Abstract
Variations of soil moisture conditions affect sorption properties of soil organic matter and the pore size distribution of the soils and thus are expected to have an impact on the availability of pollutants and nutrients in soils. At least two principal processes that occur when a soil-water contact is established, are involved. Wetting, which is the very first step, is governed by the interactions of water with the surface of soil organic matter (SOM). The wettability of the pore walls determines the pore accessibility for water. Only in wettable soils, water will occupy the smallest pores first. In the course of wetting, the wettability of the pore walls increases, leading to water redistribution. Swelling of SOM is accompanied by an increase of volume due to the water uptake of the solid SOM phase and will change the SOM polarity. Swelling will thus affect sorption processes in the bulk SOM phase and is expected to change the pore sizes. In this contribution, we investigated swelling and wetting kinetics of soil samples by H-NMR-Relaxometry. We found different effects of wetting and swelling on the development of relaxation time distribution and thus of the pore size distribution. Both swelling and wetting can be slow processes, lasting for up to some weeks. During this time, we found changes in the pore size distribution. For swelling phenomena, we observed a continuous change of the effective pore size, and for wetting phenomena, we found a change in water distribution in a probably rigid pore system. Thus, during swelling and wetting, neither pore size distribution nor sorbent properties of SOM nor hydraulic properties remain constant. Due to the slow kinetics, both processes play an important role in sorption, transport and accessibility for water in hydrophobic areas within a time scale of weeks after e.g. a rainfall event. This will affect the environmental availability and the transport of pollutants and nutrients in the field.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- SOM:
-
Soil Organic Matter
- DOM:
-
Dissolved Organic Matter
- T (T 2 ):
-
Relaxation Time (Transversal Relaxation Time)
- S :
-
Surface of the pore walls occupied with water
- V :
-
Volume of the water filled pores
- T S :
-
Relaxation time of the water protons at the surface
- λ :
-
Thickness of the layer within which surface relaxation can take place
- ρ :
-
Surface relaxivity, a parameter combined of T S and λ:
$$ \rho = {\lambda \over T_{S}} $$ - T B :
-
Bulk relaxation time: relaxation time of the water protons at infinite distance from the pore walls
- D :
-
Pore diameter
- r :
-
Grain size (radius)
- t :
-
Hydration time
- P :
-
Time constant of the first order hydration process
- Y, Y 0 , Y ∞ :
-
Y acts as replacement character and is used for the parameters APT−X, AP−X and TPX (see below), which are the Parameters for the evaluation of the hydration kinetics (Relaxation time or proportion of water). Y 0 values the parameter at the beginning of hydration (t = 0), and Y ∞ values the parameter at infinite hydration time (t → ∞).
- AP−X :
-
Proportion of water assigned to the peak “X” in the relaxation time distribution
- TP−X :
-
Relaxation time at the maximum of peak “X”
References
S Ahuja S L Dieckman N Gopalsami A C Raptis (1996) ArticleTitle 1H NMR Imaging and Spectroscopy Studies of the Polymerization of Acrylamide Gels Macromolecules 29 5356–5360 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK28XktVWlu7o%3D Occurrence HandleA1996VA22100016 Occurrence Handle10.1021/ma960216e
S Altfelder T Streck J Richter (1999) ArticleTitleEffect of Air-Drying on Sorption Kinetics of the Herbicide Chlortoluron in Soil J. Environ. Qual. 28 1154–1161 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1MXksFGkt7c%3D
M H G Amin R J Chorley K S Richards L D Hall T A Carpenter M Cislerova T Vogel (1997) ArticleTitleStudy of infiltration into a heterogeneous soil using magnetic resonance imaging Hydrol. Process. 11 471–483 Occurrence Handle10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(199704)11:5<471::AID-HYP454>3.0.CO;2-V
H V As P Lens (2001) ArticleTitleUse of 1H NMR to study transport processes in porous biosystems J. Industr. Microbiol. & Biotechnol. 26 43–52 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3MXisVCns7k%3D
G C Barker A Mehta (1992) ArticleTitleVibrated powders: Structures, correlations, and dynamics Phys. Rev. A 45 3435–3446 Occurrence Handle9907392 Occurrence Handle10.1103/PhysRevA.45.3435
Bel’kevich P I, Sobol M I and Chistova L R, 1975 Swelling of peat in various media. Sostoyanie Perspekt. Kompleksn. Ispol’z. Torfa., 3–8. “Nauka i Tekhnika”, Minsk, USSR. (abstract in English).
S M Belliveau T L Henselwood C H Langford (2000) ArticleTitleSoil Wetting Processes Studied by Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Correlated Study of Contaminant Uptake Environ. Sci. Technol. 34 2439–2445 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3cXjvVKmu7g%3D Occurrence Handle10.1021/es990299p
M Borisover E R Graber (2002) ArticleTitleRelationship between Strength of Organic Sorbate Interactions in NOM and Hydration Effect on Sorption Environ. Sci. Technol. 36 4570–4577 Occurrence Handle12433166 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD38XntlOru74%3D Occurrence Handle10.1021/es0207192
T R Bryar C J Daughney R J Knight (2000) ArticleTitleParamagnetic effects of iron(III) species on nuclear magnetic relaxation of fluid protons in porous media J. Magnet. Reson. 142 74–85 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3cXotlOk
Y Chen M Schnitzer (1976) ArticleTitleViscosity Measurements on Soil Humic Substances Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 40 866–872 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaE2sXkt1ansg%3D%3D
S H Doerr (1998) ArticleTitleOn standardizing the `Water Drop Penetration Time' and the `Molarity of an Ethanol Droplet' techniques to classify soil hydrophobicity. A case study using medium textured soils Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 23 663–668 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1cXlt1amur0%3D Occurrence Handle000075155100007 Occurrence Handle10.1002/(SICI)1096-9837(199807)23:7<663::AID-ESP909>3.0.CO;2-6
P Gaillardon (1996) ArticleTitleInfluence of soil moisture on long-term sorption of Diuron and Isoproturon by soil Pest. Sci. 47 347–354 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK28XkvFOgu7w%3D Occurrence Handle10.1002/(SICI)1096-9063(199608)47:4<347::AID-PS419>3.0.CO;2-5
D P Gallegos D M Smith (1988) ArticleTitleA NMR Technique for the analysis of Pore Structure: determination of Conitniuos Pore Size Distributions J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 122 143–153 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaL1cXhtlygsrk%3D
A I García-Valcárcel J L Tadeo (1999) ArticleTitleInfluence of Soil Moisture on Sorption and Degradation of Hexazinone and Simazine in Soil J. Agricult. Food Chem. 47 3895–3900
E Gonzalez-Reyes G Mendez-Montealvo J Solorza-Feria J F Toro-Vazquez L A Bello-Perez (2003) ArticleTitleRheological and thermal characterization of Okenia hypogaea (Schlech. & Cham.) starch Carbohydr. Polymers 52 297–310 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3sXht1yrtrY%3D
E R Graber M Borisover (2002) ArticleTitleSimplified Link Solvation Model (LSM) for Sorption in Natural Organic Matter Langmuir 18 4775–4782 Occurrence Handle000176091900036
E R Graber M D Borisover (1998) ArticleTitleHydration-Facilitated Sorption of Specifically Interacting Organic Compunds by Model Soil Organic Matter Environ. Sci. Technol. 32 258–263 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK2sXotVGqt7c%3D
Z R Hinedi A C Chang M A Anderson (1997) ArticleTitleQuantification of microporosity by nuclear resonance relaxation of water imbibed in porous media Water Resour. Res. 31 2687–2704
A C Johnson R J Bettinson R J Williams (1999) ArticleTitleDifferentiating between physical and chemical constraints on pesticide and water movement into and out of soil aggregates Pesti. Sci. 55 524–530 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1MXjt1yrurc%3D
W E Kenyon (1992) ArticleTitleNuclear Magnetic Resonance as a petrophysical measurement tool Nuclear Geophysics 6 153–171 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK3sXktFyrtg%3D%3D Occurrence HandleA1992JL88100001
W E Kenyon (1997) ArticleTitlePetrophysical Principles of Applications of NMR Logging Log Analyst 38 21–46
W E Kenyon J A Kolleeny (1995) ArticleTitleNMR surface relaxivity of calcite with adsorbed Mn2+ J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 170 502–514 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK2MXksVKhuro%3D
Krüger U, Müller M and Yaramanci U 2002 Untersuchungen mit der nuklearmagnetischen Resonanz (NMR) an synthetischen Materialien und Lockergesteinen. Proceedings of the 62. Jahrestagung der Dt. Geophys. Gesellsch., 16–17.
C H Langford T Todoruk M Litvina A Kantzas (2002 ) Wetting cycles of air-dried and `hydrophobic' soils studied by NMR relaxometry – the role of humic substances Proceedings of the 11th Conference of the International Humic Substance Society Boston, MA (USA) 434–436
LeBoeuf E J, 1998 Macromolecular characteristics of natural organic matter and their influence on sorption and desorption behavior of organic chemicals. PhD Thesis, Environmental Engineering, The University of Michigan, 346 p.
E J LeBoeuf W J Weber SuffixJr (2000) ArticleTitleMacromolecular Characteristics of Natural Organic Matter. 2. Sorption and Desorption Behavior Environ. Sci. Technol. 34 3632–3640 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3cXltFChs7k%3D
J Letey M L K Carrillo X P Pang (2000) ArticleTitleApproaches to characterize the degree of water repellency J. Hydrol. 231–232 61–65
Y Lu J J Pignatello (2002) ArticleTitleDemonstration of the \`Conditioning Effect' in Soil Organic Matter in Support of a Pore Deformation Mechanism for Sorption Hysteresis Environ. Sci. Technol. 36 4553–4561 Occurrence Handle12433164 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD38XnsVens7s%3D
F P Manalo A Kantzas C H Langford (2003) ArticleTitleSoil Wettability As Determined from Using Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Environ. Sci. Technol. 37 2701–2706 Occurrence Handle12854708 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3sXjsVCitbk%3D Occurrence Handle10.1021/es0259685
S Matsukawa I Ando (1997) ArticleTitleStudy of Self-Diffusion of Molecules in a Polymer Gel by Pulsed-Gradient Spin-Echo 1H NMR. 2. Intermolecular Hydrogen-Bond Interaction between the Probe Polymer and Network Polymer in N,N-Dimethylacrylamide-Acrylic Acid Copolymer Gel Systems Macromolecules 30 8310–8313 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1cXlt1SltA%3D%3D Occurrence Handle000071476900028 Occurrence Handle10.1021/ma9702408
McNaught A D and Wilkinson A 1997 Compendium of Chemical Terminology 2nd Edition. Blackwell Science.
S Meiboom D Gill (1958) ArticleTitleModified spin-echo method for measuring nuclear relaxation times Review of Scientific Instruments 29 688–691 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaF3cXosFWitQ%3D%3D Occurrence HandleA1958WH51500003 Occurrence Handle10.1063/1.1716296
C J Ritsema L W Dekker (1998) ArticleTitleThree-dimensional patterns of moisture, water repellency, bromide and pH in a sandy soil J Contam Hydrol 31 295–313 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1cXisVyhsbo%3D
J L Roy W B McGill (2002) ArticleTitleAssessing soil water repellency using the molarity of ethanol droplet (MED) test Soil Sci. 167 83–97 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD38XhvFKnsrg%3D Occurrence Handle10.1097/00010694-200202000-00001
S K Sanyal (2001) ArticleTitleColloid chemical properties of soil humic substances: A relook J Indian Soc Soil Sci 49 537–569 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD38XitVCns7k%3D
R Sauerbrey J Sobottka R Kalähne M Amin (1999) ArticleTitleDie niedrigauflösende kernmagnetische Protonenresonanz (1H-LR-NMR), eine Meßtechnik zur Bestimmung des Wasserstatus und der Bodenentwicklung von Niedermoortorfböden (The low resolution nuclear proton resonance (1H-LR-NMR), a method to determine the state of water and the pedogenesis of peat soils) Mitteilgn. Dt. Bodenkundl. Gesellsch. 91 238–241
G E Schaumann J Hurraß (2001) ArticleTitle 1H-NMR-Relaxation zur Untersuchung des Quellungszustandes der organischen Bodensubstanz? (1H-NMR-Relaxation: a method to investigate the state of swelling of soil organic matter?) Mitteilgn. Dt. Bodenkundl. Gesellsch. 96 277–278
G E Schaumann J Hurraß (2003) ArticleTitleChanges of porosity and soil physical chemistry due to drying and re-wetting cycles Mitteilgn. Dt. Bodenkundl. Gesellsch. 101 39–40
G E Schaumann J Hurraß S Berger K Sieg J Weber H Stoffregen M Mueller W Rotard (2002 ) Swelling of soil organic matter in humic soil samples: methods and relevance Proceeding sof the 11th Conference of the International Humic Substance Society Boston, MA (USA) 437–439
G E Schaumann J Hurraß M Müller W Rotard (2003 ) Swelling of organic matter in soil and peat samples: insights from proton relaxation, water absorption and PAH extraction E A Ghabbour G Davies (Eds) Humic Substances: Nature’s Most Versatile Materials Taylor and Francis, Inc New York 101–117
K Schwärzel M Renger R Sauerbrey G Wessolek (2002) ArticleTitleSoil physical characteristics of peat soils J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 165 479–486
M Shirov A Legchenko (1991) ArticleTitleA new direct non-invasive groundwater detection technology for Australia Explo. Geophy. 22 333–338
F Stallmach C Vogt J Kärger K Helbig F Jacobs (2002) ArticleTitleFractal Geometry of Surface Areas of Sand Grains Probed by Pulsed Field Gradient NMR Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, IssueID105505 1–4
C Straley D Rossini H Vinegar P Tutunjian C Morris (1997) ArticleTitleCore Analysis by low field NMR The Log Analyst 38 84–94
T R Todoruk C H Langford A Kantzas (2003a) ArticleTitlePore-Scale Redistribution of Water during Wetting of Air-Dried Soils As Studied by Low-Field NMR Relaxometry Environ. Sci. Technol. 37 2707–2713 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3sXjsVCitbg%3D Occurrence Handle10.1021/es025967c
T R Todoruk M Litvina A Kantzas C H Langford (2003b) ArticleTitleLow-Field NMR Relaxometry: A Study of Interactions of Water with Water-Repellant Soils Environ. Sci. Technol. 37 2878–2882 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3sXktFymur0%3D Occurrence Handle10.1021/es025967c
C F Tolman (1937 ) Ground Water Mc-Graw Hill Book Company, Inc New York
D R Unger T T Lam C E Schaefer D S Kosson (1996) ArticleTitlePredicting the Effect of Moisture on Vapor-Phase Sorption of Volatile Organic Compounds to Soils Environ. Sci. Technol. 30 1081–1091 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK28Xht1ylsb4%3D Occurrence Handle10.1021/es950065f
M Oorschot ParticleVan C Hayes I Strien Particlevan (1998) ArticleTitleThe influence of soil desiccation on plant production, nutrient uptake and plant nutrient availability in two French floodplain grasslands Regul. Rivers Res. Manage. 14 313–327
J C Dam ParticleVan J H M Wosten A Nemes (1996) ArticleTitleUnsaturated soil water movement in hysteretic and water repellent field soils J Hydrol. 184 153–173
M T Genuchten ParticleVan P J Wierenga (1976) ArticleTitleMass Transfer Studies in Sorbing Porous Media. I. Analytical Solutions Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 40 473–480
S Voyutsky (1978 ) Colloid Chemistry MIR Publishers Moskau
J C White A Quinones-Rivera M Alexander (1998) ArticleTitleEffect of wetting and drying on the bioavailability of organic compounds sequestered in soil Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 17 2378–2382 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1cXnsFersL4%3D
U Yaramanci G Lange K Knödel (1999) ArticleTitleSurface NMR within a geophysical study of an aquifer at Haldensleben (Germany) Geophys. Prospect. 47 923–943 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2478.1999.00161.x
H Yasunaga I Ando (1993) ArticleTitleDynamic Behavior of Water in Hydro-swollen Crosslinked Polymer Gel as Studied by PGSE 1H NMR and Pulse 1H NMR Polymer Gels and Networks 1 83–92 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK2cXltlGgu7c%3D
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schaumann, G.E., Hobley, E., Hurraß, J. et al. H-NMR Relaxometry to Monitor Wetting and Swelling Kinetics in High-organic Matter Soils. Plant Soil 275, 1–20 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-005-1708-7
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-005-1708-7