A well-developed soil structure is a key attribute of a productive and functioning soil. Evidence shows that subtle changes in the spatial arrangement and binding of soil constituents impart large changes in soil mechanical and hydraulic properties and associated ecological services. However, these features remain difficult to quantify at spatial scales relevant for agricultural management. In this work, we propose a pedophysical model to interpret macroscopic seismic properties in terms of soil structure. The model captures subtle soil mechanical traits accounting for soil plastic deformation due to compaction. In order to evaluate the model, we use data from field monitoring at an experimental site that revealed elevated seismic velocities in plots that were compacted 5 yr prior to our measurements. Our results show that P-wave velocities carry a strong imprint of soil compaction and are well predicted by the proposed model. The model infers contact areas between aggregates that are nearly threefold larger for compacted than for non-compacted soils, indicating that soils have not recovered from compaction. The study illustrates the potential of seismic methods to identify chronic compaction at field scale.

中文翻译：

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地震信号揭示了土壤压实的持续性

发育良好的土壤结构是具有生产力和功能的土壤的关键属性。证据表明，空间排列和土壤成分结合的细微变化会导致土壤机械和水力特性以及相关生态服务发生巨大变化。然而，这些特征仍然难以在与农业管理相关的空间尺度上量化。在这项工作中，我们提出了一个土壤物理模型来解释土壤结构的宏观地震特性。该模型捕获了细微的土壤力学特征，解释了由于压实造成的土壤塑性变形。为了评估该模型，我们使用了一个实验地点的现场监测数据，该数据显示在我们测量前 5 年压实的地块中地震速度升高。我们的结果表明 P 波速度带有强烈的土壤压实印记，并且可以通过所提出的模型很好地预测。该模型推断压实土壤的聚集体之间的接触面积比非压实土壤大近三倍，表明土壤尚未从压实中恢复。该研究说明了地震方法在现场尺度上识别慢性压实的潜力。