Micromorphlogical studies of soils with aquic conditions by image analysis

Image analysis is an advanced method of quantifying soil properties and increasing the accuracy of morphological and micromorphological studies. Microscopic and ultramicroscopic techniques provide invaluable information about the soil genesis and physicochemical, mineralogical and morphological properties of undisturbed natural soil structure. In this study, the physicochemical characteristics of some disturbed and undisturbed samples of eight pedons located at the Rice Research Station of Chaparsar were analyzed. By using image analysis softwares Image J and AnalySIS, the micromorphological characteristics of pores and redox properties in the intact samples were studied. The results showed that changing the land use from paddy to Kiwi orchard increased soil porosity and caused the formation of more crystallized forms of iron due to higher microorganism growth because of saturated conditions. The results of image analysis confirmed the presence of a puddled layer in the paddy soils and higher porosity in Kiwi cultivation. Image analysis of different iron forms also indicated the higher contents of iron in the non-paddy land under Kiwi cultivation than the paddy soils that are due to the improper land use. The differences in the nature and structure of different forms of iron are probably the reasons for the differences in image analysis and chemical results.