Soil structure and its functions in ecosystems: Phase matter & scale matter

Xinhua Peng; Rainer Horn; Paul Hallett

doi:10.1016/j.still.2014.10.017

Soil structure and its functions in ecosystems: Phase matter & scale matter

Xinhua Peng, Rainer Horn, Paul Hallett

Aberdeen Centre For Environmental Sustainability

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

60 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Soil structure is the spatial arrangement of a vast array of pore sizes and shapes, driven by the aggregation of soil particles through a range of processes (Letey, 1991). As soil structure
provides pathways for the transport of water, nutrients and gases, and habitats for microorganisms and fauna, it is a fundamental property of soil fertility and quality. Soil structure is composed of two contrast phases, the solid phase of particles and aggregates and the pore phase with a wide range from nanometer to centimeter or even larger in size (Fig. 1). Interacting with these phases is water, which is held in pores by capillarity forces and affects bonding between soil particles.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-3
Number of pages	3
Journal	Soil & Tillage Research
Volume	146
Issue number	Part A
Early online date	22 Nov 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2014.10.017
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2015

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
The workshop was partially sponsored by National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB429902) and Natural Science Foundation of China (41171180). We are grateful to Soil Tillage Research journal for making this issue happen. We also thank the authors and reviewers of these manuscripts for their hard work and patience.

Keywords

Soil structure
functions
ecosystems

Access to Document

10.1016/j.still.2014.10.017Licence: Unspecified

Cite this

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Soil structure and its functions in ecosystems: Phase matter & scale matter

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