Shrinkage of Dutch clay soil aggregates.

Shrinkage characteristics and COLE and PLE values of undisturbed natural aggregates of clay soils from the Netherlands were measured. The course of the shrinkage process upon drying varied strongly between soils, and very often the measured characteristics diverged from the theoretical curve. Some Dutch clay soils are amongst the strongest swelling and shrinking soils in the world, with volume decreases of aggregates up to 49% between saturation and oven-dryness, and 42% between saturation and a pressure head of -16 000 cm. Potential subsidence of a Dutch field soil due to shrinkage is up to 15 cm. In some Netherlands clay soil, as a result of normal shrinkage, the aggregates remain saturated throughout the whole year; only inter-aggregate pores such as shrinkage cracks, contain air. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)