Soil macroporosity is a highly dynamic feature driven by numerous physical and biological processes, of which bioturbation, the movement of water in soil and swelling and shrinking cycles are the main processes. To date, the interaction between these factors, especially how galleries produced by soil fauna respond to rainwater percolation and wetting–drying (WD) cycles, remains poorly known. A laboratory experiment was carried out to expose soil macrofauna galleries to three different consecutive water flow (simulated rain events of 50, 80 and 110 mm h⁻¹ in 1 h) and drying cycles in a clayey soil. X-ray computed tomography and image analyses were used prior to and after each exposure to assess the water stabilities of galleries and created cracks. The 3D properties (volume, diameter, specific surface area and density) of the galleries produced by termites or ants were not statistically influenced by rainwater percolation and WD cycles, suggesting a high water stability and life expectancy under natural conditions. Conversely, the crack water stability was variable and was probably influenced by the presence of galleries in the same area. This study emphasizes that the macropores created by soil fauna may persist in clayey soil and that there is a need to better understand how cracks and galleries interact.

中文翻译：

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干湿循环下土壤生物孔隙结构的X射线断层扫描分析

土壤大孔隙度是由众多物理和生物过程驱动的高度动态特征，其中生物扰动、土壤中水分的运动和膨胀和收缩循环是主要过程。迄今为止，这些因素之间的相互作用，尤其是土壤动物群产生的画廊如何响应雨水渗透和干湿 (WD) 循环，仍然知之甚少。进行了一项实验室实验，将土壤大型动物群暴露于三种不同的连续水流（模拟降雨事件为 50、80 和 110 mm h ^-1在 1 小时内）和粘土中的干燥周期。在每次曝光之前和之后使用 X 射线计算机断层扫描和图像分析来评估画廊的水稳定性和产生的裂缝。白蚁或蚂蚁产生的画廊的 3D 特性（体积、直径、比表面积和密度）在统计上不受雨水渗透和 WD 循环的影响，表明在自然条件下具有较高的水稳定性和预期寿命。相反，裂缝水稳定性是可变的，并且可能受同一区域存在的通道的影响。这项研究强调，由土壤动物产生的大孔隙可能会在粘土中持续存在，因此需要更好地了解裂缝和通道如何相互作用。