Elsevier

Geoderma

Volume 58, Issues 1–2, August 1993, Pages 1-15
Geoderma

Research paper
Stability implications of the state factor model of soils as a nonlinear dynamical system

https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7061(93)90082-VGet rights and content

Abstract

The dominant conceptual framework in pedology and soil geomorphology, the state factor model as exemplified by Jenny's “clorpt” equation, is reinterpreted as a nonlinear dynamical system. While the model in its most general form is insoluble, it may be solved with respect to the stability of the soil system for a particular soil property or phenomenon. A conceptual model of the degree of soil profile development in the context of the state factor model is shown to be asymptotically unstable and to have the potential to exhibit deterministic chaos. This suggests that spatial and temporal complexity in patterns of soil properties and soil development may be inherent in system dynamics, independently of any stochastic forcings or a priori variation in environmental controls.

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