AUTHOR=Haas Christoph , Horn Rainer TITLE=Impact of Small-Scaled Differences in Micro-Aggregation on Physico-Chemical Parameters of Macroscopic Biopore Walls JOURNAL=Frontiers in Environmental Science VOLUME=6 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00090 DOI=10.3389/fenvs.2018.00090 ISSN=2296-665X ABSTRACT=
Macroscopic biopores, like earthworm burrows or channels which remain after a root decayed, act as preferential flow paths for water, gas, and heat transport processes, and viewing at agricultural production, as preferential elongation paths for plant roots. These processes result in intense alterations of the soil volume and its composition that surrounds the pores. The effects of these processes were analyzed at small-scale and physico-chemical soil parameters, i.e., relative oxygen diffusion coefficient (Ds/DO), oxygen partial pressure pO2, Eh and pH of biopore walls, were measured. The analyses were carried out on undisturbed soil samples with different colonization history, excavated from a haplic Luvisol derived from loess. Soil resistance to penetration was determined simultaneously with Ds/DO and pO2 using a coupled, self-developed approach, and four matric potentials (namely, Ψ