Freeze-thaw cycles(FTCs)have an important effect on soil aggregate stability by altering soil structures,thereby influencing soil wind and water erosion on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.However,the effects of FTCs...Freeze-thaw cycles(FTCs)have an important effect on soil aggregate stability by altering soil structures,thereby influencing soil wind and water erosion on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.However,the effects of FTCs on the stability of these soils remain unclear.Here,we conducted freeze-thaw simulations in laboratory to investigate the effects of FTCs(0 to 15 cycles)on the wet-and dry-sieving aggregate stability of undisturbed sandy loam from Maqu county,which was treated with different initial soil moisture contents(1%to 25%in increments of 4%)and initial aggregate diameters(<2,2-5,5-10,and 10-15 mm).Results show that soil aggregates with initial diameters larger than 2 mm exhibit higher soil organic carbon contents(1.45%-1.57%)and silt contents(34.63%-35.52%)than those smaller than 2 mm(0.93%and 31.38%,respectively).The stability of both wet-and dry-sieving aggregates increases with larger initial diameters.Increasing initial soil moisture content from 1%to 25%reduces aggregate stability,with reductions of 2.4%-88.0%for wet-sieving aggregates and 2.1%-25.5%for dry-sieving aggregates(>2 mm).With increasing FTCs,wet-sieving aggregate(>2 mm)stability exhibits a fluctuating upward trend,with increases of 79.2%-87.4%after 15 FTCs,while dry-sieving aggregate(>2 mm)stability decreases significantly(5.7%-21.7%)upon the first FTC and remains unchanged thereafter.The stability of both the wet-and dry-sieving aggregates smaller than 2 mm remains unchanged with increasing FTCs(p>0.05).SOC content decreases by 22.3%on average with increasing FTCs from 1 to 15 and shows no significant correlations with wet-and dry-sieving aggregate stability.Higher silt content(r=0.39,p<0.05)and lower sand content(r=-0.38,p<0.05)enhances the wet-sieving aggregate stability of sandy loam.Frequent FTCs tend to improve wet-sieving aggregate stability but reduce dry-sieving aggregate stability in the sandy loam.The findings provide certain guidance for preventing freeze-thaw-induced wind erosion.展开更多
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.42201080)Young Scientific and Technological Talents Program of Shaanxi Province(Grant No.2025ZC-KJXX-57)Special Scientific Research Program of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education(Grant No.21JK0967)。
文摘Freeze-thaw cycles(FTCs)have an important effect on soil aggregate stability by altering soil structures,thereby influencing soil wind and water erosion on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.However,the effects of FTCs on the stability of these soils remain unclear.Here,we conducted freeze-thaw simulations in laboratory to investigate the effects of FTCs(0 to 15 cycles)on the wet-and dry-sieving aggregate stability of undisturbed sandy loam from Maqu county,which was treated with different initial soil moisture contents(1%to 25%in increments of 4%)and initial aggregate diameters(<2,2-5,5-10,and 10-15 mm).Results show that soil aggregates with initial diameters larger than 2 mm exhibit higher soil organic carbon contents(1.45%-1.57%)and silt contents(34.63%-35.52%)than those smaller than 2 mm(0.93%and 31.38%,respectively).The stability of both wet-and dry-sieving aggregates increases with larger initial diameters.Increasing initial soil moisture content from 1%to 25%reduces aggregate stability,with reductions of 2.4%-88.0%for wet-sieving aggregates and 2.1%-25.5%for dry-sieving aggregates(>2 mm).With increasing FTCs,wet-sieving aggregate(>2 mm)stability exhibits a fluctuating upward trend,with increases of 79.2%-87.4%after 15 FTCs,while dry-sieving aggregate(>2 mm)stability decreases significantly(5.7%-21.7%)upon the first FTC and remains unchanged thereafter.The stability of both the wet-and dry-sieving aggregates smaller than 2 mm remains unchanged with increasing FTCs(p>0.05).SOC content decreases by 22.3%on average with increasing FTCs from 1 to 15 and shows no significant correlations with wet-and dry-sieving aggregate stability.Higher silt content(r=0.39,p<0.05)and lower sand content(r=-0.38,p<0.05)enhances the wet-sieving aggregate stability of sandy loam.Frequent FTCs tend to improve wet-sieving aggregate stability but reduce dry-sieving aggregate stability in the sandy loam.The findings provide certain guidance for preventing freeze-thaw-induced wind erosion.
