less
than 0.4 μm are lost (Pernes-Debuyssier and Tessier, 2004). Flocculation
by soluble Al3+ could explain the disappearance of the b0.4 μm fraction.
Because of the longevity of the site, soil samples taken respectively in H1
(in 2000) and H2 (in 2008) horizons can be considered as similar in
terms of particle size distribution and mineral characteristics. Chemical
discrepancies among soils provide from the pH of soil, organic matter
and diversity of fertilizers including the effect of anions in the case of
ammonium treatments (Plots 1 and 2).
The decrease in pH reduces the CEC value due to the protonation of
variable charges and retention of positively charged hydroxyl-Al
polymers. Exchangeable aluminum represented up to 90% of the CEC
at the low acid pH. In neutral and alkaline soils, calcium ions represent
from 80 to 98% of the CEC with increasing pH. Both clays and organic
matter contribute to the adsorption of NH4+ (Gouveia and Eudoxie,
2002; Liu et al., 2008). The adsorption was also pH-dependent as
negative charges of soil promote the affinity of soil towards NH4+ (Liu et
al., 2008) and usually fixation increased with pH. The retention of
cations in acid soils including forest soils cannot be described by simple
exchange phenomena. The need of a new perspective was reported in a
recent review (Ross et al., 2008). In solution both NH4+ and Al 3+ may
interact with organic matter, especially with aromatic cycles with
possible drastic changes in the organic matter conformation (Keiluweit
and Kleber, 2009; Schlautman and Morgan, 1993).
3.2. Mechanical behavior of soil samples at short loading time
The mean compression curves at saturation are drawn in Fig. 1
for highly acid soils (Plot 1) and acid soils (Plot 2) and then com-
pared with the reference soils (Plot 3) in full line. These curves
showed all different global shapes observed among soils. The highly
acid soils are characterized by rounded compression curves but
unfortunately no local maximum in curvature is found by fitting.
0,9
0,8
Void ratio, e
0,7 Highly acid
0,6
Reference
0,5
Acid
0,4
1 10 100 1000 10000
External pressure, kPa
Fig. 1. Compression curves at water saturation. Remolded soil samples 1.45 Mg.m− 3
collected in the (25–35 cm) horizon in 2008: ▲ Plot 1; Δ Plot 2; ● Plot 3.
364 V. Chaplain et al. / Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368

Such gradual transition between the elastic and plastic deformation A

1,0
were observed (Keller et al., 2011 and references inside). To limit
the uncertainty associated with the graphical estimation, we per-
formed additional measurements in unsaturated conditions with

Normalized void ratio, e*

0,8
Plot 1 (Rücknagel et al., 2010). The compression curves obtained
obeyed a bi-linear model and determination of Pc was easy. Values of
0,6
Pc are thought to be a good indicator of mechanical behavior in
saturated conditions because the water content measured at pF 2.5
is very close to saturation. In acid soils, a bi-linear shape of compres- 0,4
sion curves led to an accurate determination of Pc. The compression
curves for the other plots are S-shaped. The set of Pc values are
0,2
reported for all plots in Table 4. The regression coefficient values
were always greater than 0.998 and for each fit, the sum of variation
coefficient of parameters was around 10%. Overall we found the 0,0
greater mechanical stability of the highly-acid soils (Plot 1), when 1 10 100 1000 10000
compared with other soils of similar texture, density and water External pressure, in kPa
content but various pH for which Pc values were lower than 40 kPa.
Furthermore, we observed that the Pc values of Plot 1 seem to be B 1,0
very sensitive to the value of e0. Indeed they ranged from 113 to

Normalized void ratio, e*

220 kPa when the e0 value varied from 0.867 to 0.817. The small 0,8
number of replicates avoids a rigorous and quantitative comparison
among others soils although the normalized compression curves in
0,6
Fig. 2A distinguish their mechanical behavior. We can just highlight
the small Pc value of Plot 5 equal to 15 ± 3 kPa. Increasing exchange-
0,4
able calcium increased the shear strength of wet aggregates (Dexter
and Chan, 1991). The use of remolded soils certainly limits in this
work such impacts. The normalized unloading curves in Fig. 2B 0,2
clearly show the similar behavior of all plots including Plot 1.
The mean deformation rate during compression is expressed as a 0,0
1 100 10000
function of pH in Fig. 3. It is rather constant from alkaline pH to low
acid ones and then continuously decreases in more acid soils. The External pressure, in kPa
short value (300 s) of the duration of each step during the compres-
Fig. 2. Normalized compression curves (A) and relaxation curves (B). From
sion test could explain such a decrease with highly acid soils, if the experiments in Fig. 1 ▲ Plot 1; Δ Plot 2; ● Plot 3; ο Plot 4; □ Plot 5; ■ Plot6.
“equilibrium” in e value is not reached. The internal pressure measured
during compression increased up to a plateau region (data not shown)
for all soils except the acid ones (Plot 2). But the value of pi at this plateau region also varied among soils: it was low (about 10 kPa), in highly acid
soils (Plot 1), zero for acid soils (Plot 2) and around 25–40 kPa for all
Table 4 others soils, including the reference one. Those results illustrate the
Precompression stress values from Fig. 1: 42 plots site Versailles 2008, 25–35 cm. importance of kinetic aspects in compression tests.
Plot Initial void ratio Pc, in kPa Model
3.3. Kinetic aspects in compression tests
Plot 1
Unsaturated 0.817 220 Bi-linear
Id 0.830 155 id
We detailed here the kinetic aspects of each step of the compression
id 0.845 143 id test by calculating, each time, the normalized void ratio. The normalized
id 0.851 165 id deformation e* measured 30 s after the beginning of each step, is
id 0.867 113 id represented in Fig. 4 as a function of the pressure applied at each stage
Plot 2
for acid and alkaline plots and compared to the reference plot. For all
0.800 19 Bi-linear
0.806 19 id plots, e* reached a minimum value when the external pressure is
0.849 15 id 600 kPa and again increases, when the external pressure is still
Plot 3 increased. In any case, the e* values are lower in acid plots than in
0.811 27 Gompertz
0.820 26 Id
0.823 26 Id 0.4
0.843 20
Plot 4
0.774 16 Gompertz
0.3
Deformation rate

0.783 14 Id
0.787 20 Id
0.2
0.792 16 Id
Plot 5
0.817 18 Gompertz
0.1
0.867 11 Id
0.871 17 Id
0.902 13 Id
0
Plot 6
3 5 7 9
0.822 22 Gompertz
pH
0.826 23 Id
0.842 25 Id
0.843 30 Id Fig. 3. Deformation rate as a function of soil pH. Remolded soil samples 1.45 Mg.m− 3
collected in (25–35 cm) horizon in 2008. From experiments in Fig. 1.
 V. Chaplain et al. / Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368 365

Normalized deformation e *, after 30 s

1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
10
External pressure, in kPa
Fig. 4. Normalized deformation 30 s after the beginning of each step. Remolded soil
samples 1.45 Mg.m− 3 collected in the (25–35 cm) horizon ▲ Plot 1; ● Plot 3; □ Plot 5.
From experiments in Fig. 1.
alkaline plots. Such differences in kinetics illustrate the influence of
interfacial properties on compression process even at the short time
scale studied here.
The internal pressure usually increased up to a maximum pimax
and then decreased (there was just one exception with Plot 1) in
response to the application of the constant external pressure. For each
soil, the pimax, value varied with the value of external pressure applied
with a maximum when the external pressure was equal to 600 kPa.
This maximum point also corresponds to the maximum of deforma-
tion in Fig. 4. To enhance comparison between soils, we defined the
normalized internal pressure pi* by the ratio between the internal
pressure at time t and pimax. Values were calculated for each step,
A in literature (Keller and Arvidsson, 2007). In our work, long-time
Normalized internal pressure
Fig. 5A and B shows for all plots, the typical time variations of pi* when
the external pressure was 600 and 1000 kPa respectively. Again
kinetic results differ among soils. The internal pressure measured in
acid soils (Plot 2) quickly fell to zero for any steps as well as the rapid
change in deformation shown in Fig. 4. Other neutral and alkaline soils
clearly show that equilibrium is not reached suggesting a long-time
Alkaline
variation with likely consequences on long-time deformation. Some
Reference curves (Plots 4 and 6) seem to have an asymptotic value (full line)
Acid whereas others (Plots 3 and 5) seem to decrease linearly with time up
to zero. However experiments using larger time measurements are
required to discuss this point because some plateau region were also
observed in the decrease of pi with time showing the non-linearity
100 1000 10000 and complexity of processes involved in the decreasing of internal
pressure. The case of the highly acid soils was still different. Indeed an
asymptotic value (10 kPa in both cases) was observed in two opposite
manners: a decrease or increase of pi with time. The time dependence
of void ratio reveals the time required for exudation of pore fluids. It
depends on the hydraulic conductivity of soil and its change during
compression but also on the ionic interactions at the water solid
interface. The short time variations of pi may be related to the change
of macro porosity induced by compression as long time variations
may be rather linked to the change in the microstructure. The real
contribution of ionic interactions is very little understood.
These time variations of deformation and internal pressure may
have consequences on the mechanical parameter values. In our
experiments, acid plots change shape much faster than neutral or
basic ones. Similar results were described in literature, showing that
variation in loading time from 10 to 120 min by step, did not affect the
pre-compression stress values with acid soils around pH 5.5 (Peng et
al., 2004). Some other results show that very short loading times
(30 s) influence the Pc value, compared to a static load approach of
10 min (Krümmelbein et al., 2008). No effects were noticed between
30 and 120 min on mechanical parameters (da Veiga et al., 2007) in
acid and neutral soils. Duration of 30 min is often the selected option

1 variations are expected, especially with neutral and alkaline soils. An

increase of the duration of step might well highlight differences in
0.75 P = 600 kPa mechanical behavior of basic plots, compared to plots having a pH
close to neutrality, with a probable decrease of mechanical resistance
to compression. Additional experiments are then required but such
0.5
long time variations were previously observed on granular materials
(Rabia et al., 2010).
0.25 At the end the lower deformation of acid soils (Fig. 3) cannot be
attributed to a kinetic aspect. The water content of soil sample (Plot 1) at
the end of compaction is high 26± 0.1 g/g when compared to others
0
0 100 200 300 (21.6 ± 0.2 in plot 2 and 20.1 ± 0.3 g/g in others). The water was
Time, s confined inside the soil sample where drainage is fast but limited. The
incompressibility of soil water should limit the global deformation of
B soil sample during the compression tests. Two hypotheses can be put to
explain the limited drainage. The first proposes a non-linear flow of the
Normalized internal pressure

1
water phase and the set of a yield stress below which water phase did
not flow. The second is related to the evolution of soil structure during
0.75
compression. It suggests that the closing of conducting pores can be
described as a percolation model, for which closing of a few pores can
0.5 induce a significant reduction of hydraulic conductivity. The former
hypothesis appeared as the most probable. In the case of acid soils (Plot
P = 1000 kPa 2) both time variations could suggest the efficiency of drainage to
0.25
reduce internal pressure and the absence of microstructure changes on a
larger time scale.
0
0 100 200 300 3.4. Aggregate stability in water
Time, s
The values of the [b50 μm]/[0.1–1 mm] ratio are given in Fig. 6 for
Fig. 5. Temporal variation of the normalized internal pressure at constant load (A) 600 kPa
and (B) 1000 kPa respectively during experiments described in Fig. 1. Red lines (acid soils:
each test and all plots. They confirm unstable feature of all soils as
full lines Plot 1; dashed line Plot 2), black ones (neutral soils: dashed line Plot 3; full line already mentioned in Pernes-Debuyssier and Tessier (2004) from the
Plot 4) and green lines (alkaline soils: full line Plot 5; dashed line Plot 6). N200 μm size fraction remaining after the stability tests. The highly acid
366
2.5
Ratio [<50 µm]/[0.1-1mm]
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Plot 1 Plot 2 Plot 3
Fig. 6. The ratio [b50 μm]/[0.1–1 mm] values in % w/w. obtained during three aggregate
stability tests: dotted test I, horizontal lines test II, dense dotted test III for all Plots as
indicated on the Fig.
soils (Plot 1) appeared as the most unstable soil, due to its overall
highest value for this ratio in every test. All others plots (Plots 2–6)
showed a decrease of the ratio values from tests I and III indicating the
contribution of interfacial properties in fragmentation process. But
overall, the discrepancies observed among soils are of very low
magnitude, when compared to the reference soil. Except Plot 1, all
soils presented a broad size distribution of fragments in test II indicating
a relative high level of cohesion in saturated conditions. To enhance our
understanding of the atypical mechanical behavior of Plot 1 we have
drawn on Fig. 7 the size distribution of fragments of aggregates over the
entire range of textural classes for all three tests. This figure shows first,
very similar distributions between tests and second, a narrow distri-
bution towards the finer fraction. Those two juxtaposed characteristics
are usually associated with the predominance of dispersion in the
fragmentation process (Amezketa, 1999; Le Bissonnais, 1996). Alumi-
num polymers also showed a high efficiency in aggregates stability due
to their high point of zero charge. In oxisols, the clay dispersion induced
by low input energy was also pH dependent, its minimum value
corresponding to the zero points of charge which varied from 3.5 to 7 in
that study (Bartoli et al., 1992a, 1992b). Organic matter also participates
to the stability of micro-aggregates. A positive effect is attributed to
the formation of a hydrophobic coating around aggregates, reducing
wetting rate and consequently the sensitivity to slaking. The hydro-
phobic/hydrophilic nature of organic matter was then implied in aggre-
gate stability. The determination of anionic exchange capacity of soils
should be helpful to understand behavior of acid soils.
Furthermore a significant correlation between median pore dia-
meter and median aggregate size were established (Lebron et al.,
2002). Nasr and Selles (1995) stipulated that the distribution of soil
structural units controls the pore size distribution. The soil structure
of Plot 1 was probably particularly homogeneous and characterized by
60
40 Plot 1
w/w, in %
20
0
m
m
2
1-
5-
0.
>
2-
1-
0.
0.
0.
Fig. 7. Granulometric distribution in % w/w. for the three tests; dotted test I, horizontal
lines test II, dense dotted test III Plot 1 2000 (10–20 cm).
V. Chaplain et al. / Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368
a narrow pore size distribution, with a mean value that depends on
bulk density. However the low internal cohesion measured at satu-
ration in test II, seems to be in contradiction with the higher mechan-
ical stability observed at the core scale.
In neutral and alkaline soils, dispersion process is counteracted by
the presence of calcium ions, which promote flocculation of clay, the
exchangeable Mg promoting the CaCO3 dissolution. Calcium bridges
have crucial impacts on the formation and stability of aggregates with
consequences on hydraulic conductivity (Wuddivira and Camps-Roach,
2007). They increased the stability of structured aggregates of Plot 4 to
Plot 6 and confirm the need to perform mechanical tests using undis-
turbed soil cores.
Plot 4 Plot 5 Plot 6
3.5. Effects of drying on mechanical properties
The normalized compression curves are drawn in Fig. 8. The repeated
wet–dry cycles of the top surface and the long term storage of soil
samples (8 years) lessens the differences in mechanical behavior
between plots and affects the global shape of compression curves of
acid soils: from a round to bi-linear shape for highly acid soils (Plot 1)
and from a bi-linear to S-shape for (Plot 2). Mechanical behavior of other
soils is still characterized by an S-shape compression curve. The global
shape of compression curves is mainly determined by the coupling
between mechanical deformation of the solid phase (related to aggre-
gation) and drainage (related to hydraulic conductivity through the
porosity) (Horn, 2003). For a given soil, compression curves changed
from an S-shape, round and bi-linear compression curves with increas-
ing values of the bulk density. The rounded shape appeared at water
saturation, when drainage is the limiting factor (Chaplain et al., 2011). In
this paper, the bulk density was maintained constant the pH being the
variable parameter. Discrepancies in the global shape of curves reveal
discrepancies between hydraulic conductivity mainly attributed to
interfacial properties due to the relative homogeneity of structure of
remolded soils at core scale. The changes in the global shape of com-
pression curves induced by air-drying reveal that air-drying improves
the drainage of both acids soils.
The set of Pc values is given for all plots in Table 5, with a variation
coefficient value of about 10%. Overall, we note the drastic decrease of Pc
from typically 200 to 40 kPa with highly acid soils (Plot 1). The mechan-
ical parameters of others soils are quite unchanged when compared to
no-air-dried soils. Drying is known to enhance soil hydrophobicity
(Klitzke and Lang, 2007) according a temperature dependent process
(Bayer and Schaumann, 2007). Furthermore the conformational
changes in soil organic matter during drying result from a competition
between electrostatic and polar interactions in a given physico-chemical
environment (Chassenieux et al., 2000). Then changes in pH both affect
the soil hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance and the impact of drying. The
change in water affinity of solid surfaces after drying may affect the
1.0
Normalized void ratio, e*
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
m
1 10 100 1000 10000
.1
5
0.
0
-0
0.
05
0-
External pressure, kPa
0.
Fig. 8. Normalized compression curves for air-dried soils ▲ Plot 1; Δ Plot 2; ● Plot 3;
o Plot 4; □ Plot 5; ■ Plot6.
 V. Chaplain et al. / Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368 367

Table 5 soils and more generally of the role of chemical properties in soil
Precompression stress values in Fig. 8 42-plots site Versailles 2000 (0–20 cm). structure stability and mechanical strength with both agronomic and
Plot Initial void ratio Pc, in kPa Model environmental consequences.
Plot 1
0.819 59 Bi-linear
0.825 46 id
Acknowledgments
0.834 40 id
0.839 50 id This work was carried out with the financial support of the «ANR—
0.856 49 id Agence Nationale de la Recherche—The French National Research
Plot 2
Agency» under the «Programme Agriculture et Développement
0.805 44 Gompertz
0.809 40 id Durable», project «ANR-05-Padd-0.13». The authors would like to
0.817 32 id thank the French Programmes GESSOL2 from the Ministry in charge of
0.823 36 id Environment and ADD from the National Research Agency for their
0.834 44 id support to the DST project (Soil degradation due to compaction) in
Plot3
0.835 38 Gompertz
which the work has been done. Authors would like to thank Dr A.
0.844 45 id Pernes-Debuyssier and SNST Scories France for the financial support
0.857 37 id of her thesis in 2003. The authors thanks both reviewers for their
Plot4 constructive comments and Dr. J-M. Thomas for helpful and con-
0.772 46 Gompertz
structive discussions on long-term experimental sites. Authors would
0.785 27 id
0.800 46 id like to thank S. Breuil and J-P. Pétraud for maintaining the 42-plots site
Plot 5 in INRA, Versailles.
0.771 43 Gompertz
0.79 38 id
0.802 43 id References
Plot 6
0.803 47 Gompertz AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation), 1996. Qualité du sol. Détermination
0.830 43 id du pH dans l'eau. Méthode électrométrique. Norme NF X 31–103, F-93571 La Plaine
0.830 36 id Saint Denis Cedex, France.
AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation), 2005. Qualité du sol. Mesure de la
stabilité d'agrégats de sols pour l'évaluation de la sensibilité à la battance et à
l'érosion hydrique. Norme NF X 31–515, juin 2005. 13 p., F-93571 La Plaine Saint
Denis Cedex, France.
Amezketa, E., 1999. Soil aggregate stability: A review. J. Sustain. Agric. 14, 83–151.
stability of soil described by the water-dispersible clay (de Oliviera et al., Arvidsson, J., Keller, T., 2004. Soil precompression stress I. A survey of Swedish arable
2005; Dexter et al., 2011). Drying intensity has a significant impact on soils. Soil Tillage Res. 77, 85–95.
Bartoli, F., Philippy, R., Burtin, G., 1992a. Influence of organic-matter on aggregation in
soil properties; in particular a more intensive drying decreased the Oxisols rich in gibbsite or in goethite.1. Structures—the fractal approach. Geoderma
tensile strength of aggregates (Semmel et al., 1990). 54, 231–257.
Both effects induced by drying in acid soils: improvement of Bartoli, F., Burtin, G., Guérif, J., 1992b. Influence of organic-matter on aggregation in
Oxisols rich in gibbsite or in goethite. 2. Clay dispersion, aggregate strength and
hydraulic conductivity and drastic reduction of Pc validates the hypoth-
water-stability. Geoderma 54, 259–274.
esis of a high contribution of interfacial processes to compression. Bartoli, F., Genevois-Gomendy, V., Royer, J.J., Niquet, S., Vivier, H., Grayson, R., 2005. A
Indeed drying, by increasing soil hydrophobicity, decreased the accessi- multiscale study of silty soil structure. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 56, 207–223.
Baumgartl, T., Köck, B., 2004. Modeling volume change and mechanical properties with
bility of charges and consequently the ionic interactions at the solid/
hydraulic models. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68, 57–65.
liquid interface with soil bearing positive charges at this very low pH Bayer, J.V., Schaumann, G.E., 2007. Development of soil water repellency in the course
values. These results raise the question of the importance of the drying of isothermal drying and upon pH changes in two urban soils. Hydrol. Process. 21,
step in the aggregate stability tests with a possible different impact of 2266–2275.
Blanco-Canqui, H., Lal, R., Owens, L.B., Post, W.M., Izaurralde, R.C., 2005. Mechanical
drying according the soil pH value. properties and organic carbon of soil aggregates in the northern Appalachians. Soil
The deformation rate was not affected by drying and thus inter- Sci. Soc. Am. J. 69, 1472–1481.
facial properties of soil are not involved in the limited deformation of Braudeau, E., Mohtar, R.H., 2009. Modeling the soil system: bridging the gap between
pedology and soil–water physics. Glob. Planet. Change 67, 51–61.
highly acid soil. The hypothesis of a set of a yield stress in the flow of Bronick, C.J., Lal, R., 2005. Soil structure and management: a review. Geoderma 124,
the water phase is proposed. This yield stress should be attributed to 3–22.
the self-organization under shearing of organo-mineral components Carter, M.R., 2004. Researching structural complexity in agricultural soils. Soil Tillage
Res. 79, 1–6.
into the water phase with a possible contribution of fertilizers. It is Castro, C., Logan, T.J., 1991. Liming effects on the stability and erodibility of some
also enhanced by the homogeneous structure of soil associated with Brazilian Oxisols. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55, 1407–1413.
narrow pores. Cavalieri, K.M.V., Arvidsson, J., da Sylva, A.O., Keller, T., 2008. Determination of
compression stress from uniaxial compression tests. Soil Tillage Res. 98, 17–26.
Chaplain, V., Brault, A., Tessier, D., Défossez, P., 2008. Soil hydrophobicity: a
4. Conclusion contribution of diuron sorption experiments. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 59, 1202–1208.
Chaplain, V., Défossez, P., Richard, G., Tessier, D., Roger-Estrade, J., 2011. Contrasted
effects of no-till on bulk density of soil and mechanical resistance. Soil Tillage Res.
Results discussed in this paper give new insights in the influence 111, 105–114.
of mineral fertilization on soil strength and stability. They highlight Chassenieux, C., Fundin, J., Ducouret, G., Iliopoulos, I., 2000. Amphiphilic copolymers of
the contribution of interfacial processes in mechanical strength styrene with a surfactant-like comonomer: gel formation in aqueous solution. J.
Mol. Struct. 554, 99–108.
and the major role of calcium bridges in the stability of aggregates. da Veiga, M., Horn, R., Reinert, D.J., Reichert, J.M., 2007. Soil compressibility and
Studies of the specific effect of fertilizers require the additional use penetrability of an Oxisol from southern Brazil, as affected by long-term tillage
of structured soil samples in particular for neutral and alkaline soils systems. Soil Tillage Res. 92, 104–113.
de Oliviera, T.S., de Costa, L.M., Schaefer, C.E., 2005. Water-dispersible clay after wetting
to evidence the effects of calcium bridges on mechanical strength.
and drying cycles in four Brazilian oxisols. Soil Tillage Res. 83, 260–269.
This work confirms the interest of mechanical resistance tests as an Dexter, A.R., 1988. Advances in characterization of soil structure. Soil Tillage Res. 11,
indicator of soil structure quality and their complementarity with 199–238.
classical measurements of aggregate stability. At the end, this work Dexter, A.R., 2004a. Soil physical quality—Part I: Theory, effects of soil texture, density,
and organic matter, and effects on root growth. Geoderma 120, 201–214.
demonstrates the value of the 42-plots site INRA Versailles for the Dexter, A.R., 2004b. Soil physical quality—Part III: Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
understanding of the impact of fertilizers on physical properties of and general conclusions about S-theory. Geoderma 120, 227–239.
368 V. Chaplain et al. / Geoderma 167-168 (2011) 360–368
Dexter, A.R., Chan, K.Y., 1991. Soil mechanical properties as influenced by exchangeable
cations. J. Soil Sci. 42, 219–226.
Dexter, A.R., Richard, G., Czyz, E.A., Davy, J., Hardy, M., Duval, O., 2011. Clay dispersion
from soil as a function of antecedent water potential. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75,
444–455.
Gouveia, G., Eudoxie, G., 2002. Relationship between ammonium fixation and some soil
properties and effect of cation treatment on fixed ammonium release in a range of
Trinidad soils. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 33, 1751–1765.
Gregory, A.S., Whalley, W.R., Watts, C.W., Bird, N.R.A., Hallett, P.D., Whitmore, A.P.,
2006. Calculation of the compression index and precompression stress from soil
compression test data. Soil Tillage Res. 89, 45–57.
Hadas, A., 1987. Long-term tillage practice effects on soil aggregation modes and
strength. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 51, 191–197.
Hati, K.M., Anand, S., Mishra, B., Manna, M.C., Wanjari, R.H., Mandal, K.G., Misra, A.K.,
2008. Impact of long-term application of fertilizer, manure and lime under
intensive cropping on physical properties and organic carbon content of an Alfisol.
Geoderma 148, 173–179.
Haynes, R.J., Naidu, R., 1998. Influence of lime, fertilizer and manure applications on soil
organic matter content and soil physical conditions: a review. Nutr. Cycling
Agroecosyst. 51, 123–137.
Hill, J.N.S., Sumner, M.E., 1967. Effect of bulk density on moisture characteristics of soils.
Soil Sci. 103, 234–238.
Horn, R., 2003. Stress–strain effects in structured unsaturated soils on coupled
mechanical and hydraulic processes. Geoderma 116, 77–88.
Intrawech, I., Stone, L.R., Ellis Jr., R., Whitney, D.A., 1982. Influence of fertilizer nitrogen
source on soil physical and chemical properties. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46, 832–836.
Keiluweit, M., Kleber, M., 2009. Molecular-level interactions in soils and sediments: the
role of aromatic π-systems. Environ. Sci. Technol. 43, 3421–3429.
Keller, K., Arvidsson, J., 2007. Compressive properties of some Swedish and Danish
structured agricultural soils measured in uniaxial compression tests. Eur. J. Soil Sci.
58, 1373–1381.
Keller, T., Lamandé, M., SchjØnning, P., Dexter, A.R., 2011. Analysis of soil compression
curves from uniaxial confined compression tests. Geoderma 163, 13–23.
Klitzke, S., Lang, F., 2007. Hydrophobicity of soil colloids and heavy metal mobilization:
Effects of drying. J. Environ. Qual. 36, 1187–1193.
Krümmelbein, J., Peth, S., Horn, R., 2008. Determination of pre-compression stress of a
variously grazed steppe soil under static and cyclic loading. Soil Tillage Res. 99,
139–148.
Le Bissonnais, Y., 1996. Aggregate stability and assessment of soil crustability and
erodibility: theory and methodology. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 47, 425–437.
Lebron, I., Suarez, D.L., Schapp, M.G., 2002. Soil pore size and geometry as a result of
aggregate size distribution and chemical composition. Soil Sci. 167, 165–172.
Li, J.T., Zhang, B., 2007. Paddy soil stability and mechanical properties as affected by
long-term application of chemical fertilizer and animal manure in subtropical
China. Pedosphere 17, 568–579.
Liu, Y.L., Zhang, B., Li, C.-L., Hu, F., Velde, B., 2008. Long-term fertilization influences on
clay mineral composition and ammonium adsorption in a rice paddy soil. Soil Sci.
Soc. Am. J. 72, 1580–1590.
Mamy, L., Vrignaud, P., Cheviron, N., Perreau, F., Belkacem, M., Brault, A., Breuil, S.,
Delarue, G., Pétraud, J.P., Touton, I., Mougin, C., Chaplain, V., 2011. No evidence for
the effect of soil compaction on the degradation and impact of isoproturon.
Environ. Chem. Lett. 9, 145–150.
Munkholm, L.J., SchjØnning, P., Debosz, K., Jensen, H.E., Christensen, B.T., 2002.
Aggregate strength and mechanical behaviour of a sandy loam soil under long-term
fertilization treatments. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 53, 129–137.
Nasr, H.M., Selles, F., 1995. Seedling emergence as influenced by aggregate size, bulk
density, and penetration resistance of the seedbed. Soil Tillage Res. 34, 61–76.
Panayiotopoulos, K.P., 1996. The effect of matric suction on stress–strain relation and
strength of three Alfisols. Soil Tillage Res. 39, 45–59.
Peng, X.H., Horn, R., Zhang, B., Zhao, Q.G., 2004. Mechanisms of soil vulnerability to
compaction of homogenized and recompacted Ultisols. Soil Tillage Res. 76,
125–137.
Perfect, E., Kay, B.D., 1994. Influence of corn management on dry aggregate tensile-
strength: Weibull analysis. Soil Tillage Res. 32, 149–161.
Pernes-Debuyssier, A., 2003. Thesis. Différentiation des propriétés du sol par des
apports d'engrais et d'amendements. University of Bourgogne, France.
Pernes-Debuyssier, A., Tessier, D., 2002. Influence de matières fertilisantes sur les
propriétés des sols: cas des 42 parcelles de l'INRA à Versailles. Etud. Gestion Sols 9,
177–186.
Pernes-Debuyssier, A., Tessier, D., 2004. Soil physical properties affected by long-term
fertilization. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 55, 505–512.
Pernes-Debuyssier, A., Pernes, M., Velde, B., Tessier, D., 2003. Soil mineralogy evolution
in the INRA 42 plots experiment (Versailles, France). Clays Clay Miner. 51, 578–585.
Rabia, A., Djabourov, M., Feuillebois, F., Lasuye, T., 2010. Rheology of wet pastes of PVC
particles. Appl. Rheol. 20, 1–9.
Ross, D.S., Matschonat, G., Skyllberg, U., 2008. Cation exchange in forest soils: the need
for a new perspective. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 59, 1141–1159.
Roth, C.H., Pavan, M.A., 1991. Effects of lime and gypsum on clay dispersion and
infiltration in samples of a Brazilian Oxisol. Geoderma 48, 351–361.
Rücknagel, J., Hofmann, B., Paul, R., Christen, O., Hülsbergen, K.J., 2007. Estimating
precompression stress of structured soils on the basis of aggregate density and dry
bulk density. Soil Tillage Res. 92, 213–220.
Rücknagel, J., Brandhuber, R., Hofmann, B., Lebert, M., Marschall, K., Paul, R., Stock, O.,
Christen, O., 2010. Variance of mechanical precompression stress in graphic
estimations using the Casagrande method and derived mathematical models. Soil
Tillage Res. 106, 165–170.
Schlautman, M.A., Morgan, J.J., 1993. Binding of a fluorescent hydrophobic organic
probe by dissolved humic substances and organically-coated aluminium oxide
particles. Environ. Sci. Technol. 27, 2523–2532.
Schroder, J.L., Zhang, H., Girma, K., Raun, W.R., Penn, C.J., Payton, M.E., 2011. Soil
acidification from long-term use of nitrogen fertilizers on winter wheat. Soil Sci.
Soc. Am. J. 75, 957–964.
Semmel, H., Horn, R., Hell, U., Dexter, A.R., Schulze, E.D., 1990. The dynamics of soil
aggregate formation and the effect on soil physical properties. Soil Technol. 3,
113–129.
Simansky, V., Tobiasova, E., Chlpik, J., 2008. Soil tillage and fertilization of orthic luvisol
and their influence on chemical properties, soil structure stability and carbon
distribution in water-stable macro-aggregates. Soil Tillage Res. 100, 125–132.
Six, J., Bossuyt, H., Degryze, S., Denef, K., 2004. A history of research on the link between
(micro) aggregates, soil biota, and soil organic matter dynamics. Soil Tillage Res. 79,
7–31.
Stroia, C., Morel, C., Jouany, C., 2011. Nitrogen fertilization effects on grassland soil
acidification: consequences on diffusive phosphorus ions. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75,
112–120.
Subbian, P., Lal, R., Akala, V., 2000. Long-term effects of cropping systems and fertilizers
on soil physical properties. J. Sustain. Agric. 16, 89–100.
Tama, K., El-Swaify, S.A., 1978. Charge, colloidal and structural stability relationship in
oxidic soils. In: Emerson, W.W., Bond, R.D., Dexter, A.R. (Eds.), Modification of Soil
Structure. John Wiley, Chichester, pp. 41–52.
Van Damme, H., 1995. Scale invariance and hydric behaviour of soils and clays. C. R.
Acad. Sci. Paris II 320, 665–681.
Wuddivira, M.N., Camps-Roach, G., 2007. Effects of organic matter and calcium on soil
structural stability. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 58, 722–727.