Magnetic susceptibility of inclined soils and its relationship with some agronomic indicators

Abstract

The modern agricultural complex requires the use of new methods for determining soil characteristics for adequate information support of the latest technologies, which is often impossible to provide using conventional methods. The purpose of the study is to identify the informative value of magnetometric methods in determining slope processes that regulate the use of certain measures to increase soil fertility and protect soils from erosion. The study was conducted on inclined agricultural landscapes of the Kharkiv region. This study used a KLY-2 Kappabridge (Czech Republic) and an Ohaus 403 laboratory scale to determine magnetic susceptibility. The selected soil samples, in accordance with the accepted methods, were brought to an air-dry state under normal conditions. Soil sampling was conducted from a layer of 0-20 cm. Visualisation of the study results and determination of potential soil losses (USLE model) was performed in the QGis programme. The correlation of magnetic susceptibility on simple and complex slopes was analysed. It was established that on simple slopes, the value of the magnetic susceptibility of the soil has a high value of this indicator with the content of physical clay and organic carbon. Therewith, there is a high degree of connection of this indicator with the results of mathematical modelling of erosion processes (USLE). For complex sections of slopes, the method is correct only for transeluvial landscapes, while for accumulative landscapes, the mentioned connection disappears. The correlation coefficient in the humus content – magnetic susceptibility pair also decreases. This is due to the alternation of washout–accumulation zones and exits of soil-forming rocks in runoff basins, the existence of which is not provided for by the procedure for applying the USLE model of potential soil losses. The use of soil MS data has a high potential for the localisation of soil inhomogeneities associated with the differentiation of humus content and granulometric composition

Keywords

• soil
• magnetic properties
• chernozems
• organic carbon
• slope