Morphological characterization of soil crust development stages on an experimental field

Abstract Crust development on a loamy Aquic Hapludalf near Paris was studied in an experimental field to which various fertilizers and amendments had been applied. These treatments over a period of 57 years had induced a range of organic matter contents and exchangeable cation percentages. The macroscopic aspects of the soil surface was closely monitored during crusting, and microscopic characterization was carried out at every main crust development stage. Crusting followed a general pattern: (1) sealing of the soil surface by a structural crust; (2) development of a depositional crust. Even in the sodic plot where the depositional crust appeared especially early, the structural crust developed first. The change from the first stage to the second one mainly depended on a decrease in infiltrability due to the structural crust properties that induced micro-runoff and puddling under rainfall. Structural crust development seemed to involve a coalescing process due to raindrop impact when moistening decreased soil cohesion. This process developed much faster in the sodic than in the limed plot. Morphology of the depositional crust, in particular microbedding and sorting, could be related to the hydrodynamic behaviour of the soil surface (abundance, size and duration of puddles).

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