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Research Article Open Access

Experimental Investigation of Thermo-Physical Properties of Soil Using Solarisation Technology

Ahmed Abed Gatea Al-Shammary1, Abbas Kouzani2, Akif Kaynak2, Sui Yang Khoo2 and Michael Norton2
  • 1 Departments of Soil Science and Water Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Wasit, Kut, Iraq
  • 2 School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia

Abstract

Soil Thermo-Physical Properties (TPP) depend on heat transfer in the soil. This paper presents a study on different soil solarisation technologies influenced by soil TPP. This study evaluates three factors: The tillage depth for soil at three levels (15, 25 and 45 cm), the number of plastic film at three levels (single, double and without plastic film) and three cases of fertilizers (chemical fertilizer, organic fertilizer and without fertilizer). The parameters explored in this study include soil bulk density (Mg/cm3), soil porosity (%), soil volumetric moisture content (cm3/cm3) and soil thermal diffusivity (m2/sec). Data management and analysis were performed using SAS 9.1 statistical software and the spilt-plot under Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The results show that soil Tillage Depth (TD) strongly influences TPP, as well as a significant effect on soil bulk density (ρb), porosity (Φ), volumetric moisture content (θ) and thermal diffusivity (D). The results also reveal that a tillage depth of 15 cm produces lower values of ρb, θ and D (1.25 Mg/cm3, 0.131 cm3/cm3 and 1.24×10-6 m2/sec, respectively) and a higher value of Φ (52.78%). In addition, the finding indicates that ρb is increased by increasing TD. There was a significant positive correlation between the number of plastic film and parameters studied. The soil double plastic film produced lower values of ρb and D for soil (1.253 Mg/cm3, 7.76×10-7m2/sec). However, it recorded higher values for Φ and θ for soil (52.70% and 0.231 cm3/cm3, respectively). Furthermore, the current study shows significant differences between the types of fertilizers on ρb. Organic Fertilizer (OF) obtained a lower value of ρb (1.2 Mg/m3), compared with chemical fertilizer and without fertilizer (1.28 and 1.31 Mg/m3, respectively). In contrast, contrary to expectations, this study did not find significant differences between the types of fertilizer on D and θ for soil. A positive correlation was found in the interaction between the studied factors in the parameters. Furthermore, D increased with increasing soil bulk density (pb) and tillage depth.

American Journal of Applied Sciences
Volume 14 No. 7, 2017, 649-661

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2017.649.661

Submitted On: 19 April 2017 Published On: 17 July 2017

How to Cite: Al-Shammary, A. A. G., Kouzani, A., Kaynak, A., Khoo, S. Y. & Norton, M. (2017). Experimental Investigation of Thermo-Physical Properties of Soil Using Solarisation Technology. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 14(7), 649-661. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2017.649.661

Open AccessCopyright: © 2017 Ahmed Abed Gatea Al-Shammary, Abbas Kouzani, Akif Kaynak, Sui Yang Khoo and Michael Norton. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Keywords

  • Soil Tillage Depth
  • Number of Plastic Film
  • Organic Fertilizer
  • Soil Bulk Density
  • Soil Thermal Diffusivity