Basic soil properties as a factor controlling the occurrence and intensity of water repellency in rankers of the White Carpathians

Abstract

Water repellency in soils is controlled by many different factors, basic physical and chemical properties might be considered the crucial ones. For the purpose of this study, 12 sites were selected and sampled (0–20 cm depth) in the White Carpathians. Repellency tests were conducted under laboratory conditions in triplicate using water drop penetration time (WDPT) test and the molarity of ethanol droplet (MED) test. Results of WDPT measurements showed that three samples were marked by slight to extreme water repellency. Regarding the relationship between WDPT/MED and tested soil properties, the highest value of correlation coefficient was calculated for soil organic carbon (r = 0.706; p < 0.05), suggesting there is a positive, statistically significant correlation between repellency severity and total carbon content. A negative relationship between repellency and soil reaction/silt/silt + clay contents of studied soils was found. Samples taken from the surface horizon of arable soils showed no repellency.