Assessment of soil water repellency in reclaimed soils under different land use

Plamen Ivanov, Irena Atanassova, Toma Shishkov, Emil Dimitrov, Martin Banov and Ivaylo Kirilov

Abstract: Study on soil water repellency in reclaimed Technosols from the area of Obruchishte village, Maritsa-Iztok Mines has been carried out. Sampling sites cover several regions with different land use – stubble site (without vegetation), acacia and pine plantations. Surface soil layers and those of deeper depths in the soil profile were investigated. Soil water repellency was determined by water drop penetration time (WDPT) test at ambient conditions and after heating in an incubator at 65°C. It was found that before heating, extreme water repellency prevails in the surface soil layers of the studied sites compared to the subsurface. It also covers the highest share of all soil samples. Water drop penetration time significantly correlates with the extracted organic carbon (EOC) content and the % sand fraction of soil samples. The decrease of the water drop penetration time after heating leads to an increase in the number of wettable and slightly water repellent soil samples and reduced the share of extremely water repellent samples.

Keywords: correlation; reclaimed soils; soil organic carbon; soil texture; soil water repellency; water drop penetration time

Date published: 2021-08-25