Hydrophysical Properties of the High-Ash Lowmoor Peat Soils

• Published in: Eurasian soil science Vol. 51; no. 10; pp. 1214 - 1219
• Main Authors: Shein, E. V., Pozdnyakova, A. D., Shvarov, A. P., Il’in, L. I., Sorokina, N. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.10.2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Ash content; Ashes; Carbonates; Composition; Density; Dependence; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Floodplains; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Herbs; Hydrostatic pressure; Moisture content; Peat; Peat soils; Pressure; Retention; Retention capacity; Rivers; Soil; Soil Physics; Soil water; Soils; Water content; Water pressure; ash content of peat; water retention curve; peat density; organic soils
• ISSN: 1064-2293; 1556-195X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1064229318100113

The water retention curve (WRC), density, botanical composition, and ash contents were determined for high-ash lowmoor peat soils (Rheic Sapric Histosols) developing on the floodplain of the Yakhroma River (Moscow oblast) from the herb–hypnum and hypnum peat enriched in carbonates, agromineral peat soils (Rheic Drainic Sapric Histosols (Mineralic)), and peat soils developed from woody peat underlain by herb, sedge, and woody peat layers (Rheic Sapric Histosols (Lignic)). The WRC was determined by capillarimetric method in the range of water pressure from 0 to 80–90 кPa. For the studied peat soils, the WRC represents a close to linear dependence of the water content on the water pressure in semilogarithmic scale. In contrast to mineral soils, a characteristic point of the air-entry pressure is virtually absent on the WRC of peat soils. The WRC of peat largely depended on their density: denser peat samples were characterized by a higher water content at the same water pressure, which attests to the increased water retention capacity. An increase in the degree of decomposition of peat and its ash content also leads to the rise in the water retention capacity, but the effect of these factors is considerably smaller than the effect of peat density.