Aust. J. Soil Res.

, 1992, 30, 297-310

The Influence of Dispersible Clay and

WettingIDrying Cycles on the Tensile Strength
of a Red-Brown Earth
B. D. ~a~~ and A. R. DexterB
Department Land Resource Science, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1.
Formerly Department of Soil Science, Waite Agricultural Research Institute,
University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, S.A. 5064; now Silsoe Research Institute, Wrest Park,
Silsoe, Bedford, U.K. Mk45 4 HS.
A

Abstract
The tensile strength of aggregates is a dynamic property under field conditions and for any
given soil reflects the integration of processes leading to a strengthening and weakening of
failure zones. The objectives of this study were to determine if variation in the tensile strength
of natural aggregates from a red-brown earth could be related to the combined effects of (a)
conditions favouring dispersion of clay and a subsequent increase in strength by cementation on
drying and (b) wettingldrying cycles which would result in a decrease in strength. Aggregates
were collected from the A horizon of different long-term rotations. The seasonal variation
in tensile strength was assessed using data collected in 1988 and unpublished data which
had been collected annually between 1978 and 1981. Trends in tensile strength over 5 years
confirmed the importance of an interaction between climatic conditions which could lead to
increased dispersion of clay and wettingldrying cycles. The extent of weakening of failure
zones by wettingldrying cycles varied with the rotation. The nature of the impact of cropping
history on tensile strength was dependent on antecedent climatic conditions.
Keywords: Soil structure, aggregrate strength, climate.

Introduction
The soil matrix can be considered to be perforated with a three-dimensional
network of failure zones. The zones have a distribution of strengths and determine
the response of soil to stresses as diverse as tillage, raindrop impact and root
growth. Tensile strength is a measure of the strength of the weakest failure
zones (Braunack et al. 1979) and the distribution of strengths has been used as
a measure of soil friability (Utomo and Dexter 1 9 8 1 ~ ) .
Tensile strength is a dynamic property. The strength of failure zones at any given
time relates to the presence of air-filled pores, the occurrence of microcracks and
the strength of intergranular bonds within and between microcracks. Consequently
the tensile strength of soil is related to water content, and processes which change
pore characteristics and/or the cementation between structural units.
Cementing materials which alter the strength of failure zones may be of organic
or inorganic form. Changes in cropping practices can cause changes in the nature
of organic materials present and can cause progressive changes in tensile strength
over several seasons (Kay et al. 1988).

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Inorganic cementing materials include suspended clays and dissolved materials

which become effective on drying. Higher tensile strengths of dry aggregates
have been observed on Vertisols when cropping treatments resulted in an increase
in the dispersibility of clay (Chan 1989). Increasing dispersible clay content has
also been associated with increased modulus of rupture of a moulded red-brown
earth (Shanmuganathan and Oades 1982).
The amount of clay which is dispersed in a soil will vary with soil properties
and management practices but will also vary with time as a consequence of
environmental factors. Precipitation will increase the soil water content and
may decrease the concentration of electrolytes in the pore fluid. The amount
of spontaneously dispersed clay increases with water content when the increased
water content persists for several days (Kay and Dexter 1990). Clay may also
become mechanically dispersed at the soil surface due to water droplet impact
during precipitation and can be redistributed by convection (Abu-Sharar et al.
1987).
Other inorganic materials which may function as cements include silica and
poorly ordered aluminosilicates (Chartres e t al. 1990) and carbonates (Hadas
1987).
Cementing materials which have become solubilized or dispersed may migrate
to lower energy positions where they are more effective in bonding grains together
under wet conditions (Kempler et al. 1987). Drying will concentrate these materials
behind the menisci, and precipitation or flocculation will occur at intergranular
points at low water contents. This process has been graphically illustrated by
Gifford and Thran (1974) using pairs of glass beads and by Kemper et al. (1989)
using sand grains and a mica surface. The process has been invoked by Horn
and Dexter (1989) to account for aggregate formation in an irrigated desert loess.
The intergranular bonds will have the greatest effect on tensile strength when
the bonding occurs at contact points within or at the ends of microcracks.
Precipitation on soils which are susceptible to production of either spontaneous
or mechanically dispersed clay may, therefore, experience an increase in tensile
strength on drying. The extent of increase in strength will depend on the amount
of clay dispersed which will be a function of the characteristics of the soil and
the precipitation event.
Wetting and drying events, however, can also cause a decrease in strength
(e.g. Utomo and Dexter 19816). The loss in strength is due to a combination
of air entrapment and differential swelling (Grant and Dexter 1989). The soil
characteristics and the wetting procedures in these events must result in the
production of quantities of cementing materials which are sufficiently small that
the cementing processes are dominated by processes which weaken failure zones.
In such circumstances, the extent of weakening increases with the rate of wetting
and the number of wettingldrying cycles (Dexter et al. 1984). Microcracks may
also be created in soils if differential shrinkage occurs during drying, although
the influence of shrinkage on tensile strength has not been well documented.
The preceding discussion leads to the hypothesis that seasonal variation in the
strength of soils which do not undergo freezing and thawing is due to the opposing
processes which increase the extent of intragranular cementation (when cropping
practices remain constant) and which weaken failure zones during wettingldrying
cycles.

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The objectives of this study were to determine if seasonal variation in

tensile strength of a red-brown earth could be related to cementation events
and wettingldrying cycles predicted from climatological records. The seasonal
variation in tensile strength was assessed using data collected in 1988 and
unpublished data which had been collected annually between 1978 amd 1981
from different long-term rotations.

Methods
Soils
Samples were taken from the C1 permanent rotation trial which was established in 1925 on
a red-brown earth, the Urrbrae fine sandy loam, at the Waite Agricultural Research Institute.
The rotations selected for sampling (Table 1) represented a range in organic carbon contents
and time from last tillage. Dates of sampling are given in Table 4.
Ten samples were collected from a plot at a depth of 0-5 cm, composited, air-dried
and then gently sieved into different sized fractions (19-9.5, 9.5-6.7, 6.74.0, 4.0-2.0,
2.0-1.0, 1.0-0.5, 0-5-0 25, <0.25 mm). Samples for tensile strength measurements alone
were collected from plots 11, 14, 15, 16, and 17 in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981. Samples for
tensile strength and dispersible clay measurements were taken from all of the plots in 1988
only. The plots were resampled in 1991 to determine the organic carbon, clay, silt and sand
contents of the 6.7-9.5 and 9.5-19 mm fractions. Organic carbon content was measured
using a LECO carbon analyser (there was no CaC03 in the samples). Particle size analyses
involved dispersion of samples with sodium hexametaphosphate and NaOH, shaking for 18 h,
determining the suspended clay content gravimetrically and removing the clay and silt to
determine the sand content. The silt content was calculated using the clay and total sand
contents.

Dispersible Clay
Air-dry aggregates (9 5-6.7 mm diameter) were wet up slowly with distilled water over a
2 week period on sintered glass funnels in order to minimize slaking. The water supply in the
funnels was maintained at -10.0 kPa. A vial filled with chloroform was taped to the inside
of each funnel in order to minimize microbial activity. After equilibration the aggregates were
carefully transferred to plastic vials with care being taken to minimize mechanical disturbance
of the aggregates. Additional distilled water was added to create water contents in excess
of saturation and the samples were equilibrated for 25 min. The amount of dispersed clay,
hereafter referred to as spontaneously dispersed clay, was then measured. Samples were
subsequently shaken end-over-end for 3.0 min, and the amount of dispersed clay, which will be
referred to as mechanically dispersed clay, was measured. Dispersed clay was measured under
the two conditions in order to distinguish between clay which dispersed by physico-chemical
forces as a consequence of the low electrolyte content (arising from the use of distilled water)
and clay which became dispersed as a consequence of the introduction of mechanical energy.
Measurements of spontaneously dispersed clay would be expected to be most relevant after
rainfall events when the ionic strength of the pore fluid has been reduced but there has been
little mechanical energy applied. Measurements of mechanically dispersed clay, on the other
hand, would be most relevant to the dispersion of clay by processes such as raindrop impact.
The two measurements of dispersible clay are not necessarily correlated. The amounts of
spontaneously and mechanically dispersed clay were measured using turbidimetric techniques
and were expressed as a per cent of the oven-dry (105OC) weight of the original aggregates.
Equilibration of the aggregates to a given water pontential and dispersion of the clay took place
in constant temperature rooms maintained at 20HC. Additional details on the prewetting
procedure and the determination of dispersible clay are provided in Kay and Dexter (1990).

Tensile Strength
The tensile strength of aggregates was calculated from the maximum compressive force
required to fracture air-dry aggregates (1% gravimetric water content) between flat parallel

Grant (1989).

Wheat-fallow

Continuous wheat

2 yr wheat-4 yr
pasture

Continuous pasture

Rotation

wheat

wheat
pasture
pasture
pasture

35

17

11
14
15
16

29

2 yr
1 yr
2 yr
4 yr

Plot
No.

Phase
in 1988

1.02

1.32

2.06
2-15
1-74
2.16

2-87

mm

6.7-9.5

0.96

1.28

1.90
2-18
1-71
2-20

2.58

9.5-19
mm

Organic carbon

13.1

12.2

13.2
12.8
16.6
14.1

14.1

6.7-9.5
mm

12.4

12.3

13.5
13.6
16.0
12.9

17.1

9-5-19
mm

Clay (%)

28.8

33.8

32.9
32.1
29.5
32.2

30.4

6.7-9-5
mm

29.6

33.8

31.8
30-8
30.0
35 7

26-0

9-5-19
mm

Silt (%)

58.0

54.1

53.9
55.1
53-9
53-7

55.5

6.7-9.5
mm

58.0

53.9

54-7
55.5
54.1
51-4

56.9

9.5-19
mm

Sand (%)

Table 1. Cropping history of plots and characteristics of aggregates 6.7-9.5 and 9 5-19 mm diameter

1-6dA

1-61A

1.50A

Bulk density
of clods
(Mg WK3)

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plates (Braunack et al. 1979). A value of 0.58 was used for the proportionality constant
relating maximum compressive stress to the tensile strength at failure. Twenty aggregates
(19-9.5 m m diameter) per sample were employed to determine the mean tensile strength of
aggregates collected between 1978 and 1981, whereas 40 aggregates were used from samples
collected in 1988.
The effect on aggregate tensile strength of wetting aggregates for long enough to permit
spontaneous dispersion of clay followed by air-drying aggregates was determined. Aggregates
(19-9.5 mm) from the 0-5 cm depth from each of the plots sampled in 1988 were wet-up over
a one week period by using the same procedure as outlined for dispersible clay measurements.
Aggregates were then equilibrated at -0.3 kPa water potential for a second week. An
additional set of aggregates from the 0-5 cm depth were equilibrated at -10.0 kPa potential
to determine if differences in the amounts of dispersible clay which had been observed at
these two potentials (Kay and Dexter 1990) influenced aggregate tensile strength on drying.
After equilibration, the sintered glass funnels were drained and the aggregates allowed to dry
slowly over a two week period in the funnels. Tensile strengths were then determined.

Climatological Records
Values of daily precipitation and evaporation were obtained from the weather station
adjacent to the site for each of the years in which sampling was done.

Statistical Analyses
Statistical analyses of the data were carried out using the computer software package SAS
(SAS Institute Inc. 1985). The significance level at which all analyses were evaluated was
P 5 0.05.

Results and Discussion

Soil Characteristics
The organic carbon and textural analyses are given in Table 1. The influence
of aggregate size on these properties was small and not significant. Larger
variations were noted, however, between the rotations. Organic carbon declined
in the sequence: continuous pasture, wheat/pasture, continuous wheat and wheat
fallow. These trends have been noted by other investigators working on the same
plots (e.g. Tisdall and Oades 1980). Small differences in textural characteristics
were also noted between the plots, with the highest clay content occuring on the
plots with most organic carbon and lowest where organic carbon was lowest.
Table 2. Spontaneously dispersible clay, Ms, mechanically dispersible clay, Mm, % of total
clay dispersible, M m f , and antecedent gravimetric water content, 8, of aggregates from different
rotations (samples collected in 1988)
Measurements were on 6.7-9.5 mm diameter aggregates equilibrated at -0.10 kPa water
potential. Rotations with the same superscript are not significantly different
Plot number

Ms (%)

Mm (%)

Mmf

(%)

(w/w)

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Dispersible Clay
Mechanically and spontaneously dispersible clay contents were measured on
aggregates 9.5-6.7 mm diameter (Table 2). The mechanically dispersed clay
content was about 50 times larger in magnitude than the spontaneously dispersed
clay content. A simple visual examination would have suggested the soils has no
spontaneously dispersible clay. The exchangeable sodium content (expressed as a
percentage of the total exchangeable cations present) of soil from the 0-5 cm depth
of plot 17 is 1% (Emerson 1968) and accounts for the relatively small amount
of spontaneously dispersible clay. The variation in spontaneously dispersible clay
with rotation may be due to variations in the exchangeable sodium content but is
more likely due to the role of organic matter in moderating the forces developed
in the electrical double layer.
The mechanically, M,, spontaneously, M,, dispersible clay contents we're
linearly correlated and described by the relation

The intercept was not significantly different from zero. A much stronger correlation
was obtained between these two variables than was obtained by Kay and Dexter
(1990) and is to be expected since aggregate size fraction was a constant in this
study, whereas aggregate size was a variable in the study conducted by Kay and
Dexter (M,, would be expected to be strongly dependent on aggregate size).
Values of M, and mechanically dispersible clay expressed as a percentage of
total clay, M,f, were strongly correlated with organic carbon content.
Table 3. Tensile strength of 19-9.5 mrn diameter aggregates from different rotations, before
and after wetting to - 0 . 3 kPa water potential and then drying (samples collected in 1988)
Plots with the same superscript are not significantly different (comparisons within columns)
Plot number

Tensile strength (kPa) before

wettingldrying cycle

29
11
14
15
16
17
35
Mean

41bC
62"
43bC
67"
65"
35C
48b
52

Tensile strength (kPa) after

wettingldrying cycle
5od
58bcd
57Cd
71"
67"
38e
61bC
57

Tensile Strength
The tensile strengths of aggregates 19-9.5 mm in diameter are summarized
in Table 3. Significant differences existed between plots. A stepwise multiple
regression did not indicate, however, that the coefficients for independent variables
such as organic carbon or total clay content had a significant influence on tensile
strength.
The tensile strength of aggregates from the different plots did not show a
large increase in tensile strength after being wet-up under conditions which would

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enhance the spontaneous dispersion of clay followed by slow drying (Table 3).
Only plots 29, 14 and 35 showed a significant increase in strength. A significant
difference between the different plots persisted after the wettingldrying treatment.
No difference in the tensile strengths of aggregates were observed when they
had been wet to -10kPa as compared with wetting to - 0 . 3 kPa prior to
air-drying. There obviously was not enough clay which spontaneously dispersed,
or cementing materials dissolved at either potential to cause a large increase in
strength on drying. Under field conditions, rainfall may mechanically disperse
more clay at the soil surface, thereby increasing the strength on drying. This
would, however, have to compensate for greater slaking than would have occurred
under the wetting conditions used in the laboratory.
Table 4. Characteristics of tensile strength and climatic conditions preceding sampling in
different years
Description

Mean tensile strength (kPa)

plots 11, 14, 15, 16
Mean tensile strength (kPa)
plot 17

Date/Value
Tensile strength
5 Nov. 17 Oct. 14 Apr. 23 Nov.
1981
1980
1978
1979
49 9
58-9
69.4
63.3
52.8

9 Dec.
1988
59.3

66.5

Climatic conditions
Characteristics of wet periodA
Starting date (day number)

Duration (days)
Total precipitation (mm)
Total precipitation minus
evaporation (mm)
Maximum daily precipitation (mm)
Characteristics of largest daily precipitationB
Date (day number)

Precipitation (mm)
Number of wetting events between
sampling and antecedentC
wet period
Largest daily precipitation event

5 Aug. 3 Sept.
1978
1979
(217)
(246)
6
11
57.6
83.2
51.2
20.4

74.6
30.6

6 July
1978
(187)
28.4

6 Sept.
1979
(249)
30.6

12
17

7
7

4 June
1988
(156)
7
75.0

3 Sept.
1979
(246)
11
83.2

2 July
1981
(183)
5
59.2

6 Sept.
1979
(249)
30.6

23 June 23 May
1981
1988
(174)
(144)
22.8
41.2

A First period dating backwards from time of sampling in which the total precipitation minus
evaporation is equal to or greater than 40 mm and daily values greater than 0 mm.
In auntumn, winter or spring (rainy season) preceding sampling date.
Daily precipitation is equal to or greater than 4 rnm. Successive days in which precipitation
minus evaporation is greater than zero counted as single event.

Variation in Tensile Strength with Date of Sampling

Plots 11, 14, 15 and 16 represent different phases of the same rotation (Table 1).
The stage of the rotation varied on the different sampling dates and therefore

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300
Julian day

Fig. 1. Daily precipitation and cumulative precipitation minus evaporation for 1979 and
early 1980.

the tensile strength data for plots 11, 14, 15 and 16 were pooled for comparison
with plot 17 for each of the five sampling years (Table 4).
Meteorological data, from the weather station adjacent to the site, were obtained
for each of the years in which sampling was done. Daily precipitation and
cumulative precipitation minus pan evaporation for 1979 and early 1980 are given
in Fig. 1 and illustrate climatic conditions at the site. There is an annual moisture
deficit and a large number of precipitation events during the winter rainy season.
Often the precipitation events are of sufficient magnitude and daily frequency
as to result in positive values of daiIy precipitation minus evaporation persisting
over several successive days. Such conditions would accentuate opportunity for

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spontaneous dispersion of clay due to the high water content and low electrolyte
content in the pore fluid. An extended wet period also makes clay in exposed
surface soils particularly susceptible to mechanical dispersion by raindrop impact
during storms. Frequent drying conditions and small intermittent rainfall provide
opportunity for wetting and drying cycles.
Analysis of the precipitation and cumulative precipitation minus evaporation
data was based on the premise that the tensile strength at any time is a
result of the number of wettingldrying cycles between the date of sampling and
the last date on which dispersion of clay and cementation was maximal. Two
criteria were used to identify the latest date of maximum dispersion of clay.
First, precipitation data were analysed to determine the date and amount of
the largest daily precipitation prior to sampling during the rainy season, thereby
indicating when mechanically dispersed clay may have been greatest. Second,
data on precipitation minus evaporation were analysed to determine the date
and characteristics of the last wet period prior to sampling, thus indicating when
spontaneous dispersion of clay would have been maximum. A wet period was
arbitrarily defined as a period in which the daily values of precipitation minus
evaporation were zero or positive and the cumulative values over the period were
equal to or greater than the total amount of water which would exist in the
top 10 cm of the profile when fully saturated. This value was taken as 40 mm
and was based on an average bulk density across the different rotations of 1.6
Mg m-3 (Table 1). The characteristics of the wet period and the largest daily
precipitation are given in Table 4. In two of the five years, the maximum daily
precipitation occurred within the wet period. The duration of the wet period
varied from 5 to 11 days ,total precipitation varied from 58 to 83 mm, and total
precipitation minus evaporation varied from 51 to 75 mm.
Wetting and drying events were arbitrarily defined as those in which the daily
precipitation was equal to or greater than 4 mm. When such days were followed
by days in which precipitation minus evaporation was greater than zero the data
were considered to represent a single event. The number of wettingldrying events
was then calculated, dating backwards from the time of sampling to either the
first wet period or the largest daily precipitation event during the preceding rainy
season. The numbers of cycles calculated by the two methods were very similar
for four of the five years and ranged from 7 to 19 (Table 4). The dates of both
the latest wet period and the largest daily precipitation in 1980 coincide with the
dates in 1979. This situation arose because of the date of sampling in 1980 and
the limited precipitation between the two sampling dates (Fig. 1). Consequently,
changes in tensile strength between 12 Oct. 1979 and 14 Apr. 1980 must relate
to the number of wetting and drying cycles which occurred between the sampling
dates.
Regression of tensile strength with numbers of wettingldrying cycles showed
that tensile strengths were negatively correlated with both the number of wetting
and drying cycles dating from sampling back to the most recent wet period, and
also the number of cycles dating back to the date of maximum daily precipitation.
The correlation with tensile strength was slightly higher when wetting and drying
cycles were calculated dating from sampling back to the most recent wet period,
the relation between these variables is illustrated in Fig. 2 for plot 17 and the
pooled values of plots 11, 14, 15 and 16.

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r Plot 17
o Mean plot 1 1 , 14,15,I6

5
10
15
20
Number of wetting events after wet period
Fig. 2.

Relation between the number of wetting events after the last wet period prior to
sampling and the tensile strength of aggregates from the 2 yr wheat-4yr pasture rotation
(plots 11, 14, 15 and 16) and the continuous wheat rotation (plot 17).

The intercepts of the two lines in Fig. 2 were significantly different, with
the highest tensile strength at zero wetting events after the wet period being
associated with plot 17. Plot 17 had significantly more mechanically dispersible
clay than either plots 11, 14, 15 or 16. The relation between these two intercepts
is compatible with the observation that the strength of a moulded red-brown
earth after air-drying increases with dispersible clay content (Shanmuganathan
and Oades 1982). The process of moulding at water contents close to the plastic
limit would create a uniform distribution of failure zones in the soil in the moist
state and therefore differences in strength on drying must be due to the cementing
action of different amounts of dispersible clay.
The slopes of the lines in Fig. 2 indicate that the creation or weakening
of failure zones by differential swelling or shrinking during wetting or drying,

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respectively, is more important than cementation by spontaneously dispersed clay

when the wetting event is short of duration or intensity. The decline is greatest
on plot 17. Aggregates from plot 17 had a lower organic carbon content than
aggregates from plots 11, 14, 15 and 16 (Table 1). The lower level of organic
matter would be expected to result in clay domains and microaggregates which
are less stable and therefore account for a clay fraction which is not only more
sensitive to spontaneous and mechanical dispersion (Table 3) but may be even
more susceptible to differential swelling and shrinkage.
The values of the intercepts and slopes of the lines in Fig. 2 suggest that
dispersible clay (and thereby soil management practices) can have much different
effects on tensile strength, depending on climatic conditions preceding the time
of sampling. For instance, if samples had been collected after about four wetting
events, the tensile strength would have been the same across the two rotations. If,
however, sampling had occurred subsequent to 0-3 wetting events, the less stable
aggregates on plot 17 would have exhibited the highest tensile strength. Such a
trend would have been compatible with the trend reported by Shanmuganathan
and Oades (1982). Conversely, if sampling had occurred after five or more
wetting events, plot 17 would have exhibited the lowest tensile strength. This
relation is compatible with trends of increasing tensile strength with increasing
stability (Kay et al. 1988). Attempts to relate changes in strength with changes
in management practices would, therefore, appear to be ill-advised when climate
can have a significant effect on the relation between strength and dispersible clay.
The influence of rotation on tensile strength would appear to be greatest
when a large number of wettingldrying cycles have occurred. It was coincidental
that data on aggregate collected in 1988 (Table 2) represented aggregates which
had undergone a relatively large number of wetting/drying cycles between the
time of maximum cementation and the time of sampling. The length of time
used to wet these aggregates in the wetting treatment of aggregates under
laboratory conditions was longer than the duration of the arbitrarily defined wet
periods under field conditions (Table 4). If the laboratory wetting had accurately
simulated field conditions, then the data in Fig. 2 suggest that the tensile strength
of the aggregates from plot 17 should have increased from 35 to 86 kPa. The
tensile strength after the wettingldrying treatment in the laboratory was 38
kPa, suggesting that this treatment did not produce enough dispersed clay for
cementation to be significant. Either the laboratory treatment did not simulate
the wet conditions in the field (there was no leaching and therefore electrolyte
concentrations would have been higher and spontaneously dispersible clay lower
under laboratory conditions), or the conditions of maximum cementation require
a larger amount of clay dispersed than can be achieved without the addition of
mechanical energy. Such energy under field conditions would be associated with
raindrop impact.
The amount of variability in tensile strength measurements that can be
accounted for by variability in the number of wetting and drying cycles would
be expected to be related to the criteria used to define a wettingldrying cycle
and the date of maximum dispersion of clay. Simple linear correlations showed
a strong positive correlation between (a) tensile strength and the duration of
the wet period, ( b ) tensile strength and total precipitation minus evaporation
in the wet period, and (c) tensile strength and the magnitude of the largest

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daily precipitation event. Stepwise regressional analyses of tensile strength with

number of wettingldrying cycles between sampling and the antecedent wet period
and characteristics of the wet period were then conducted. Similar analyses
were carried out for tensile strength, number of wettingldrying cycles between
sampling and largest antecedent daily precipitation event and the amount of the
precipitation associated with this event. None of the coefficients associated with
either the characteristics of the wet period or the largest daily precipitation event
were significant. The number of wettingldrying cycles remained the sole significant
parameter accounting for the variability in tensile strength, suggesting that the
criteria used to define either wet periods or maximum daily precipitation events
were such that the variability in the characteristics of events causing dispersion
of clay could account for little of the remaining variability in tensile strength
after the effect of wettingldrying cycles was removed. The events associated with
dispersing clay were equally effective in increasing tensile strength.
The criteria utilized above are considered reasonable though arbitrary and
further sensitivity analyses were not carried out in an attempt to identify conditions
which would give better correlations between tensile sterngth and the number
of wettingldrying cycles. The criteria which were used clearly indicate a strong
correlation and the correlation supports the hypothesis being tested. Criteria
are needed which accurately define climatic conditions under which dispersion of
clay is greatest, subsequent drying enhances opportunities for cementation and
mellowing due to wettingldrying cycles is most important. However, such criteria
should be based on detailed climatic records, field measurements of dispersion of
clay, changes in soil water content and tensile strength, rather than adjusting the
criteria used in this study to increase the magnitude of correlation coefficients.

Conclusions
Two important conclusions arise from this study:
Significant trends in tensile strength over five years could be discerned by
applying a relatively simple analysis to precipitation and evaporation data.
The analysis confirmed the importance of climatic conditions which could
lead to increased dispersion of clay thereby resulting in an increase in
tensile strength on drying, and wetting and drying cycles which could lead
to a decrease in tensile strength. The analysis was unable to distinguish
between extended wet periods which would maximize the spontaneous
dispersion of clay and high precipitation events which woiild maximize
the mechanical dispersion of clay as causes of increasing tensile strength.
(ii) The extent of strengthening of failure zones by cementation and the
extent of weakening of failure zones by wetting and drying cycles varies
with the rotation. Conversely, the impact of rotation on tensile strength
varies with antecedent climatic conditions. The relation between tensile
strength and dispersible clay may vary with antecedent wettirig/drying
conditions.
The degree to which these conclusions apply to other soils with similar
climatic conditions would be expected to relate to the amounts of dispersible clay,
opportunities for this clay to function as a cement in microcracks on drying and

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the susceptibility of soils to form microcracks under wetting or drying conditions.

There is not, unfortunately, a conceptual framework which relates soil chemical,
physical or mineralogical characteristics to dispersibility of clay, cementation of
microcracks and the weakening of failure zones by differential swelling or shrinking
in a way that is adequate to extrapolate the data in this study to other soils.

Acknowledgments
Travel funds were provided to B. D. Kay by the University of Adelaide and the
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to support this
collaborative research project. Assistance with statistical analyses was provided
by Dr V. Rasiah. Soil characterization was completed by Dr C. D. Grant.
References
Abu-Sharar, T. M., Bingham, F. T., and Rhoades, J. D. (1987). Reduction in hydraulic
conductivity in relation to clay dispersion and disaggregation. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 51,
342-6.
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Short Communications

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Manuscript received 26 November 1990, accepted 6 February 1992