Rheological properties of typical chernozems (Kursk oblast) under different land uses

Rheological parameters of humus horizons from typical chernozems under different land use—on a virgin land (unmown steppe) and under an oak forest, long-term black fallow, and agricultural use—have been studied by the amplitude sweep method with an MCR-302 modular rheometer at water contents corresponding to swelling limit and liquid limit. From the curves of elastic and viscous moduli, the ranges of elastic and viscoelastic (plastic) behavior of soil pastes—as well as that of transition from viscoelastic to viscous behavior—have been determined. It has been shown that the rheological behavior is largely determined by the content of organic matter, which can act as a binding agent structuring the interparticle bonds and as a lubricant in the viscous-flow (plastic) state of soil pastes. Soil samples enriched with organic matter (virgin land, oak forest, forest belt) have a more plastic behavior and a higher resistance to loads. Soil samples with the lower content of organic matter (long-term fallow, plowland) are characterized by a more rigid cohesion of particles and a narrower range of load resistance. Soil pastes at the water content of liquid limit have a stronger interparticle cohesion and a more brittle behavior than at the water content of swelling limit. Methodological aspects of testing soil pastes at the constant sample thickness and the controlled normal load have been considered. For swelling soil samples, tests under controlled normal load are preferred.