CHANGES IN MICROMORPHOLOGY OF GYSIFEROUS MEADOW SIEROZEM DURING LEACHING (MODEL EXPERIMENT)

A model experiment on Meadow Sierozem samples showed that complete lea ching of soluble salts and gypsum from this soil requires 90 to 100 th ousand m3 of water per hectare. As a result, microstructural features of the soil changed considerably. The subhumus horizon compacted becau se of the inflow of clay material, and the porosity and friability of the gypsum horizons increased because of the dissolution of all new gy psum formations. The formation of secondary gypsum microcrystals in in terskeletal pores did not significantly affect the bulk density of the soil, but the reworking of the soil by the mesofauna increased.