Soil structure - Soil functions
Fluid flow and transport of chemicals take place in the pore space of soil which is organized at different scales (see image): Large biopores, inter-aggregate pores and small pores inside aggregates. This complex arrangement is critical for a multitude of soil functions: living space for soil organisms, filter properties for dissolved chemicals, distribution of water and oxygen as a prerequisite for biological activity.
We use non-invasive techniques (e.g. X-ray MicroCT) to quantitatively understand the structural complexity and the processes of structure formation. This allows for relating structural properties to soil functions and will open new perspectives to predict the impact of changing boundary conditions (e.g. land use and climate) on ecological services of soils.
Special topics:
Selected publications
Carminati, A., Vetterlein, D., Koebernick, N., Blaser, S., Weller U. and Vogel, H.-J. 2013: Do roots mind the gap?, Plant and Soil, 367, 651-661.
Schlüter, S., Vanderborght, J. and Vogel, H.-J., 2012: Hydraulic non-equilibrium during infiltration induced by structural connectivity, Adv. Water Res., 44, 101-112.
Schlüter, S., Vanderborght, J. and Vogel, H.-J., 2012: Hydraulic non-equilibrium during infiltration induced by structural connectivity, Adv. Water Res., 44, 101-112.
Köhne, M., Schlüter, S., and Vogel, H.-J., 2011: Predicting solute transport in
structured soil using pore network models, Vadose Zone Journal, in press.
Schlüter, S., and Vogel, H.-J., 2011: On the reconstruction of structural and functional
properties in random heterogeneous media, Adv. Water Res., 34, 314-325.
Schlüter, S.,Weller, U., and Vogel, H.-J., 2011: Soil structure development including
seasonal dynamics in a long-term fertilization experiment, J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.,
doi: 10.1002/jpln.201000103.
Weller, U., Ippisch, O., Köhne, J.M. and Vogel, H.-J.,2011: Direct measurement of
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in soil including temporal dynamics, hydraulic
non-equilibrium and hysteresis, Vadose Zone Journal, 10:654–661.
Vogel, H.-J., Weller, U., and Schlüter, S. 2010: Quantification of soil structure based
on Minkowski functions, Computers & Geosciences, 36, 1236-1245, doi: 10.1016/j.cageo.2010.03.007
Vogel, H.-J., Weller, U., and Ippisch, O. 2010: Non-equilibrium in soil hydraulic
modelling, J. Hydrol, 393, 20-28, doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.03.018
Schlüter, S., Weller, U., and Vogel, H.-J., 2010: Thresholding of X-ray microtomography
images of soil using gradient masks, Computers & Geosciences, 36, 1246-1251,
doi: 10.1016/j.cageo.2010.02.007
Vogel, H.-J., Samou¨elian, A., and Ippisch, O. 2008: Multi-Step and Two-Step experiments
in heterogeneous porous media to evaluate the relevance of dynamic effects.
Adv. Water Res., 31, 181-188.
Vogel, H.-J., Ippisch, O. 2008: Estimation of a critical spatial discretization limit
for solving Richards Equation at large scales, Vadose Zone Journal, 7, 112–114.
Samou¨elian, A., Vogel,H.-J., and Ippisch, O. 2007: Upscaling hydraulic conductivity
based on the topology of the sub-scale structure, Adv. Water Res., 30 1179-1189.
Ippisch, O., Vogel,H.-J., and Bastian P. 2006: Validity limits for the van Genuchten–-
Mualem model and implications for parameter estimation and numerical simulation,
Adv. Water Res., 29, 1780-1789.
Vogel, H.-J., Cousin, I., Ippisch, O., and Bastian, P. 2006:
The dominant role of structure for solute transport in soil: Experimental evidence and modelling of structure and transport in a field experiment, Hydrol. Earth Sys. Sci. 10, 495–506, www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/10/495/2006/.
Lin, H., J. Bouma, Y. Pachepsky, A. Western, J. Thompson, R. van Genuchten, H. Vogel, and A. Lilly, 2006:
Hydropedology: Synergistic integration of pedology and hydrology, Water Resour. Res., 42, W05301
Schulz, K., Seppelt, R., Zehe, E., Vogel, H.-J. and Attinger, S. 2006:
Importance of spatial structures in advancing hydrological sciences, Water Resour.~Res. 42, W03S03
Vogel, H.-J., Tölke, J., Schulz, V. P., Krafczyk, M., and Roth, K. 2005:
Comparison of a Lattice-Boltzmann model, a full-morphology model, and a pore network model for determining capillary pressure-saturation relationships, Vadoze Zone Journal, 4, 380-388