Studies on the Characteristics of Water Adsorption and Their Effects on Physical Properties of Soil in Sea Land Reclamation Area

The concept of water potential (p.F.), as the index to characterized the condition and the nature of the soil water, turned out to be of importance in dealing with the soil in sea land reclamation area. The nature of water adsorbed at high p.F. range and its effects on physical properties of soil has been clarified using 75 samples in 16 sites from 4 different sea land reclamation areas. The results obtained suggest that the surface charge represented by cation exchange capacity (C.E.C.) has definite effect on the adsorption of water at p.F. 6.35, which in turn is considered to be the measure of specific surface area. The effects of electrolyte concentration on the amount of adsorbed water at p.F. 4.85 and 5.51 was very significant. The consistency limits were used to represent the physical properties of soil and the changes of these limits were interpreted in terms of change in the amount of adsorbed water at high p.F. range. Significant correlation was found between the consistency limits and the amount of water adsorbed at p.F. 4.85.