Using synthetic polymers as soil conditioners to control runoff and soil loss in arid and semi-arid regions—a review
Meni Ben-HurA Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, The Volcani Center, ARO, PO Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel. Email: meni@volcani.agri.gov.il
Contribution from the Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Centre, no. 610/05, 2005 series.
Australian Journal of Soil Research 44(3) 191-204 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR05175
Submitted: 3 November 2005 Accepted: 7 March 2006 Published: 5 May 2006
Abstract
Runoff and soil erosion are serious and widespread land degradation problems in arid and semi-arid regions. Soils in these regions are characterised by relatively high levels of salinity and sodicity, and low structural stability. One means to increase the stability of soil structure is the use of synthetic polymers as soil conditioners. Polymers consist of repeated small identical units (monomers) coupled together to form extended chains. The present review paper addresses the properties of synthetic polymers, their interactions with clays and soil particles, and their effects on infiltration rates, runoff, and soil erosion in arid and semi-arid soils exposed to rainfall and sprinkler irrigation. Because polymers increase the stability of the soil structure, they reduce the tendency of soils to form seals, thereby preventing decline in infiltration rates, reducing runoff and soil losses. The beneficial effects of various polymers with different molecular weights, charge types, and densities applied over a wide range of conditions, i.e. dryland and irrigated soils, soils of varying physical and chemical properties, and rainfall with different kinetic energies, are reviewed in the present manuscript. The addition of small amounts of the polymers, with their low cost and their high efficiency in preventing seal formation, infiltration rate reduction, and runoff and soil loss increases, suggest that the polymers can be considered as successful stabilising agents for soils that are sensitive to seal formation. However, further study on handling and field application of the synthetic polymers is needed.
Agassi M, Ben-Hur M
(1991) Effect of slope length, aspect and phosphogypsum on runoff and erosion from steep slopes. Australian Journal of Soil Research 29, 197–207.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Agassi M, Ben-Hur M
(1992) Stabilizing steep slopes with soil conditioners and plants. Soil Technology 5, 249–256.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Agassi M,
Bloem D, Ben-Hur M
(1994) Effect of drop energy, and soil and water chemistry on infiltration, and erosion. Water Resources Research 30, 1187–1193.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Agassi M,
Shainberg I, Morin J
(1981) Effect of electrolyte concentration and soil sodicity on the infiltration rates and crust formation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 45, 848–851.
Aly SM, Letey J
(1988) Polymer and water quality effects on flocculation of montmorillonite. Soil Science Society of America Journal 52, 1453–1458.
Assouline S
(2004) Rainfall-induced soil surface sealing: a critical review of observations, conceptual models and solutions. Vadose Zone Journal 3, 570–591.
Ben-Hur M
(2001) Soil conditioner effects on runoff, erosion and potato yield under sprinkler irrigation with different emitters. Agronomy Journal 93, 1156–1163.
Ben-Hur M,
Agassi M,
Keren R, Zhang J
(1998) Compaction, aging, and raindrop-impact effects on hydraulic properties of saline and sodic Vertisols. Soil Science Society of America Journal 62, 1377–1383.
Ben-Hur M,
Clark P, Letey J
(1992a) Exchangeable Na, polymer, and water quality interaction on water infiltration and soil loss. Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation 6, 311–317.
Ben-Hur M,
Faris J,
Malik M, Letey J
(1989a) Polymers as soil conditioners under consecutive irrigations and rainfall. Soil Science Society of America Journal 53, 1173–1177.
Ben-Hur M, Keren R
(1997) Polymer effects on water infiltration and soil aggregation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 61, 565–570.
Ben-Hur M, Letey J
(1989) Effect of polysaccharide, clay dispersion and impact energy on water infiltration. Soil Science Society of America Journal 53, 233–238.
Ben-Hur M,
Malik M,
Letey J, Mingelgrin U
(1992b) Adsorption of polymers on clays as affected by clay charge and structure, polymer properties, and water quality. Soil Science 153, 349–356.
Ben-Hur M,
Plout Z,
Shainberg I,
Meiri A, Agassi M
(1989b) Cotton canopy and drying effects on runoff during irrigation with moving sprinkler system. Agronomy Journal 81, 752–757.
Ben-Hur M,
Plaut Z,
Levy GJ,
Agassi M, Shainberg I
(1995) Surface runoff, uniformity of water distribution and yield of peanut irrigated with a moving sprinkler system. Agronomy Journal 87, 609–613.
Ben-Hur M,
Shainberg I,
Bakker D, Keren R
(1985) Effect of soil texture and CaCO3 content on water infiltration in crusted soil as related to water salinity. Irrigation Science 6, 281–294.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ben-Hur M,
Shainberg I, Morin J
(1987) Variability of infiltration in a field with surface-sealed soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal 51, 1299–1302.
Black AP,
Birkner FB, Morgan JJ
(1966) The effect of polymer adsorption on the electrokinetic stability of dilute clay suspensions. Journal of Colloidal and Interface Science 21, 626–648.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bryan RB
(1987) Processes and significance of rill development. CATENA 8, 1–15.
Gal M,
Arcon L,
Shainberg I, Keren R
(1984) The effect of exchangeable Na and phosphogypsum on the structure of soil crust—SEM observation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 48, 872–878.
Gal M,
Stern R,
Levin J, Ben-Hur M
(1992) Polymer effect on water infiltration and erosion of sodic soils. South African Journal of Plant and Soil 9, 108–112.
Greenland DJ
(1963) Adsorption of polyvinyl alcohols by montmorillonite. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 18, 647–664.
Gu B, Doner HE
(1992) The interaction of polysaccharides with Silver Hill illite. Clays and Clay Minerals 40, 151–156.
Harris RF,
Chesters G, Allen ON
(1966) Organics of soil aggregation. Advance in Agronomy 18, 107–169.
Helalia AM, Letey J
(1988) Polymer type and water quality effects on soil dispersion. Soil Science Society of America Journal 52, 243–246.
Kazman Z,
Shainberg I, Gal M
(1983) Effect of low levels of exchangeable Na and applied phosphogypsum on the infiltration rate of various soils. Soil Science 35, 184–192.
Lado M,
Paz A, Ben-Hur M
(2004) Organic matter and aggregate size interactions in infiltration, seal formation and soil loss. Soil Science Society of America Journal 68, 935–942.
Levy GJ,
Ben-Hur M, Agassi M
(1991) The effect of polyacrylamide on runoff, erosion and cotton yield from fields irrigated with moving sprinkler systems. Irrigation Science 12, 55–60.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Levy GJ,
Levin J, Shainberg I
(1995) Polymer effects on runoff and soil erosion from sodic soils. Irrigation Science 16, 9–14.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Malik M, Letey M
(1991) Adsorption of polyacrylamide and polysaccharide polymers on soil material. Soil Science Society of America Journal 55, 380–383.
McIntyre DS
(1958) Permeability measurements of soil crust formed by raindrop impact. Soil Science 85, 158–189.
McIsaac G,
Mitchell FJK, Hirschi MC
(1987) Slope steepness effects on soil loss from disturbed lands. Transaction of the ASAE 30, 1005–1013.
Mitchell AR
(1986) Polyacrylamide application in irrigation water to increase infiltration. Soil Science 145, 353–357.
Morin J,
Benyamini Y, Michaeli A
(1981) The effect of raindrop impact on the dynamics of soil surface crusting and water movement in the profile. Journal of Hydrology 52, 321–335.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
O’Brien NR
(1971) Fabric of kaolinite and illite floccules. Clays and Clay Minerals 19, 353–359.
Parfitt RL, Greenland JD
(1970) Adsorption of polysaccharides by montmorillonite. Soil Science Society of America Journal 34, 862–866.
Roberts K,
Kowalewska J, Friberg S
(1974) The influence of interactions between hydrolyzed aluminum ions and polyacrylamides on the sedimentation of kaolin suspensions. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 48, 361–367.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shainberg I,
Warrington D, Rengasamy P
(1990) Effect of soil conditioner and gypsum application on rain infiltration and erosion. Journal of Soil Science 149, 301–307.
Shanmuganathan RT, Oades JM
(1982) Effect of dispersible clay on the physical properties of the B horizon of a red-brown earth. Australian Journal of Soil Research 20, 315–324.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Smith HJC,
Levy GJ, Shainberg I
(1990) Water-droplet energy and soil amendments: Effect on infiltration and erosion. Soil Science Society of America Journal 54, 1084–1087.
Theng BKG
(1982) Clay-polymer interactions: summary and prospectives. Clays and Clay Minerals 30, 1–10.
Ueda T, Harada S
(1968) Adsorption of cationic polysulfone on bentonite. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 12, 2395–2401.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Vincent B
(1974) The effect of adsorbed polymers on dispersion stability. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science 4, 193–277.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wakindiki IIC, Ben-Hur M
(2002) Soil mineralogy and texture effects on crust micromorphology, infiltration, and erosion. Soil Science Society of America Journal 66, 897–905.
Wood JD, Oster JD
(1985) The effect of cellulose xanthate and polyvinyl alcohol on infiltration, erosion, and crusting at different sodium levels. Soil Science 139, 243–249.
