WATER CONTENT AND SOIL CORE VOLUME ON BROOKSTON CLAY LOAM

Abstract

Soil core volumes, from a long-term fertility experiment on Brookston clay loam, were adjusted for soil water content at sampling to explain large year-to-year fluctuations in bulk density and porosity. Adjusting the long-term soil core data decreased values of bulk density, total porosity, and air-filled porosity and reduced the variation between years. However, the year-to-year variation remained highly significant. Year-to-year fluctuations in bulk density and porosity on Brookston clay loam soil do not appear to be solely the result of changes in soil volume due to differences in soil water content at the time of sampling. Key words: Shrinkage, bulk density, porosity