Impacts of Nanoclay on Sandy Soil Stability and Atmospheric Dust Control

Wind erosion and dust storms are main issues in arid and semi-arid regions. Application of soil stabilizer on unstable land might be an eff ective and sustainable strategy in arid and semi-arid countries to minimized harmful eff ects on environment and human health. Th e aim of this study was to assess the eff ect of using nanoclay for increasing soil stability, as a result of increasing in size of soil aggregation, and improving soil water holding capacity, as well as improving soil structure in sandy soil. An experiment was conducted with two treatments (0 and 3000 mg/l nanoclay were uniformly spread on the soil surface) in four replications on sandy soil, in Khara desert, nearly 100 km east of Isfahan, Iran. Th e annual rainfall is about 68/55 mm, mean annual ET0 is 2800 mm/year, and the elevation is 1450 m above sea level. Amount of soil erosion was measured with diff erent wind velocity (31.0, 55.2 and 67.3 km h−1). An aggregation size and water retention of collected soil samples were measured by sieves and pressure plate, respectively. Th e results showed that the amount of soil erosion in nanoclay-treated soils was signifi cantly diff erent (P>0.05) in comparison with water-treated (control) soils. Th e volumetric water content at 100 KPa increased in nanoclay-treated soils compared to control treatment. Results also showed that the proportion of 0.25-2 mm aggregate (macroaggregate) signifi cantly increased in nanoclay-treated soils. Based on aforementioned results, it can be concluded that application of nanoclay on soil surface is able to fi x the sand and it has ability to cement the particles to each other, increase aggregation and reduce wind erosion. Th e results suggested that more attention should be directed towards using nanoclay on soil surface of unstable soil areas. Th at coild be an option for control of the atmospheric dust.