Soil Structure and Fabric

Soil Structure and Fabric

Soil Structure and Fabric

R. Brewer and J.R. Sleeman

Honorary Research Fellows,

CSIRO Division of Soils

Division of Soils, Adelaide

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publicatlon Entry

Brewer, R. (Roy).

Soil structure and fabric.

Bibliography.

Includes index.

ISBN 0 643 04859 6.

1. Soil structure. 2. Soils - Classification.

I. Sleeman, J.R. (James Rupert). II. Commonwealth

Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

(Australia). Division of Soils. III. Title

631.4′3

© CSIRO Australia 1988

Cover design by John Best CSIRO Print Advisory Service/Editorial Services Unit Book typography by Paul Stapleton

Printed by SR Frankland Pty. Ltd. Melbourne.                      1000 PAS/ESU 9/88

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Section 1: Classification of Soil Structures and Fabrics

Chapter 1. Framework for description

1.1 The constituents of soils

1.2 Structure, fabric and texture

1.3 Soma

Chapter 2. Physical, boundary and void structures

2.1 Physical structures

2.2 Boundary structures

2.3 Void structures

Chapter 3. Physical and distribution fabrics — major classes

3.1 Basis of description

3.2 Continua based on physical fabrics

3.3 Continua based on poric distribution fabrics

3.4 Agglomeric fabric

3.5 The enaulic continua

3.6 The aporic fabrics

3.7 Grade of fabric

3.8 Specific varieties

Chapter 4. Physical and distribution fabrics — complex fabrics

4.1 Dimatric fabrics

4.2 Mixed fabrics

4.3 Separated fabrics

4.4 Banded arrangements

Chapter 5. Crystic fabrics

5.1 Primary crystic fabrics

5.2 Secondary crystic fabrics

Chapter 6. Orientation fabrics

6.1 Orientation fabrics of clay-size mineral grains

6.2 Orientation fabrics of grains larger than clay-size

Chapter 7. Associated structures

7.1 Glaebules and related structures

7.2 Cutans and related structures

7.3 Pedotubules

7.4 Miscellaneous associated structures

Section 2: Systematic Nomenclature

Chapter 8. The qualifiers

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Qualifiers for internal characteristics

8.3 Qualifiers for external characteristics

Chapter 9. Systematic nomenclature of fabrics

9.1 Physical fabrics

9.2 Poric distribution fabrics

9.3 Aporic fabrics

9.4 S-matrices

9.5 Intergrade fabrics

9.6 Dimatric fabrics

9.7 Mixed, separated and banded fabrics

9.8 Crystic fabrics

9.9 Orientation fabrics

Chapter 10. Systematic nomenclature of associated structures

10.1 The general system of nomenclature

10.2 Glaebules and related structures

10.3 Cutans and related structures

10.4 Pedotubules

10.5 Miscellaneous associated structures

Section 3: Application to Soil Profiles

Chapter 11. Progressive description

11.1 Field description and sampling

11.2 Description from thin sections

Chapter 12. Petrographic description of soils

12.1 Classification of soil materials

12.2 Boundary conditions between somas

12.3 Profile descriptions

Section 4: Tables and Schedules for Description and Classification of Structures, Fabrics, Somas and Soil Profiles

List of Tables

List of Schedules

Section 5: Plates depicting Structures, Fabrics and Somas

Guide to Plates and relevant Tables

Appendices

Appendix I. Structure, fabric and texture

Appendix II. Peds, structural elements and physical fabric elements

Appendix III. Fabric varieties with specific names

Appendix IV. Optical observations on thin sections

References

Index

Preface

This book is intended for the use of pedologists and those geologists who are concerned with the study of sediments, particularly unconsolidated sediments. The microscopic description of soil materials from thin sections (soil micromorphology or, more appropriately, micropedology) has generally been regarded by most pedologists and geologists as an exercise somewhat apart from their sphere of interest. In this book, we hope to overcome this prejudice by using the geological concepts of structure and fabric, and setting out the logical progression from macroscopic to microscopic description. Pedologists should have some familiarity with the microscopic characteristics of soils, just as any geologist would be expected to have some skill in micropetrology in order to appreciate the intricate make-up of the materials with which he is primarily concerned. It is equally desirable that geologists, particularly those interested in surficial deposits, should be familiar with the microscopic characteristics of soils. Most of this book is devoted to microscopic characteristics of soils, and this reflects the great amount of detail concerning the structure and fabric of soils that can be obtained from microscopic observations. The cynic may argue that such data are less important than macroscopic data, or data obtained by other means. However, the kind and amount of data required depend on the objective of the study, and the kind of data obtained from microscopic observations cannot be obtained in any other way.

Acknowledgements for previously published material

Some of the material contained in this book (indicated in the text as numbers in square brackets, e.g. [13]) has been published elsewhere, or is an adaptation of published work; the authors gratefully acknowledge permission to use material from the following works:

Agricultural Institute of Canada, Ottawa, Canada:

[1] Brewer, R. and Pawluk, S. (1975) Investigations of some soils developed in hummocks of the Canadian sub-arctic and southern-arctic regions. I. Morphology and micromorphology. Can. J. Soil Sci. 55, 301–309.

[2] McMillan, N.J. and Mitchell, J. (1953) A microscopic study of platy and concretionary structures in certain Saskatchewan soils. Can. J. Agric. Sci. 33, 178–83.

[3] Pawluk, S. (1980) Micromorphological investigation of cultivated Gray Luvisols under different management practices. Can. J. Soil Sci. 60, 731–745.

Australian National University, Canberra, Australia:

[4] Dare-Edwards, A.J. (1979) Late Quaternary soils on clay dunes of the Willandra Lakes of New South Wales. Ph.D. Thesis, Aust. Natl. Univ., Canberra.

Blackwell Scientific Publications Ltd.:

[5] Brewer, R. (1960) Cutans: their definition, recognition and interpretation. J. Soil Sci. 11, 280–292.

[6] Brewer, R. and Sleeman, J. R. (1960) Soil structure and fabric: their definition and description. J. Soil Sci. 11, 172–185.

[7] Brewer, R. and Sleeman, J. R. (1963) Pedotubules:. their definition, classification and interpretation. J. Soil Sci. 14, 156–166.

[8] Brewer, R. and Sleeman, J. R. (1964) Glaebules: their definition, classification and interpretation. J. Soil Sci. 15, 66–78.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Canberra, Australia:

[9] Brewer, R. (1979) Relationships between particle size, fabric and other factors in some Australian soils. Aust. J. Soil Res. 19, 29–41.

[10] Brewer, R. and Coventry, R. J. (1977) Some aspects of genesis of a red earth profile at Townsville, Queensland. CSIRO Australia Division of Soils, Technical Paper No. 32, CSIRO, Melbourne.

[11] Sleeman, J. R. (1963) Cracks, peds and their surfaces in some soils of the Riverine Plain, N.S.W. Aust. J. Soil Res. 1, 91–102.

CSIRO, Melbourne; Academic Press, London:

[12] Brewer, R., Sleeman, J. R. and Foster, R. C. (1983) The fabric of Australian soils. In ‘Soils: an Australian Viewpoint’, pp. 439–476, CSIRO, Melbourne; Academic Press, London.

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands:

[13] Stoops, G. and Jongerius, A. (1975) Proposal for a micromorphological classification of soil materials. I. A classification of the related distributions of fine and coarse particles. Geoderma 13, 189–99.

[14] Jongerius, A. (1970) Some morphological aspects of regrouping phenomena. Geoderma 4, 311–331.

Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin, Stuttgart, FRG:

[15] Thompson, C.H. (1983) Development and weathering of large parabolic dune systems along the subtropical coast of eastern Australia. Z. Geomorphol. Suppl. 45, 205–226.

Institut de Geologie, Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France:

[16] Brewer, R. (1983) A petrographic approach to soil classification. Sci. Geol. Mem. 73, 31–40.

John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, USA.:

[17] Brewer, R. (1964 & 1976). ‘Fabric and Mineral Analysis of Soils’, Wiley, New York.

Polish Academy of Agriculture, Warsaw, Poland:

[18] Parfenova, E. I. and Yarilova, E. A. (1972) Schemes of soil fabric components. In ‘Soil Micromorphology.’ (Eds. S. Kowalinski, J. Drozd and S. Licznar), pp. 39–55, Polish Acad. Agric, Warsaw.

[19] Eswaran, H., de Coninck, F. and Conry, M.J. (1972). A comparative micromorphological study of light and medium textured podzols. In ‘Soil Micromorphology’ (Eds. S. Kowalinski, J. Drozd and S. Licznar), Polish. Acad. Agric, Warsaw.

Rellim Technical Publications, Australia:

[20] Stace, H.C.T., Hubble, G. D., Brewer, R., Northcote, K. H., Sleeman, J. R., Mulcahy, M.J. and Hallsworth, E. G. (1968) ‘A Handbook of Australian Soils’, Rellim Technical Publications: Glenside, SA.

Rutherford, G.K.

[21] Sleeman, J. R. (1974) Morphology and genesis of some deep pseudogley horizons. In ‘Soil Microscopy’, (Ed. G. K. Rutherford), pp. 795–816, The Limestone Press, Kingston, Ontario.

Soil Survey Institute, Wageningen, The Netherlands:

[22] Bal, L. (1973). Micromorphological analysis of soils. Soil Survey Papers No. 6, Netherlands Soil Survey Institute, Wageningen.

State University Utrecht, The Netherlands:

[23] Mulders, M. A. (1969) The arid soils of the Balikh Basin (Syria). Ph. D. Thesis, State Univ. Utrecht, The Netherlands.

University of New England, Australia:

[24] Sleeman, J. R. and Brewer, R. (1984) Micromorphology of some Australian cracking clay soils. In ‘The Properties and Utilization of Cracking Clay Soils’, (Eds. J. W. McGarity, E. H. Hoult and H. B. So), Univ. New England, Armidale, NSW.

VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena:

[25] Sleeman, J. R. and Brewer, R. (1972) Microstructures of some Australian termite nests. Pedobiologia Bd 12, S. 347–373.

Anales de Edafologia y Agrobiologia

[26] Eswaran, H. and Baños, C. (1976) Related distribution patterns in soils and their significance. Anal. Edafol. Agrobiol. Tomo 35, Nos. 1–2.

Thanks are due to C. J. Chartres, R. J. Coventry, R. W. Fitzpatrick and A.R. Milnes for permission to use unpublished data, and to J. Cent, J. Hutka and G. Rinder for the preparation of thin sections and figures.

Introduction

The purpose of this book is to set out one method of describing the structure and fabric of soils, proceeding from macroscopic descriptions in the field to descriptions from standard thin sections up to the magnifications achievable with a light microscope, with the additional option of using polarized light. To do this, a decision must be made as to what principles and concepts are to be used. The authors have opted for concepts of structure and fabric that are compatible with those in general use in geology. Within this framework, other principles and concepts are introduced which are considered to be the most appropriate for description of the kinds of features that have been observed in soil materials. Alternative concepts to those set out here should not be completely disregarded. Descriptive micropedology is a young art, and by no means all the features that do occur in soils have been documented or, one suspects, even observed to date. A number of alternative systems of description of microscopic features are discussed.

Much of the book is devoted to the description and classification of observed structures and fabrics, involving specialized nomenclature. Of course, descriptions can be made using common terms in the particular language used, but this is tedious and time-consuming because it requires repetition of long descriptions for commonly recurring phenomena. This makes dissemination of data difficult because a reasonably complete description of even a single sample representing one horizon from a soil profile may run to a number of pages, which would be time-consuming to read, difficult to visualize, and probably unacceptable to scientific journals in these days of high costs of publication. Also, translation from one language to another would inevitably lead to misunderstandings. Clearly, the solution is to set up definitions, with illustrations, for the various phenomena observed. This leads to a classification system and the introduction of specific terminology. Paradoxically, it is this terminology that has militated against the wider use of micromorphology. Soil scientists generally have been critical of the new terms introduced to date but, although these may have deficiences, it is abundantly clear that no branch of science has been able to develop without its own language and classification system.

In spite of this resistance to the comparatively new terminology of micropedology, the time is not too distant when detailed studies of soils, for whatever reason, will demand an accompanying description of the fabric and small scale structures of the samples or profiles studied, as an important method of characterizing the materials to which the data apply. The need for such descriptions has long been recognised by those who are familiar with the technique, but not generally by those who are not. An obvious use is in the extrapolation of data derived from one soil material to others. Even now, it is commonly assumed that extrapolations can be made between soils that are grouped within one soil classification class. However, there is good reason to suspect extrapolations of data based on soil classification groupings if the effects of differences in structure (in the sense used in this book) and fabric have not been assessed. This statement is based on a study of over one hundred Australian profiles (Stace et al. 1968; Brewer 1979) which showed that there is very little consistency in the micromorphology of profiles that were included in a single great soil group as used in the Australian classification system. Nor can it be expected that members of groupings in other classification systems would be any more consistent in this regard since none of the present systems consistently use micromorphology as a criterion in setting up classes at any level.

Since the publication of the first extended treatment of micropedology (Kubiena 1938), the use of micromorphology has grown steadily, in volume, in the development of new concepts, and in the definition of newly observed features. This growth was accelerated by the publication of ‘Fabric and Mineral Analysis of Soils’ (Brewer 1964). The stated objective of that publication was to encourage ‘the introduction of a sufficient number of properly defined terms and concepts to facilitate precise description of soil materials and recording of the many details of soil materials that are given too little importance . . .’.

This objective is slowly being achieved, as is evidenced by the publication of a ‘Glossary of Soil Micromorphology’ (Jongerius and Rutherford 1979) and a number of relevant papers published since the deadline set for entries in the Glossary. However, the task of describing and classifying microscopic features in soils is far from complete. Most serious micropedologists undoubtedly have data that have not been communicated adequately to others because of deficiencies in the classification and lack of suitable, well-defined terms. There is a serious danger inherent in this situation in that less experienced workers have a natural impulse to classify the features they observe, and some are prone to use existing terms that describe features that are similar but not identical. As a result, wrongly classified features have been recorded in the literature. This should be avoided by recognizing the incompleteness of the present classification. Of course, the situation will improve gradually by expansion of the classification and a better understanding by a greater number of workers.

Unlike most books of this kind, all the tables and schedules that are used for description have been placed together in a separate section, followed by the plates. This was done in the interest of ease of location and continuity of text, and in the hope that the tables may be used as a kind of manual for description, which requires that they should be readily located without searching the text. This has led to some repetition because some of the tables contain material that is necessarily, for clarity, also included in the text.

Section 1

Classification of Soil Structures and Fabrics

Chapter 1

Framework for Description

1.1 The constituents of soils

Soils may consist of any of the constituents of rocks and their weathering products, constituents formed by reactions within the soil profile, and material from plants and animals. Compilation of a complete list of all the constituents that may occur is scarcely possible; the list would be impossibly long and, even now, probably not all of the constituents that do occur have been identified. It is appropriate, however, to consider the nature of the more common kinds, and their general properties, since interpretation of soil processes, and of the genesis of the structures and fabrics described later, depend on a knowledge of their properties and reactions (see Brewer 1972). The less common constituents are likely to have properties generally similar to one or another of the more common ones, at least in terms of their reactions to soil-forming processes, since the latter include inorganic and organic, crystalline and amorphous, and soluble* and insoluble* constituents.

The major constituents can be grouped broadly as follows.

(1) Crystalline constituents: primary rock-forming minerals, layer silicates, chlorites, attapulgites, crystalline oxides (e.g. hematite, goethite, gibbsite), carbonates (e.g. calcite, dolomite), sulfates (e.g. gypsum, barite), and so on.

(2) Amorphous, inorganic constituents: amorphous oxides, the allophanes, and so on.

(3) Organic bodies: most commonly plant fragments, but also discrete plant cells, pollen grains, spores, sclerotia, pupal cases, and so on.

(4) Amorphous organic matter: amorphous, structureless organic material that occurs commonly within decomposing plant fragments and disseminated throughout the soil mass.

These groupings give some idea of the nature of the constituents that are involved in the fabrics and structures in soils. Living fauna are present (sometimes abundant) in some part of most soil profiles, but they are regarded as inhabitants of the soil rather than as constituents; they are rarely observed in micropedological studies because of the method of preparation of thin sections, which usually involves drying the sample and slow impregnation with a liquid resin. Similarly, living plant roots are not strictly a part of the soil even though they are commonly preserved in thin sections. However, the activity of fauna and plant roots, particularly the former, may have a profound effect on the morphology of soil materials.

Kubiena (1938) and Brewer and Sleeman (1960) recognized that the constituents of soils can be placed into two broad groups on the basis of their physical and physico-chemical properties, especially their reactivity due to particle size (clay-size versus larger grains) and solubility, which are relevant to their reactions to the processes of soil formation, thus:

(1) relatively unreactive constituents: constituents that are larger than clay-size and relatively insoluble;

(2) relatively reactive constituents: constituents that are of clay-size, amorphous or relatively soluble.

These groupings were the basis of definitions of skeleton grains and plasma, respectively, by Brewer and Sleeman (1960). Criticisms of these two concepts (e.g. Stoops and Jongerius 1975, 1977) indicate difficulties with the original definitions. Nevertheless, it is advantageous to be able to refer to such groups of constituents in discussion and in definitions of fabrics and structures. The following simplified definitions are designed for this purpose.

Skeleton grains. Simple crystals of minerals and individual organic fragments larger than clay-size; referred to as ‘mineral skeleton grains’ and ‘organic skeleton grains’, respectively [17].

Plasma. All the material, inorganic and organic, crystalline and amorphous, of clay-size; broad subdivisions are ‘inorganic plasma’, which includes crystalline (mineral) and inorganic amorphous plasma, and ‘organic plasma’ [17].

Some further comment about these groupings is desirable.

As in general pedology, it is convenient to set the upper limit of clay-size (the distinction between skeleton grains and plasma) at 2 μm (the International Standard); in the interests of brevity, clay-size, as used in this work, refers to crystalline constitutents smaller than 2 μm and/or amorphous inorganic and organic constituents.

There has been considerable discussion as to whether grains of the more soluble constituents (e.g. carbonates, sulfates) that are larger than 2 μm should be regarded as plasma because of their potential solubility (e.g. Stoops and Jongerius 1975, 1977; Brewer 1976). In practice, the argument is unimportant. They are classed here as skeleton grains, which is a divergence from the original concepts of Brewer and Sleeman (1960).

Skeleton grains, although relatively large, can be translocated and concentrated by some processes, as is evidenced by silt cappings on large mineral grains and rock fragments in some soils that freeze and thaw regularly, and by cracks and tubular voids that have been filled with sand-size grains by rather extreme down-washing. Also, plate-shaped skeleton grains (e.g. mica grains) can be re-organized by strong differential pressures and certain kinds of soil flowage to produce an observable pattern of preferred orientation similar to that which is more commonly observed due to orientation of clay-size layer silicates (mineral plasma), which are also plate-shaped.

Skeleton grains can weather to produce plasma. Weathering of, say, a mica grain may gradually change its optical properties throughout the whole grain and the end-product is a pseudomorph of, say, clay-size layer silicates (mineral plasma). For practical purposes, in view of the optical techniques used in micropedology, such weathered grains are regarded as skeleton grains up to the stage where they have lost the typical ‘mottled’ extinction of mica and their pleochroism, if originally present. In other instances, weathering of mica grains produces layers of clay-size minerals sandwiched between layers of relatively fresh mica. Such grains are regarded as skeleton grains as long as fresh layers of mica can be recognized optically. Other mineral skeleton grains also weather to produce plasma; using similar criteria as for the micas, weathered grains are regarded as skeleton grains as long as they are recognizable as grains and some parts of the grains have the optical properties of the original mineral. When weathering has proceeded beyond these limits, the pseudomorphs that may result are regarded as some variety of associated structure (Chapter 7).

Similar criteria can be applied to decomposed organic skeleton grains, and to weathered rock fragments. The former are regarded as skeleton grains as long as some part of their tissue structure can be recognized, and the latter as rock fragments (lithules, see Table 14) as long as the rock fabric can be recognized.

This grouping of constituents into skeleton grains and plasma is used mainly in discussions of the kinds of constituents involved in certain arrangements and features observed in soils. However, it is not necessarily the best grouping for all aspects of micropedology, in particular, for descriptions of fabric. Groupings made according to characteristics other than those used to define varieties of skeleton grains and plasma are more appropriate for description of many aspects of the arrangement of the constituents. Some of these are discussed later (Chapter 3.1).

Some of the constituents of soils are readily identifiable in thin sections, which provide the most useful data for studies of structure and fabric, but others are not, especially the constituents of the plasma (Appendix IV.1). However, the appropriate specificity of the identification of individual constituents depends on the purpose of the study. In general, for studies of structure and fabric, it is more important to identify those constituents that occur as concentrations in particular sites in the soil material, on the assumption that such concentrations may be the result of soil-forming processes and/or may be significant in the physical or chemical behaviour of the soil; concentration of a constituent, of course, facilitates its identification in thin section. It is generally less important to identify specifically the more stable, randomly distributed constituents, such as primary rock-forming minerals and rock fragments; it is often sufficient to recognize them as such.

These generalizations, of course, require qualification: the more detailed the study, the more specific the identifications must be. For some studies, it may be sufficient to record clay coatings on the walls of voids; in other cases, it may be important to know the kinds of clay-size minerals and the accompanying contaminants (such as clay-size iron oxides) in the clay coatings. Studies of weathering and provenance may require accurate identifications, and even quantitative estimations, of the rock-forming mineral species, rock fragments and their weathering products. Studies of the decomposition of organic materials may require identification of organic bodies and their composition in relation to their internal structure.

It is not proposed to examine here the details of the numerous methods of identification of soil constituents, but mention should be made of the techniques most commonly used and their suitability in studies of fabric and structure.

The most useful data are those obtained directly from thin sections because they show the distribution and relationships of the constituents. These are obtained optically with a petrological microscope, supported, if necessary, by scanning electron microscopy and analysis made on polished thin sections with an electron microprobe analyser (which is capable of elemental analysis of volumes as small as