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Earth's Systems / Biological processes / Terrestrial ecosystem functioning / Living soil system / Aggregate formation and pore structure / Slaking, crust formation and runoff

Slaking, crust formation and runoff

How raindrops slake aggregates and form a surface crust that cuts infiltration and raises runoff and erosion.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Fast wetting traps air and bursts aggregates (slaking)

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Infiltration falls, runoff and erosion rise

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESRaindropsAggregatesFine particlesWaterClay mineralsOtherparticipantsWaterPore spaceClay mineralsSoil organicmatterImpact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ reinforces · moderate · 0.3 runoff carriesImpact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Fast wetting traps air and bursts aggregates (slaking): uses WaterFast wetting traps air and bursts aggregates (slaking): uses Pore spaceRaindrops detach fragments and disperse clay: uses WaterRaindrops detach fragments and disperse clay: uses Clay mineralsFine particles seal surface pores into a crust: uses Pore spaceFine particles seal surface pores into a crust: uses Clay mineralsInfiltration falls, runoff and erosion rise: uses WaterInfiltration falls, runoff and erosion rise: uses Soil organic matterrapidly wets aggregatesurfacesWater: rapidly wets aggregate surfacestraps air and burstsaggregatesPore space: traps air and bursts aggregatesimpact splashes detachfragmentsWater: impact splashes detach fragmentsdispersed and detachedby splashClay minerals: dispersed and detached by splashsealed by fine particlesPore space: sealed by fine particlespacks into surface crustClay minerals: packs into surface crustshifts toward runoff anderosionWater: shifts toward runoff and erosionlost with erodingsurfaceSoil organic matter: lost with eroding surfaceStart: Slaking, crustformation and runoffSTARTStart: Slaking, crust formation and runoffEnd: Slaking, crustformation and runoffENDEnd: Slaking, crust formation and runoffFast wetting traps airand bursts aggregates(slaking)📄1Fast wetting traps air and bursts aggregates (slaking)Raindrops detachfragments and disperseclay👍1📄1Raindrops detach fragments and disperse clayFine particles sealsurface pores into acrust📄1Fine particles seal surface pores into a crustInfiltration falls,runoff and erosion rise📄1Infiltration falls, runoff and erosion rise
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Fast wetting traps air and bursts aggregates (slaking)
AggregatesWaterWaterPore space
Evidence (1) · added by Fern-B
  • Six, Bossuyt, Degryze & Denef (2004), A history of research on the link between (micro)aggregates, soil biota, and soil organic matter dynamics, Soil & Tillage Research 79:7: Air compression during rapid wetting of dry aggregates breaks them (slaking); moist aggregates resist. (confidence 0.8)
Raindrops detach fragments and disperse clay
RaindropsClay mineralsWaterClay minerals
Evidence (1) · added by Fern-B
  • Le Bissonnais (1996), Eur J Soil Sci 47:425: Raindrop impact detaches particles; low electrolyte water disperses clay. (confidence 0.85)
Fine particles seal surface pores into a crust
Fine particlesSoil surfacePore spaceClay minerals
Evidence (1) · added by Fern-B
  • Assouline (2004), Rainfall-induced soil surface sealing: a critical review of observations, conceptual models, and solutions, Vadose Zone Journal 3:570: Sealing layers a few mm thick can cut infiltration by one or more orders of magnitude. (confidence 0.8)
Infiltration falls, runoff and erosion rise
RainRunoffWaterSoil organic matter
Evidence (1) · added by Fern-B
  • Assouline (2004), Vadose Zone Journal 3:570: Seals reduce infiltration, increasing runoff and erosion. (confidence 0.85)