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Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology ›› 2021, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (9): 3341-3348.doi: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.202109.035

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Effects of crude oil pollution on soil moisture infiltration with loessial soil and aeolian sandy soil

WANG Li-jing1, SHANG Zhen-kun1, ZHANG Xing-chang1,2,3, ZHEN Qing1,2,3*   

  1. 1College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China;
    2Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China;
    3Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences & Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2020-12-09 Accepted:2021-05-27 Online:2021-09-15 Published:2022-03-15
  • Contact: * E-mail: zhenqing10@nwafu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Key R&D Project of Shaanxi Province (2020ZDLSF06-03) and the West China Young Scholar B Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XAB2019B12).

Abstract: Crude oil may block soil pores, affect soil water repellency, and change soil water movement. In this study, soil column simulation was used to study the effects of different crude oil pollution levels (0, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4%) on the water infiltration processes in loessial soil and aeolian sandy soil. The results showed that soil wetting front speed and infiltration rate of those two soils decreased with increasing crude oil content. The time needed for wetting front reaching the bottom of the soil column was the longest under 4% crude oil polluted soil, which was 4 times and 48 times longer than that of no crude oil polluted soil for loessial soil and aeolian sandy soil, respectively. The cumulative infiltration of loessial soil decreased with increasing crude oil content, while it increased to the max and then decreased as the crude oil content increased in aeolian sandy soil. The cumulative infiltration curves of aeolian sandy soil with high crude oil contents (2% and 4%) presented “up-tail” phenomenon. Kostiakov infiltration model and Philip infiltration model could better fit the infiltration process than Green-Ampt model for loessial soil with different crude oil content. However, the two models could only well fit the infiltration process for aeolian sandy soil with low crude oil content (0, 0.5%, 1%). Crude oil pollution could significantly affect soil water infiltration process, especiall in aeolian sandy soil.

Key words: oil, soil texture, soil water infiltration, model simulation