Soil conditioner effects on soil structure and erosion

Investigations into the soil stabilizing properties of four recently marketed soil conditioners have been carried out on a loamy sand soil (Psammept) of the Bridgnorth series of England In an experiment assessing "Agri-SC" treatment effects on splash erosion, mean splash amounts decreased for all application rates and by up to 14.3% after 3 repeat applications over a total period of 20 mo. Other commercially-available synthetic soil conditioners, including "Soil-Tex," "Humus," and "Kiwi Green, " were incorporated in comparative studies of effects on soil structure. Soil bulk density decreased and total porosity increased for all conditioners. However, crust strength only increased after applications of SoilTex and Kiwi Green and aggregate stability after Agri-SC treatment in a second set of samples. Applications of chemical soil conditioners usually established soil structural changes beneficial for soil conservation, by maintaining an improved soil structure and decreasing sail erodibility. However, results ran be complex to achieve and further investigations are required to understand the mechanisms of conditioner and soil interactions.