Hardpan
For the geography term, a dry terminus of an
internally drained basin in a dry climate (i.e.
salt at/playa), see Dry lake.
In soil science, agriculture and gardening, hardpan or
ouklip is a dense layer of soil, usually found below the
uppermost topsoil layer.[1] There are dierent types of
hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being
a distinct soil layer that is largely impervious to water.
Some hardpans are formed by deposits in the soil that
fuse and bind the soil particles. These deposits can range
from dissolved silica to matrices formed from iron oxides
and calcium carbonate. Others are man-made, such as
hardpan formed by compaction from repeated plowing,
particularly with moldboard plows, or by heavy trac or
pollution.
1 Formation
Soil structure strongly aects its tendency to form a hard
pan. One such common soil condition related to hardpan
is soil pH. Acid soils are most often aected due to the
propensity of certain mineral salts, most notably iron and
calcium, to form hard complexes with soil particles under
acid conditions.
Another major determinant is the soil particle size. Clay
particles are some of the smallest particles commonly
found in soils. Due to their structure the spaces be-
tween individual clay particles is small and already re-
stricts the passage of water, reducing inltration[2] and
hence drainage. Soils with a high clay content are also
easily compacted and aected by man-made discharges.
Clay particles have a strong negative electrostatic charge
and will readily bond to positively charged ions dissolved
in the soil-water matrix. Common salts such as sodium
ions contained in wastewater can full this role and lead
to a localized hardpan in some soil types. This is a com-
mon cause of septic system failure due to the prevention
of proper drainage in eld.
2 Problems and workarounds
Hardpan can be a problem in farming and gardening by
impeding drainage of water and restricting the growth of
plant roots. In these situations, the hardpan can be bro-
ken up by either mechanical means such as digging or
plowing,[3] or through the use of soil amendments. The
broadfork is a manual tool specically designed for this
task; a digging fork or a spade might also be used. The
chisel plow does a similar job with the help of a tractor.
The use of soil amendments can also be employed to al-
ter the soil structure and promote the dissolution of the
hard pan. It has been observed that increasing the amount
of soil organic matter through the working-in of manure,
compost or peat can both improve local drainage and pro-
mote the proliferation of earth worms that can, over time,
break relatively thin hardpan layers.
More dicult hardpans may be further improved through
the action of both adjusting the soil pH with lime if the
soil is acidic, and with the addition of gypsum. This com-
bination can help loosen clay particles bound into a hard-
pan by the actions of hard salts such as iron, calcium car-
bonate and sodium, by promoting their mobility through
a higher pH while proving a suitable source of exchang-
ing minerals (the gypsum). This works because gypsum
salts, although not soft, are still water permeable and
have a larger, more open structure, the results of which
do not promote as hard a matrix as was replaced. How-
ever, unlike when employing mechanical means, break-
ing a hardpan through the use of amendments may re-
quire action over the course of years, and even then one
is by no means assured success. The results are primar-
ily determined by how extensive and / or intractable the
hardpan is.
3 See also
Caliche
Claypan
Duricrust
Duripan
Fragipan
4 References
[1] Resounding Soils (Web). Auburn University. Retrieved
2007-05-20.
[2] C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Abiotic factor. Encyclopedia of
Earth. eds Emily Monosson and C. Cleveland. National
Council for Science and the Environment. Washington
DC
1
2 4 REFERENCES

[3] Breaking Up the Hardpan"". Grains Research & Devel-

opment Corporation. Archived from the original (Web)
on 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
 3

5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1 Text
Hardpan Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardpan?oldid=772825506 Contributors: Glenn, Tsavage, DavidCary, Sam Hocevar,
Raylu, LQ, Xezbeth, Paleorthid, Gene Nygaard, Firsfron, Rjwilmsi, Krash, LouieS, Dna-man, Sanguinity, Herbertxu, SmackBot, Tsca.bot,
Kingdon, SashatoBot, Rigadoun, EdC~enwiki, Acabtp, Jeepday, VolkovBot, Amata Padam, Rotational, TypoBoy, Ritterrat, Q247, Ad-
dbot, Zorrobot, Jarble, Luckas-bot, LilHelpa, Gigemag76, I dream of horses, Serols, WikitanvirBot, H3llBot, Berberisb, ClueBot NG,
Gareth Grith-Jones, Gcc111, Northamerica1000, Zoeydodson, Equinox and Anonymous: 14

5.2 Images

5.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0