Gravelly soil study reveals key factors impacting water flow and soil health.
Researchers studied a gravelly calcareous soil to understand its physical and chemical properties. They measured attributes like soil conductivity and sorptivity at different tensions. The soil's physical attributes varied the most, while chemical attributes varied the least. Values of conductivity and sorptivity decreased as tension increased, except for capillary length. Most attributes showed a spatial pattern, with physical attributes influencing neighboring values over greater distances. This means that physical data can be used to estimate attributes in unsampled locations.