Efecto De Cationes Sobre Propiedades Hidrofisicas De Suelos Con Diferentes Minerales De Arcilla

Soil physical properties depend on the composition of exchangeable cations, the concentration of electrolytes, and the kind of soluble salts. Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the variation of soil hydrophysical properties with the use of water solutions of different cationic composition. It was hypothesized that the deleterious effect of monovalent cations on soil hydrophysical properties mainly depends on the kind of divalent cations present in the soil solution and on clay mineralogy. Soil hydraulic conductivity was determined in two soils with illitic and smectitic clay minerals which were leached with solutions of different cationic composition. In these soils, cationic exchange experiments were also carried out. Results show relative hydraulic conductivity (K) in the illitic soil to be more negatively affected by Mg treatments. Soil K decreased further when Ca was replaced by monovalent cations in the smectitic soil. It was concluded that the smectitic soil exhibited the lowest affinity for Na⁺ and therefore the hydrophysical soil properties were less affected in comparison with the illitic soil.