Soil freeze-thaw cycles can result in soil surface crusting, pedestaling, and movement. This study was undertaken to quantify the amount of heaving and soil moisture migration in a silt loam soil from the sagebrush steppe. Soil columns containing silt loam soil with moisture treatments of 26%, 34%, 42%, or 50% water content and initial temperatures of 9° C or 20° C were exposed to – 7° C for 18 h, which did not completely freeze the soil to full depth. Moisture redistribution amounts of 10% to 20% were observed in treatments above field capacity. Surface saturation was observed after freezing with treatments of 42% and 50% water volume. Soil heaving of up to 0.5 cm was observed after one freezing event.
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10 June 2019
Influence of Freeze-Thaw Cycle on Silt Loam Soil in Sagebrush Steppe of Northeastern Oregon
L.L. Larson,
G.L. Kiemnec,
D.E. Johnson
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frost heaving
sagebrush steppe
Soil freezing
solifluction