Clay content (fraction < 2 μm) is one of the most important soil properties. It controls soil hydraulic properties like wilting point, field capacity and saturated hydraulic conductivity, which in turn control the various fluxes of water in the unsaturated zone. In our study site, the Kairouan plain in central Tunisia, existing soil maps are neither exhaustive nor sufficiently precise for water...

little is known about the molecular mechanisms of soil– water interactions underlying this behavior. A considerThe interaction of water with the clay fractions ( 2 m) from two able amount of work has been conducted on specimen midwestern soils was studied using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and gravimetric methods. The soil clay fractions were clay minerals and their interactio...

Several point-of-use water treatment interventions have shown the beneficial health effect of drinking water treated and stored in narrow-mouthed, spigoted plastic vessels designed to reduce chlorine decay and limit recontamination.1,2 However, more than 90% of the 43 000 households targeted by the Nyanza Healthy Water Project in western Kenya, Africa, preferred traditional, wide-mouthed clay v...

In the paper some results on the effects of chemo-physical evolution of clay-lime-water suspensions on the microstructure of a lime treated kaolin have been presented. A multi-scale investigation on the sedimentation behaviour of clay suspensions under different pore water chemistry has been developed highlighting the chemophysical mechanisms controlling particle arrangement and the soil fabric...

Naturally occurring clay colloidal particles are heavily involved in sediment processes in the subsurface soil. Due to the importance of these processes in the subsurface environment, the transport of clay colloidal particles has been studied in several disciplines, including soil sciences, petrology, hydrology, etc. Specifically, in environmental engineering, clay colloid release and transport...

We discuss the history of exploration of Red Clay vertebrate fossils of the Loess Plateau, and record observations on “Hipparion Red Clay” localities of Shanxi and Gansu provinces. Red clay is widespread across the Loess Plateau, but misleading as a descriptive term because many deposits are neither red nor dominated by clay-size sediment. Many red clay sequences contain paleosols, but also wat...

The water percolation loss beyond root zone in the soil is one of the important parameters to determine water requirement of rice plant. If the amount of water percolation rate into the soil is estimated more carefully, determination of water requirement will be evaluated better and designing for system of irrigation, drainage and related establishments will be more easily done. The purpose of ...

In spite of the advent of new materials, clay bricks remain, arguably, the most popular construction materials today. Nevertheless the low cost and versatility of clay bricks cannot always be associated with high environmental and sustainable values, especially in terms of raw material sources and manufacturing processes. At the same time, the worldwide agricultural footprint is fast growing, w...

Plant growth regulators, such as hormones and their respective biosynthesis inhibitors, are effective tools to elucidate the physiological function of phytohormones in plants. A problem of chemical treatments, however, is the potential for interaction of the active compound with the growth media substrate. We studied the interaction and efficacy of propiconazole, a potent and specific inhibitor...