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Theories and Tests of Electrical Conductivity in Soils¹

ABSTRACT

The soil's specific electrical conductivity (EC_a) is similar in principle to the EC of a pure solution, but the nonconducting soil air and solids cause complications. The EC_a measured by four-electrode Wenner arrays in laboratory and field experiments was linearly proportional to the product of the soluble salt concentration and the soil water content over a salinity range of 0 to 40 dS/m in the soil solution and 0.1 to 15 bar soil water suction. Theories of soil EC based on a conductivity cell and microscale conduction were compared to a macroscale theory and all explained the measured results equally well. Soil can be viewed as an intricate container for electrolyte solution, as a conductor having a tortuous path, or as many conduction paths of varying cross section and length. The macro model was extended to relate EC_a to soil water potential, but EC_a appears to be inherently dependent on both the soil moisture and salt contents.

¹ Contribution from the University of Arizona.

² Professor, Visiting Professor from Ben Gurion University, Israel, and Graduate Assistants, Dep. of Soils, Water and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.

Received for publication February 26, 1982. Accepted for publication June 24, 1982.

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