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A STUDYONCRACKINGINSOMEVERTISOLSOF THESUDAN
A. ZEINELABEDINEand GLENNH. ROBINSON
F.A.O. Regional Office, Bangkok (Thailand)
(Received May23, 1969)
(Resubmitted June 26, 1970)
ABSTRACT
Zein el Abedine, A. and Robinson, G.H., 1971. A study on cracking in s o m e Vertisols
of the Sudan. G e o d e r m a , 5: 229-241.
A procedure for m e a s u r i n g soil cracks in certain vertisols of the Sudan w a s
developed. This included the use of plate cut like a bilateral with a base 12 c m l o n g
and a head angle of 2230 '. T h e two sides of the bilateral w e r e graduated to read the
width of a crack. T h e depth w a s m e a s u r e d by flexible graduated metal probes. M e a s u r e -
m e n t s w e r e m a d e along a straight line andthe frequency and v o l u m e of cracks determined.
It w a s found that the widths of the cracks are affected b y the length of d r y i n g
period, the kind of soil a n d by the clay content, irrigation reduces the v o l u m e of
cracks in the Gezira cotton-growing area. T h e v o l ~ m e of cracks under natural
vegetation was not altered by kind of vegetation. However, grass increases their
volume in the surface l ayers and trees increases it at the deep layers. Thus the
total volume of cracks in the upper layers of all soils studied is much affected by
soil history and vegetation.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
The soi l s of the east er n part of the cent ral cl ay plain of the Sudan
ar e most l y Vert i sol s. These Vert i sol s were studied in r epr esent at i ve pa r t s
of the cl ay plain as f ol l ows: the C, ezi r a ar ea which lies between the Whi t e
Nile and Blue Nile, t he Link Canal ar ea which extends in a broad s t r et ch
east of the Blue Nile, and the Gash delta which l i es some 300 km east of
the Gezi ra (see Fi g. l ) .
Of the di st i ngui shi ng char act er i st i cs of the Vert i sol or der of soi l s t he
pr esence of cr acks, cl ay content of 30% or more, sl i ckensi des and
paral l el epi ped s t r uct ur al aggr egat es ar e definitive (Soil Survey Staff, 1967).
The cr acks devel op when an expanding type of cl ay dri es. The wi dt h
and depth of cr acki ng ar e associ at ed with the degree of desi ccat i on, the
amount and type of cl ay, and the amount and frequency of rainfall. The
desi ccat i on is al so of t en rel at ed to the type and densi t y of vegetation.
Cracki ng i nf l uences soil development and soil char act er i st i cs to s uc h
a degr ee that it is cons i der ed at the highest level of soil cl assi fi cat i on.
Some of the as s oci at ed effect s of soil. cracki ng include the format i on of
gilgai mi cr o- r el i ef , sl i ckensi des, a churning or mixing of the upper pa r t
of the soil profi l e, and in some i nst ances i ncr easi ng the amount and dept h
of wat er penet rat i on.
Geoderma, 5 (1971) 229
32 o 3 4 36
) ' m # I I
A S S A L A ~ f"
C e n t r a t t
O M E D A N I I
| 5 0 u t h ~ t ~ ' ~ I
~ l , o s . , , E s ~r ~ : . . - ~ ~ ' : " "
. t 2 3 4 e 3 6
Fig. 1. East er n par t of the cent ral Clay Plain, Sudan.
In a r e a s with a thick well-developed surface m u l c h and w i d e c r a c k s ,
the m u l c h will fall into the cracks. D u r i n g the next rain the e x p a n s i o n of the
soil plus the m u l c h due to wetting will be such that it causes the soft to
heave, thus causing gilgai surface relief. This p r o c e s s churns and m i x e s
the soil material to approximately the depth of cracking, thus often p r e -
venting the d e v e l o p m e n t of a textural B horizon. T h e churning a n d m i x i n g
tend to incorporate organic matter a n d m a y help in maintaining a b e t t e r
structure. In addition, the expansion with wetting causes slip planes, and,
with the m o v e m e n t of soil, f o r m s slickensides a n d parallelepiped structural
aggregates.
T h e penetration of water through the cracks in the Gezira area w a s
estimated by J. Coulter (personal communication, 1967) to b e 2.5 i n c h e s
(63 ram) of water, w h e n the cracks develop to their m a x i m u m at the e n d of
the d r y season. In a study on follow irrigation in Egypt, El Shal (1954)
found that filling the cracks developed in a clay soil in middle E g y p t
required 75 m m of w a t e r m o r e than the a m o u n t n e e d e d to raise the
m o i s t u r e to the field capacity.
Within the Gezi r a ar ea the t hi ckness of the sur f ace mulch is r e l a t i ve l y
smal l , 1-5 ram, and gilgai rel i ef is not well developed. However, evi dence
of cr acki ng can be obser ved in pits to depths of mor e than 1 m by the
pr esence of wedge shaped i nt rusi ons of brown mat er i al f r om the s ur f a c e
into a mor e gr ay mat er i al of subsoil and subst rat um. It has been obs e r ve d
by many sci ent i st s (Greene, 1928; Finck and Ochtman, 1981; Soil Sur ve y
Staff, 1968) that t her e often is a dark gray hori zon underl yi ng the br owne r
sur f ace soi l s, the dept h of which rangi ng between 40 cm and mor e t han
F
100 cm. In ar eas wher e this dark gr ay hori zon occur s neari t he s ur f a c e ,
the cr acki ng and chur ni ng often break and mix the l ayer to a point t hat it
is near l y dest r oyed with only f r agment s remaining. Where the dark gr a y
hori zon is deeper it becomes mor e promi nent and consequent l y mor e
continuous. In profi l es where this hori zon is below 90 cm, t here is little or
no mixing with the br owner soil mat eri al ot her than that which has fallen
into the deeper cr acks. This phenomenon has been used by Zein el Abedi ne
et al. (1971) to est i mat e the age of the cent ral Gezi r a Vert i sol s.
A consi derabl e par t of the Gezi ra ar ea is, at present , i r r i gat ed whi ch
changes the nat ural moi st ur e balance in the soil, and consequently the
pat t ern of cracking. Fur t her mor e, in the common pr act i ce of management
of t hese soils, a year of fallowing is i nsert ed in the crop rot at i on as a
benefi ci al measur e f or fert i l i t y conservat i on and a helpful one for wat er
penet rat i on in the soil through the developed cr acks.
The Gash delta Ver t i sol s are brown cl ays of alluvial fan format i on
and ar e believed to be younger than the Gezi ra and Link Canal soils. They
r ecei ve l ess than 300 mm of precipitation and ar e cultivated by a rot at i on
in which one i r r i gat i on by flooding t akes place ever y t hree years. The
usual pr ocedur e is to fl ood one t hi rd of the ar ea one year and fallow it f or
two year s. The flood wat er is di st ri but ed by canal s and cont rol l ed by dykes
which enable the wat er to stand on the land to a peri od of about t hree weeks.
When the wat er i s l ost by evaporation and penet rat i on to the deep l ayers,
the soil becomes r eady for cultivation of cert ai n cr ops with no furt her
i rri gat i on. Such per i odi cal flooding may affect the cracki ng pat t ern of the
soils.
The Link Canal Ver t i sol s are dark gr ayi sh brown cl ays all through
the profi l es. The cl i mat e is mor e humid than in the Gezi r a with r ai n-
fall of 500-600 mm per year. The ar ea is one of the proposed ar eas for
agr i cul t ur al devel opment , but is still under nat ural conditions.
Nei t her the changes in the cracki ng of the Gezi r a soi l s due to the
change of moi st ur e bal ance, nor the amount s and depths of wat er pene-
t rat i on t hrough the cr acks have been ser i ousl y investigated.
In this study, the depth, volume, moi st ure conditions and cert ai n
ot her f act or s rel at i ve t o cr acks in the aforement i oned soi l s of the cent ral
Clay Pl ai n of the Sudan ar e evaluated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The i nvest i gat i ons were car r i ed out usi ng 9 soil profi l es: 2 profi l es,
GTO3 and GTO4, in cent r al Gezira, 2 profi l es, GTO5 and GTO6 in south
Gezi ra, 1 profi l e, GRF in cent ral Gezi ra f r om a plot in the Gezi ra Re s e a r c h
Fa r m that is non- i r r i gat ed and left under nat ural conditions, 2 profiles~
GHATO5 and GHBTO7, in the Gash delta area, and 2 profi l es, O4H, and
O4MH, in the Link Canal area. The f i r st 4 profi l es r epr esent i rri gat ed
soi l s in Gezi ra, and t he r est ar e under natural conditions, beari ng in mi nd
that the Gash delta pr of i l es ar e art i fi ci al l y flooded once ever y t hree ye a r s .
Moi st ure det er mi nat i ons were car r i ed out at the t i me of crack measur i ng
and ar e r epor t ed f or t hr ee of the nine profi l es (Table HI). The peri ods t hat
el apsed between the l ast i rri gat i on or rai n and the measur ement s of c r a c ks
ar e gi ven in Tabl e I f or all profiles.
Measuri ng the dept hs of cr acks was car r i ed out using thin flexible
graduat ed met al pr obes with pointed smoot h noses. Deep cr acks were
measur ed with a 150 cm long probe of a di amet er of 3 ram, and shallow
cr acks wer e meas ur ed by a 50 cm long one with a 1.5 mm di amet er. The
probe was gently pushed down vert i cal l y into the cr ack until it st ops,
then it was moved few cent i met er s back and fort h along the cr ack and
TABLE I
C rops, last i rri gat i on dates, time of sampling, and period of fallowing of pr of i l es
under investigation
Area Profi l e Crop and Date of Date of Per i od of
no. conditions last sampling dr yi ng
before last i rri gat i on mont hs
irrigation or rain
or rai n
(GTO3 cotton Jan. 1968 May 1968 4
Central ~GTO4 fallow rai n Oct. 1967 May 1968 7
Gezira ~GRF fallow rai n Oct. 1967 June 1968 8
South /GTO5 wheat Feb. 1968 May 1968 3
Gezira (GTO6 wheat Feb. 1968 May 1968 3
Link (O4H nat ural forest rai n Oct. 1967 Apr. 1968 6
Canal ~O4MH rai n Oct. 1967 Apr. 1968 6
Gash fGHATO5 castor flood Aug. 1967 Feb. 1968 6
delta ~. GHBTO7 fallow rai n Aug. 1967 Feb. 1968 6
pushed agai n, so t hat t he nose changed i t s r e s t i ng poi nt i n t he bot t om of t he
cr ack. By doi ng t hi s , t he pr obe, i n mos t cas es , ent er ed a f ur t her dept h. By
r epeat i ng t hi s move me nt t he f i nal me a s ur a bl e dept h of t he cr ack wa s
r eached and r e c or de d. In cent r al Ge z i r a pr of i l es t he r e s ul t s wer e c he c ke d
and found i n a gr e e me nt wi t h vi s ual me a s ur e me nt s i n f r es hl y dug pi t s .
The wi dt hs of cr acks at t he soi l s ur f ace l evel wer e me a s ur e d by a
s peci al har d ma t e r i a l pl at e cut l i ke a bi l a t e r a l wi t h a bas e 12 cm l ong a nd a
head angl e of 22030 ' . The two s i des of t he bi l a t e r a l a r e a gr aduat ed t o r e a d
t he wi dt h of a c r a c k wher e t he two s i des of t he bi l a t e r a l wedge r e s t on t he
s i des of t he c r a c ks . Thi s model was us ed be c a us e t he upper mos t e dge s of
t he cr acks we r e us ua l l y di s t or t ed or sl i ght l y wi dened due to t he f a l l i ng of
s ur f ace mul ch i nt o t he cr acks.
To me a s ur e t he cr acks i n t he f i el d a s t a r t i ng poi nt A was c hos e n f r om
whi ch a t ape 20 m l ong was s t r et ched i n a convent i onal di r ect i on AB. The
s t r ai ght l i ne AB c r os s e d a numbe r of cr acks t hat wer e me a s ur e d f or de pt hs
and wi dt hs, and f or di s t ances f r om t he poi nt A. The wi dt hs r e c or de d we r e
t hose f al l i ng on t he l i ne AB. Anot her l i ne AC, l at er al to AB, was ma r ke d
by t he t ape, f or t he s a me di s t ance of 20 m, s t a r t i ng f r om poi nt A, a nd t he
s a me me a s ur e s we r e made of t he c r a c ks c r os s e d by AC. Al t hough t he
r e c or de d wi dt hs i n t hi s met hod a r e not t he c r os s - s e c t i ona l ones a nd de pe nd
upon t he angl es bet ween t he cr acks and t he l i nes AB and AC, yet t he r e s ul t s
r e pr e s e nt t he wi dt hs i n a ve r t i c a l c r os s - s e c t i on al ong t he l i nes AB and AC,
whi ch ar e us ed a s ba s e s f or cal cul at i ng t hei r vol ume.
The a ve r a ge s paci ng of c r a c ks al ong a s t r ai ght l i ne can be obt a i ne d
by di vi di ng t he t ot a l l engt h of me a s ur e me nt s by t he numbe r of c r a c ks .
The st eps t o cal cul at e t he l i ne a r s hr i nkage of t he soi l f r om t he s ur f a c e
down to t he bot t om of t he deepest cr ack, and t he f i nal comput at i on of t he
vol ume of c r a c ks , a r e based on t he a s s umpt i on t hat t he c r os s - s e c t i on of a
cr ack i s a bi l a t e r a l t he base of whi ch i s t he wi dt h of t he cr ack at t he
s ur f ace, and i t s hei ght i s t he depth.
232 Geoderma, 5 (1971)
These steps ar e as follows:
(a) The cr acks meas ur es ar e ar r anged in a descendi ng 0r der of
magnitude accordi ng to t hei r depths.
(b) Using a suitable scal e, they ar e drawn in additive or der on an
XYgr aph, bases on X, the deepest next to Y, andt he heights ar e rel at ed t o
Y axis.
(c) A final a c c u m u l a t i v e c u r v e is o b t a i n e d r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e linear
s h r i n k a g e of t h e s o i l i n relation to depth. T h e s c a l e o n X is c o r r e c t e d to
r e a d p e r c e n t a g e of l i n e a r s h r i n k a g e (Fig.2A).
Li near shr i nkage %

~ 30 2 a - ~ - --
F
Fig.2. A. Di agr am of produci ng l i near shri nkage curve. B. Di agram
of vol ume calculation of soil bulk and cr acks.
(d) The total vol ume of soil bulk without cr acks can be cal cul at ed f or
any unit square ar ea by usi ng the frust um of pyr ami d equation of volume:
v = 1/3 h (A 1 + A 2 + VA 1 A 2)
wher e u = volume of f r us t um of pyrami d; A1 = ar ea of upper base; A2 =
ar ea of bottom base; h = height.
(e) The total vol ume, ABCDEFG (Fig.2B), is cal cul at ed by dividing i t
into segment al l ayer s of known height: SO, S1, $2...
(f) Each l ayer has an upper base and a bot t om one, the side lengths
of which can be defined f r om the curve of l i near shri nkage, and by usi ng
the f r ust um of pyr ami d equation, its volume is calculated.
(g) The total bulk vol ume of the l ayer s is the total shrunken volume
of the soil without cr acks.
(h) By subt r act i ng t hi s volume f r om the initial geomet ri c volume,
abcdE~G, of the unit ar ea, f r om the sur f ace to the deepest crack, the t ot al
vol ume of cr acks is obtained.
Thr ee comment s must be made here concerni ng the resul t s obtained
by this method.
(1) It is r eal i zed t hat the l i near shri nkage is rel at ed, in this method,
to the di mensi ons of t he soi l at the t i me of measur ement and is expr essed
as per cent age of them.
(2) The ul t i mat e l ower end of any cr ack will be so narrow that it will
not allow the probe to t ouch its final end, thus, the fi gures obtained ar e of
l ess magni t ude than the act ual depths. The e r r or will be within 5%, which i s
the rat i o of the probe di amet er to the aver age width of the crack at the
sur f ace, i.e., 1.5:30 and 3:60 ram.
Geoderma, 5 (1971) 23J
(3) In ext r eme cas es of desi ccat i on of soi l , the cr os s - s ect i on of a
cr ack, especi al l y a deep one, will not be a bi l at er al . The si des of t he c r a c k
at the top l ayer s , in ext r eme dr yness, ar e near er to bei ng par al l el t o each
ot her than bei ng t he s i des of a bi l at er al .
Thus t hi s met hod would be al ways l i abl e to gi ve r es ul t s of t ot a l
me a s ur e s l es s t han the act ual val ues of the cr ack dept hs, and, c ons e que nt l y
sl i ght l y s ma l l e r vol ume. But we bel i eve t hat such r es ul t s ar e s a t i s f a c t or i l y
compar abl e to each ot her.
RESULTS AND DISC USSION
The cl ay cont ent s of the soi l s of the four a r e a s ar e not ver y wi de l y
di fferent . Clay cont ent s ar e 51-58% in cent r al Gezi r a, 60-64% in s out h
Gezi r a, 71-76% in Li nk Canal and 55--67% in Gash del t a' . Exc ha nge a bl e
sodi um per cent ages in al l l ayer s of Link Canal and Gash del t a pr of i l e s
a r e 3-6%. In the Ge z i r a pr of i l es ESP i s 4-8% in the sur f ace l ayer s i n-
cr eas i ng to 20-30% in the deeper l ayer s .
The di s cus s i on of r es ul t s i s pr es ent ed in four par t s : cr ack de pt hs ,
wi dt hs, spaci ng, and t ot al vol ume.
Crack depths
T h e data s u m m a r i z e d in Table II present an overall picture of the
differences in c r a c k depths a m o n g the nine sites, as well as the f r e q u e n c i e s
of o c c u r r e n c e percent of the depths.
T h e first point noted in the results, in spite of the different d r y i n g
periods w h i c h m a y c h a n g e the o r d e r if equalized, is the general a d v e r s e
correlation b e t w e e n the average crack depths and the a m o u n t of p r e c i p i -
tation. T h e d e s c e n d i n g order of magnitude in crack depths runs as: C a s h
delta (non-flooded) > central Gezira (non irrigated) > Link Canal ~ t h e
irrigated soils of Gezira. T h e descending order of rainfall or irrigation is:
about 1,500 m m in irrigated Gezira, 600 m m in Link Canal, 3 0 0 - 4 0 0 in
Gezira, and less than 300 m m in G a s h delta. T h e a m o u n t of w a t e r u s e d for
flooding profile G H A T O 5 G a s h delta is not known, but for reasons d i s c u s s e d
in a later part the a v e r a g e depth of this profile is equal to GI-IBTO7 w h i c h
received natural precipitation only.
T h e m a x i m u m depth reached in the irrigated Gezira area d o e s not
e x c e e d 65 c m , while in the non-irrigated one the c r a c k s r e a c h e d 1 3 5 c m .
It is also noticed that although the m a x i m u m depths in the G e z i r a
irrigated soils r a n g e b e t w e e n 45 a n d 65 c m , yet, there are differences
a m o n g s t the p e a k s of occurrence. Profile G T O 3 has 7 3 % of the total
n u m b e r of c r a c k s b e t w e e n 16 and 35 c m with an average of 26 c m . T h i s
shallow cracking is due to the fact that the site w a s occupied b y c o t t o n
plants and the stalks w e r e still standing furnishing a cover that r e d u c e s
evaporation. In the s a m e t i m e the absorption of m o i s t u r e b y the m a t u r e d
plants w a s naturally low. B o t h conditions check losses b y e v a p o r a t i o n a n d
consequently reducing the total shrinking a n d cracking.
1 Data obtained by Soil Survey Laboratory Staff, Wad Medani, Sudan.
234 Geoderma, 5 (1971)
TABLE lI
Frequenci es of occurrence percent, and average depths of cracks in the Gezira,
Link Canal and Gash delta soils
Range
(cm)
Gezira Link Cannal Gash delta
natural flooded every
irrigated natural condition 3 years
cond.
GTO3 GTO4 GTO5 GTO6 GRF O4H O4MH GHAT5 GHBT7
416 12 5 4 2 1 10 3 11 4
16--25 46 17 9 8 24 30 14 16 8
26-35 27 38 23 41 21 18 24 11 8
36-45 15 29 31 44 11 14 17 8 16
46-55 - i0 27 5 8 13 25 5 28
56-65 - 1 6 - 6 10 9 4 6
66-75 . . . . 9 5 5 15 3
76-85 . . . . 6 - 3 15 9
86--95 . . . . 7 -- -- 7 8
96--105 . . . . 1 - -- 3 4
106-115 . . . . 4 - -- 4 3
~>115 . . . . 2 -- -- 1 3
Profile
26 34 39 35 51 42 36 60 60
aver. cm
Pr of i l e GTO4, or i gi na l l y fal l owed af t er t he r ai nf al l of 1967, has 84%
of t he cr acks bet ween 16 and 45 cm wi t h an aver age of 34 cm. Pr of i l es
GTO5 and GTO6 have mor e t han 80% of t hei r cr acks bet ween 26 and 55 c r n,
wi t h a ve r a ge s of 39 and 35 cm, r es pect i vel y. It i s not i ced t hat al t hough t he
l ast two pr of i l es we r e unde r wheat , whi ch had been i r r i ga t e d onl y 3 mont hs
pr i or t o sampl i ng, yet t hey have about t he s a me pat t er n of cr acki ng as
GTO4 whi ch was f al l owed f or 7 mont hs. Thi s i s due to t he fact t hat whe a t
cr op, whi ch may be c ons i de r e d as a dense gr owi ng gr a s s , would r api dl y
cons ume t he moi s t ur e f r om t he top l ayer s . Af t er har ves t i ng wheat t he s oi l
was exposed t o t he a t mos phe r i c el ement s t hat enhance moi s t ur e l os s e s by
evapor at i on. These condi t i ons br i ng t he upper par t of t he pr of i l e ne a r e r t o
t he condi t i ons of t he l ong f al l owed pr of i l e GTO4 and t he non- i r r i ga t e d
condi t i ons of pr of i l e GRF. The moi s t ur e cont ent s det er mi ned i n pr of i l es
GTO4, GTO5 and GRF c onf i r m t hi s s t at ement ( Tabl e III).
The non- i r r i ga t e d pr of i l e GRF whi ch r e pr e s e nt s t he st at e of c r a c ki ng
under nat ur al condi t i ons , has a di f f er ent pat t er n. The peak of cr ack de pt hs
a ppe a r s at t he shal l ow r a nge of 16 to 25 cm, fol l owed by a gr adual
de c r e a s e t owar ds de e pe r l evel s unt i l 135 cm. As t he "dark gr ay hor i zon
a ppe a r s i n t hi s pr of i l e at 65- 120 c m, t hus, at l eas t 40% of t he cr acks t ap
i t and ver y few of t he m cut t hr ough i t s ent i r e t hi ckness. Thes e f i ndi ngs
a r e i n a gr e e me nt wi t h t he mor phol ogi cal f eat ur es obs er ved by t he Soi l
Sur vey Staff, wher e t he t op br own and t he dar k gr ay ma t e r i a l s mi x or f or m
wedge shaped i nt r us i ons of br own i nt o t he dar k gr ay ma t e r i a l of t he s ubs oi l .
The two pr of i l e s i t e s of t he Li nk Canal a r e a ar e sl i ght l y di f f er ent i n
t hat si t e O4H i s unde r gr a s s and scant y t r e e s , and si t e O4MH i s under
t r e e s and s cant y gr a s s .
Geoderma, 5 (1971) 235
TABLE III
Moisture contents at t i me of cracks measuring in certain profiles (GTO4,
GTO5 and GRF ) in Gezi ra
GTO4 GTO5 GRF 1
depth (cm) percent, depth (cm) percent, depth (cm) percent.
0-1 6.0 0-2 7.5 0--20 6.3
1-30 7.9 2-10 8.0 20-40 10.5
30--40 11.0 10--35 13.0 40-60 16.9
40-70 15.5 35-67 18.0 60-80 20.3
70-105 19.2 67-102 24.5 80-100 21.6
105-140 24.0 100-120 22.1
1 With kind permi ssi on of H. Farbrot her, Cotton Research Corporation,
Wad Medani, Sudan.
The effect of nat ur al veget at i on e xpr e s s e s i t sel f in the dept hs of
cr acks . Pr of i l e O4H, under gr a s s , has mor e t han 60% of i t s c r a c ks bet ween
16 and 45 cm dept h, whe r e a s pr of i l e O4MH, under t r ees , has 75% of t he
cr acks bet ween 26 and 55 cm. It i s evi dent t hat gr a s s devel ops s ha l l ow
cr acki ng and t r e e s depl et e soi l moi s t ur e to a gr e a t e r degr ee and f r om
deeper l ayer s .
The two s i t e s of t he Gash del t a di f f er in t hei r hi st or y. Si t e GHATO5
was fl ooded 6 mont hs pr i or to cr ack meas ur i ng and st al ks of c a s t or pl ant s
wer e st i l l st andi ng. Si t e GHBTO7 has not been fl ooded and r e c e i ve d onl y
t he r ai ns of 1967. Al t hough bot h pr of i l es have t he s ame aver age de pt h, yet ,
t he peak of oc c ur r e nc e appear s at the shal l ow dept h of 26 cm in GHATOS,
and appear s be t we e n t he dept hs 46-55 in GHATO7 t hat r ecei ved r a i nf a l l
only. The s ur f ace l a ye r of GHATO5 must have swel l ed to a ma xi mum under
fl oodi ng and when i t dr i ed it cr acked mor e than GHBTOT.
In concl usi on i t i s st at ed t hat the aver age dept h of c r a c ks i s i nve r s e l y
r el at ed to the a mount of pr eci pi t at i on or i r r i gat i on. The f r e que nc i e s of
occur r ence of c r a c k dept hs a r e affect ed to a cons i der abl e ext ent by t he
ki nd and densi t y of veget at i on and hi st or y of the soi l .
Crack wi dt hs
The dat a of c r a c k wi dt hs do not show gr eat di f f er ences among t he
di f f er ent pr of i l es a nd a r e a s as t hose dat a of cr ack dept hs. The r e a s on, of
cour s e, i s t hat t he pl ai n or s ur f ace shr i nki ng al mos t compl et el y s t ops , at
i t s maxi mum, when t he moi s t ur e r eaches the hygr os copi c r ange. Thi s i s
cont r ar y to t he de pt hs of c r a c ks which wi l l i nc r e a s e as long as de pl e t i on
of moi s t ur e c ont i nue s advanci ng f r om the s ur f ace downwards to t he deep
l a ye r s wi t h no l i mi t a t i on except the t i me f act or and t he dept n of we t l a ye r s .
The dat a of c r a c k wi dt hs i s pr es ent ed in Tabl e IV f or 9 pr of i l e s , as
f r equenci es of oc c ur r e nc e per cent and pr of i l e aver ages .
It i s not ed f r om t he dat a of the Gezi r a pr of i l es , t hat t he pe a ks of
occur r ence of c r a c k wi dt hs a r e mor e or l es s r el at ed to t he pe r i od of
fal l owi ng. The pe a k of 28% appear s in the non- i r r i ga t e d pr of i t e s i t e GRF
236 Geoderma, 5 (1971}
TABLE IV
Frequencies of occurrence percent and average crack widths of the soils of Gezira,
Link Canal and Gash delta areas
Crack w i d t h Gezira Link Canal Gash delta
(cm)
GTO3 GTO4 GTO5 GTO6 GRF O4H O4MH GHATO5 GHBTO7
( % ) ( % ) ( % ) ( % ) ( % ) ( % ) ( % ) ( % ) ( % )
<2.6 8 9 18 14 9 6 2 30 22
2.6--3.5 27 23 42 51 25 22 3 30 31
3.6-4.5 38 32 27 24 22 31 37 19 19
4.6-5.5 19 24 11 11 28 16 27 4 19
5.6--6.5 4 7 2 - 13 6 15 17 6
6.6--7.5 4 4 -- -- 2 13 7 -- -
7.5 -- 1 - -- 1 6 9 - 3
A v e r a g e
w i d t h o f
p r o f i l e ( c m )
3.9 4.2 3.4 3.4 4.2 5.1 4.8 3.4 3.7
at 4. 5-5. 5 cm width. Thi s si t e has the l ongest per i od under dr yi ng
condi t i ons. The peaks of 38 and 32% in si t es GTO3 and GTO4, that wer e
fal l owed f or 4 and 7 mont hs r es pect i vel y, appear at cr ack wi dt h 3. 6-4. 5 c m.
Si t es GTO5 and GTO6, t hat wer e fal l owed f or 3-4 mont hs have t he i r
peaks of 42 and 51% r e s pe c t i ve l y at 2. 6-3. 5 cm width.
The aver ages of cr ack wi dt hs in Gezi r a ar e al so r el at ed to t he pe r i ods
of fal l owi ng. The des cendi ng or der of length of fal l owi ng i s 8, 7, 4 and 3
mont hs and c or r e s ponds with the descendi ng or der of cr ack wi dt hs of 4. 2,
4.2, 3.9 and 3.4 cm r es pect i vel y.
The effect of veget at i on in the Link Canal a r e a i s domi nant . In s i t e
O4H, under gr a s s , t he aver age cr ack width i s 5.1 cm, whi l e in si t e O4MI-I,
under t r ees , the a ve r a ge i s 4.8 cm. The dat a i ndi cat e a gr e a t e r sur f ace
dr ynes s in the s i t e wi t h domi nant gr a s s veget at i on.
The me a s ur e s of t he Gash del t a i ndi cat e that the si t e t hat was f l oode d
7 mont hs pr i or to c r a c k meas ur i ng has an aver age width of 3.4 cm, whi l e
the si t e t hat was unde r r ai n only has an aver age of 3.7 cm. It i s al so not i c e d
t hat the f r equenci es of occur r ence in the f or me r si t e ar e hi gher than t he
l at t er at t he r anges of nar r ow cr acks . In compar i son with ot her s i t es unde r
nat ur al condi t i ons, t he Gash del t a pr of i l e has the nar r owes t aver age wi dt h
of cr acks owing t o i t s l ower cl ay content.
The effect of c l a y cont ent on the width of cr acks can be t r aced onl y
by compar i ng Gash de l t a with Link Canal s oi l s . The Gash del t a soi l s c ont a i n
55-67% cl ay and t he i r aver age width of cr acks i s 3. 4-3. 7 cm. The Link
Canal s oi l s have 71- 76% cl ay and t hei r aver age width of cr acks i s
4. 8-5. 1 cm.
In concl usi on i t i s cl ear t hat cr ack wi dt hs a r e affect ed by the l e ngt h
of dr yi ng per i od, by t he hi s t or y of the soi l , and by t he cl ay content. The
di f f er ences in t he c r a c k wi dt hs ar e r at her l i mi t ed to a nar r ow r ange of
var i abi l i t y.
Geoderma, 5 (1971) 237
Cr ack spaci~zg
Al t hough t he gener al shape of soi l bl ocks enci r cl ed by c r a c ks i s a
pol ygon, and a me a s ur e me nt of spaci ng al ong a s t r ai ght l i ne wi l l not
ne c e s s a r i l y me a s ur e t he a r bi t r a r y cent r e l i ne of the pol ygons, yet , t he dat a
hel p i n pr e s e nt i ng an appr oxi mat e s ur vey of t he aver age s paci ng be t we e n
cr acks on a l i ne a r bas i s .
The r e s ul t s ar e gi ven i n Tabl e V f or al l si t es. The dat a ar e pr e s e nt e d
as aver age s paci ng i n c e nt i me t e r s and as f r e que nc i e s of oc c ur r e nc e of
s paci ng i nt e r va l s .
TABLE V
Average spacings and frequencies of occurrence percent of spaces between cracks
in Gezira, Link Canal and Gash delta soils
Spaces Gezira Link Canal Gash delta
(cm)
GTO3 GTO4 GTO5 GTO6 GRF O4H O4MH GHATO5 GHBTO7
<21 20 14 22 5 39 19 31 17 6
21-40 40 41 29 30 53 26 35 49 19
41--60 32 19 20 35 7 21 18 22 41
6 1 - 8 0 4 8 2 0 1 9 1 3 1 8 8 1 9
8 1 - 1 0 0 4 6 7 i i - 3 6 4 9
> I 0 0 - 1 2 2 - - - 2 - 6
Average
spacing of
profile (cm)
39 52 45 54 28 51 39 39 62
The c ompa r i s on amongs t a r e a s and i ndi vi dual pr of i l es pr e s e nt s ome
poi nt s of i nt e r e s t .
The i r r i ga t e d soi l s of Gezi r a and Gash del t a (flooded) cr ack at
a ve r a ge s paci ng bet ween 39 and 54 cm, wi t h peaks of oc c ur r e nc e at
21- 60 cm spaci ng.
The Ge z i r a soi l under nat ur al ( non- i r r i ga t e d) condi t i ons s hows a
much na r r owe r s paci ng wi t h an aver age of 28 cm. Thi s i ndi cat es t ha t
e xt r e me des i ccat i on, i n t he Gezi r a, i nc r e a s e s br e a k- down and f i s s ur i ng of
t he bi gger s ur f a c e bl ocks.
The Li nk Canal s oi l s show di f f er ent aver ages . The soi l unde r domi na nt
gr a s s , O4H, c r a c ks at an aver age spaci ng of 51 cm, whi l e t hat unde r t r e e s ,
O4MH, has an a ve r a ge of 39 cm. Thi s i s r e nde r e d to t he me c ha ni c a l bi ndi ng
effect of t he s hal l ow root s ys t e ms of gr a s s whi ch act as i nf or c e me nt f or t he
s ur f ace bl ock t hus r educi ng t he f i s s ur i ng of t hei r s t r uct ur e.
It can be concl uded t hat t he spaci ng of c r a c ks i s i nf l uenced by t he
hi s t or y of t he s oi l and by t he nat ur e of t he veget at i ve cover .
Li ne ar s hr i nk age and t ot al vol ume of c r a c k s
The l i ne a r s hr i nkage cur ves of t he 9 s i t es under i nves t i gat i on a r e
pr e s e nt e d i n Fi g. 3, cal cul at ed as per cent of exi s t i ng di me ns i ons at t he t i me
of me a s ur i ng.
238 Geoderma, 5 (1971)
Linear s h r i n k a g e Y % )
0 0 . 5 I 0 15
40 ,,
~ + o 1 [ I ! ,
~ s o ~ G T 0 3 0 4 H
. G T 0 4 . . . . . . . 0 4 M H
I t z ~ . . . . G T 0 5
............... G T 0 6 . - , . - , _ ~ G H B T 0 7
~ G R F . . . . GHA TO5
Fig.3. Li near shri nkage of soi l s: GTO3 and GTO4 in cent ral Gezi ra,
GTO5 and GTO6 in sout h Gezi ra, GRF permanent fallow in cent ral Gezi r a,
O4H and O4MH in Li nk Canal, and GHATO5 and GHBTO7 in Gash delta.
It is noticed t hat although the surface shri nkage in the Gezi r a
i r r i gat ed soi l s is bet ween 7 and 10% , yet the shri nkage decr eases to l es s
than 0.7 cm at a dept h of 50 cm f r om the surface. The Gezi r a soil under
nat ural conditions, GRF, has the gr eat est value of shri nkage of 15% in t he
sur f ace, decr easi ng t o about 3% at 50 cm depth, and continues to decr eas e
mor e slowly to 0% at the depth 130 cm. Thus i r r i gat i on has reduced the
shri nkage to about hal f that under nat ural conditions.
The Link Canal soi l s have smal l er shri nkage than Gezi ra soi l s under
nat ural conditions in bot h surface and deep l ayer s. The shri nki ng in the
Link Canal soi l s ends at about 70 cm depth. This di fference is mainly due
to the di fference in rai nfal l and part l y to that of the dryi ng peri od, as Li nk
Canal ar ea r ecei ves about 600 mm against about 300 mm in Gezi ra, whi l e
the dryi ng peri ods a r e 6 and 8 months respect i vel y.
The Gash del t a soi l s have a different pat t ern due to t hei r l ower cl ay
cont ent s and hi gher permeabi l i t y. The surface shri nkage is r at her smal l ,
between 5 and 9%, but the shrinking decr eases at a much sl ower rat e t han
all ot her profi l es to r each the deepest level of all, between 130 and 150 c m.
The deep cr acki ng of t he soi l s of Gash delta is r ender ed to t hei r c ompa r a -
t i vel y hi gher per meabi l i t y which helps to drai n t hem mor e efficiently t han
the ot her ar eas, t hus reduci ng the moi st ure cont ent s in the deep l ayer s and
short eni ng the t i me of drying.
The di f f er ences observed in l i near shri nkage ar e emphasi zed in t he
total vol ume of cr acks .
The data of t ot al crack vol umes ar e pr esent ed in Table VI. The
r esul t s ar e pr esent ed so that cr ack vol umes ar e gi ven for each 10 cm
l ayer of the profi l e down to the deepest crack. The r esul t s ar e cal cul at ed
as cubic met r es per hect ar e, mi l l i met r es of wat er, and cubic met er s of
wat er per feddan*.
The total vol ume of cr acks in the i r r i gat ed ar ea of the Gezi ra r anges
between 222 m3/ ha and 313 m3/ ha, equivalent to 22.2 mm and 31.3 mm of
wat er respect i vel y. In the site GRF of non- i r r i gat ed soil, the cr acks
vol ume r eaches 867 m3/ ha, equivalent to 86.7 mm of wat er, i. e. , about 3--4
t i mes the vol ume of t he i r r i gat ed soils.
*Feddan = 4,200 m 2.
T AB L E VI
Vo l u me s o f c r a c k s i n Ge z i r a , L i n k C a n a l , a n d Ga s h d e l t a s o i l s i n me t r e c u b e p e r
h e c t a r e p e r 1 0 c m l a y e r
L a y e r s Ge z i r a L i n k C a n a l Ga s h De l t a
(cm)
GT O3 GT O4 GT O5 GT O6 GR F O4 H O4 MH GHAT O5 GHB T O7
0 - 1 0 1 5 7 1 4 0 1 3 0 1 0 2 2 4 7 1 8 4 1 7 2 1 5 9
1 0 - 2 0 8 5 9 0 9 4 7 0 1 8 7 1 2 2 1 2 5 1 2 5
2 0 - 3 0 3 3 4 8 5 4 3 6 1 3 1 7 4 82 9 2
3 0 - 4 0 1 0 1 9 2 5 12 9 2 4 0 4 6 7 1
4 0 - - 5 0 2 6 8 2 6 9 2 0 2 3 5 6
5 0 - - 6 0 - 2 2 - 5 2 8 9 4 2
6 0 - 7 0 . . . . 3 8 2 4 2 9
7 0 - 8 0 . . . . 2 4 - 1 1 8
8 0 - 9 0 . . . . 1 4 - - 7
9 0 - 1 0 0 . . . . 8 - - - 4
1 0 0 - 1 1 0 . . . . 5 - - 3
1 1 0 - 1 2 0 . . . . . . . 2
1 2 0 - 1 3 0 . . . . . . . 1
T o t a l
m3 / h a 2 8 7 3 0 5 3 1 3 2 2 2 8 6 7 4 5 0 4 6 2 6 0 9
m3 / f e d d a n 1 2 1 1 2 8 1 3 1 9 3 3 6 4 1 8 9 1 9 4 2 5 6
2 8 . 7 3 0 . 5 3 1 . 3 2 2 . 2 8 6 . 7 4 5 , 0 4 6 . 2 6 0 . 9
1 0 5
8 3
6 4
4 7
3 2
2 2
1 5
1 0
7
4
2
1
3 9 2
1 6 5
3 9 . 2
C o n c e r n i n g the question of w a t e r penetration in the soil profile, it
will b e noticed that only b e t w e e n 1.2 m m a n d 3.5 m m of water do p e n e t r a t e
the soil profile to the depths b e l o w 30 c m f r o m the surface in the irrigated
soils of Gezira. T h e site under natural conditions is m u c h better this w a y ,
as 30 m m of w a t e r penetrate b e l o w 30 c m . Thus, in this respect, the
beneficial effect of fallowing the land for one y e a r in the c o m m o n rotation
applied in Gezira, b e c o m e s questionable f r o m the point of view of w a t e r
penetration in the profile.
T h e two L i n k Canal profiles, O 4 H a n d O 4 M H , have almost the s a m e
v o l u m e of cracks, 450 a n d 462 m 3 / h a , equivalent to 45.0 and 46.2 r n m of
water respectively. T h o u g h the total v o l u m e is about the s a m e in b o t h
sites , yet, it should b e noticed that in O 4 H , u n d e r grass, the v o l u m e of
cracks b e l o w 30 c m depth is only 70 m 3 / h a , while in O 4 M H , u n d e r trees,
the v o l u m e b e l o w the s a m e depth is 83 m 3/ha. This indicates m o r e
shrinking in the d e e p layer u n d e r trees than u n d e r grass.
T h e two G a s h delta sites have appreciably different v o l u m e a of cracks,
the one previously flooded a n d cultivated with castor crop, G H A T O S , has
609 m 3 / h a , and the other one that received rain only, G I I B T O 7 , h a s 392
rn3/ha..This difference is d u e to two factors: (a) the greater depletion of
m o i s t u r e f r o m t h e surface b y the cRstor plants; and (b) the flooding for 3
w e e k s of G H A T O 5 allowed the soil to swell m o r e freely than the scanty
rain received b y G I I B T O 7 , and consequently the shrinking of the f o r m e r
will b e greater than the latter. T h e v o l u m e of cracks in the top 30 c m in
the site under c a s t o r plants is 376 m 3 / h a ' against 2 5 5 m 3 / h a in the site
with rain only.
2 4 0 Ge o d e r ma , 5 ( 1 9 7 1 }
In concl us i on i t i s cons i der ed t hat i r r i ga t i on r e duc e s t he vol ume of
c r a c ks i n t he Gezi r a t o one t hi r d or one f or t h of t he vol ume under na t ur a l
condi t i ons. The vol ume of c r a c ks i n Li nk Canal a r e a i s not affect ed by t he
ki nd of veget at i on al t hough gr a s s i nc r e a s e s t hei r vol ume i n t he s ur f ace
l a ye r s , and t r e e s i nc r e a s e s i t at t he deep l ayer s . The s oi l s of Gash del t a
cr ack to gr e a t e r dept hs t han i n al l ot her a r e a s , but t he c r a c ks ar e na r r ow.
The t ot al vol ume of c r a c ks i n t he upper l a ye r s i s much affect ed by soi l
hi s t or y and veget at i on.
REFERENCES
El Shal, M.J., 1954. Wat er Requirements of Main Crops in Menoufia District. Thes i s ,
Facul t y of Engi neeri ng, Cairo University, Cairo, U.A.R., 62 pp.
Finck, A. and Ochtman, L.H.J., 1961. Probl ems of soil evaluation in the Sudan. J. Soil
Sci., 12, 87-95.
Greene, H., 1928. Soil profi l e in the east ern Gezira. J. Agr. Sci., 18: 518-530.
Soil Survey Staff, 1968. Report s on the Gezira soils. Division of Soil Survey, Mi ni st r y
of Agriculture, Wad Medani, Sudan.
Soil Survey Staff, 1967. Soil Classification, a Comprehensive System, Supplement t o
7th Approximation. 1967. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 207 pp.
Zein el Abedine, A., Robinson,. G.H. and Commi ssari s, A., 1971. Approximate
age of the Vert i sol s of Gezira, central Clay Plain, Sudan. Soil Sci., in pr ess.
Geoderma, 5 (1971) 241