Geoderma, 47 (1990) 301-325

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam

301

Morphological characterization of soil crust

development stages on an experimental field
L.-M. Bressona and J. Boiffinb
aLaboratoire de Science des Sols et Hydrologic, LN.A.P.-G., 78850 Thiverval Grignon, France
blNRA, Station d'Agronomie de Laon-P~ronne, B.P. 101, rue F. Christ, 02004 Laon-Cedex, France
(Received April 5, 1989; accepted after revision November 23, 1989)

ABSTRACT
Bresson, L.-M. and Boiffin, J., 1990. Morphological characterization of soil crust development stages
on an experimental field. Geoderma, 47: 301-325.
Crust development on a loamy Aquic Hapludalf near Paris was studied in an experimental field to
which various fertilizers and amendments had been applied. These treatments over a period of 57
years had induced a range of organic matter contents and exchangeable cation percentages. The macroscopic aspects of the soil surface was closely monitored during crusting, and microscopic characterization was carried out at every main crust development stage. Crusting followed a general pattern:
( l ) sealing of the soil surface by a structural crust; (2) development o f a depositional crust. Even in
the sodic plot where the depositional crust appeared especially early, the structural crust developed
first. The change from the first stage to the second one mainly depended on a decrease in infiltrahility
due to the structural crust properties that induced micro-runoff and puddling under rainfall. Structural crust development seemed to involve a coalescing process due to raindrop impact when moistening decreased soil cohesion. This process developed much faster in the sodic than in the limed plot.
Morphology of the depositional crust, in particular microbedding and sorting, could be related to the
hydrodynamic behaviour of the soil surface (abundance, size and duration of puddles).

INTRODUCTION

Soil crust formation under rainfall frequently induces failure of seedlings

to emerge on unstable loamy soils. Moreover, crusting increases runoff and
erosion hazards. Preventing these problems requires an understanding arid
prediction of how soil degradation develops in the field. Crusting is governed
by a complex sequence of soil particle detachment and transport processes at
the soil surface (Farres, 1978; Boiffin, 1984).
These elementary processes, and their responses to soil and/or rainfall
characteristics have usually been studied in the laboratory. First, particle detachment is achieved by various mechanisms: (1) disaggregation by entrapped air compression when moistening; (2) disaggregation by raindrop
impact and/or flow turbulence; ( 3 ) microcracking by shrinking and swelling;
(4) physico-chemical dispersion. These mechanisms occur with various in0016-7061/90/$03.50

1990 - - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

302

L.-M. BRESSON AND J. BOIFF1N

tensities depending on the soil composition and moisture status. As a result,

the detached particle size distribution greatly varies (Le Bissonnais, 1988),
which may induce significant differences in crust morphology and properties.
Second, crusting also depends on the particle transport and sedimentation
modes (Mticher and De Ploey, 1977; Chen et al., 1980; M/icher et al., 1981 ),
which determine two main morphological types, "structural" crust and "depositional" crust (Chen et al., 1980). Third, compaction from raindrop impact may play a great part in soil crusting: McIntyre ( 1958 ) attributed "skin
seal" formation under simulated rainfall to this process.
Field studies also are necessary, because the above-mentioned elementary
processes greatly depend on specific conditions which are not easily reproduced in the laboratory: ( 1 ) duration and intensity of rainfall events are erratic and often quite small; (2) the soil surface moisture is variable; (3) a
suction gradient often occurs in the top few centimetres; (4) surface microrelief is more or less marked; and (5) water flow and particle movement can
occur over several metres. As a result, the crusts described in situ show a great
spatial and chronological variability in morphology and behaviour, which is
especially clear in subtropical and arid environments (Valentin, 1981; Kooistra and Siderius, 1986; Valentin, 1986; Escadafal and Fedoroff, 1987).
To understand and predict soil crust development in the field it is necessary
to determine whether this phenomenon follows a unique general pattern in
spite of its variability. Crust development on two loamy soils ( 10% and 20%
clay) under natural rainfall and with various initial structural states and preceding weather conditions was studied in a previous work (Boiffin, 1984,
1986; Boiffin and Bresson, 1987). Two successive stages were consistently
observed irrespective of the conditions: ( 1 ) sealing of the soil surface by a
structural crust; (2) development of a depositional crust. They were related
to differentiations in the soil hydrodynamic regime induced by changes in
infiltrability (Boiffin and Monnier, 1986 ).
The aim of the following study was ( 1 ) to test for the validity of this crusting pattern, which is required for reliable comparison between crusts differing
in soil composition, and (2) to gain a better understanding of the genesis of
crust microhorizons. For this purpose, a wider range of soil properties, such
as organic matter content and exchangeable cation percentages, was needed.
Such a composition range was found in a long-term experimental field which
was established 57 years ago to show the effects of various fertilizers on soil
physical properties. Crusts were described at all development stages, using the
macroscopic and microscopic observation methods previously reported
(Boiffin, 1984; Boiffin and Bresson, 1987), for monitoring the crusting process. The relationships between macroscopic aspect, microstructure and hydrodynamic behaviour of the soil surface were then studied.

303

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Experimental site
This study was carried out in the "42 plots" long-term experimental field
( 15 20 m) at INRA in Versailles ( 15 km W from Paris), which was set up
in 1928 to test the effect of various fertilizers on the composition and properties of a loamy Aquic Hapludalf (Burgevin and H6nin, 1939).
We studied 5 of the 17 experimental treatments. "Reference", without any
fertilizer; "Sodic"; 15 g m -2 per year o f N a (NaNO3); "Limed": 100 g m -2
per year of CaO (limestone); "Farmyard manure"; 10 kg m -2 per year of
farmyard manure; "Ammoniated"; 15 g m -2 per year of N (NHaC1). The
fertilizers were applied twice a year. The main analytical data for the Ap horizons (0-25 cm) are given in Table I. After 57 years of experimentation,
these plots differed in the constituents directly brought by the fertilizers and
also, to a lesser extent, in texture.
Plots, 2 2 . 5 m, were dug each year at fertilization, and kept free of any
vegetation. On March 15th, 1985, digging was followed by raking to obtain a
TABLE 1

Main analytical data for the Ap horizons of the experimental plots

Ap (0-25 cm)

Plots

characteristics
reference

limed

farmyard
manure

sodic

ammoniated

02 ~m
2- 20#m
20- 50#
50- 200#m
200-2000#m

18
22
37
20
3

18
22
37
20
3

19
22
36
20
3

15
22
38
22
3

17
22
38
20
3

Organic carbon (%o)

6.5
5.5
10.4

7.3
8.2
9.7

29.4
6.4
15.0

7.1
5.7
8.1

8.6
3.7
8.9

4.2
0.4
0.2
0

14.8
0.2
0.2
0

5.8
1
2.6
0.2

3.4
0.3
0.2
1.1

0.2
0
0.1
0

Particlesize (%):

pH (H20)
CEC Metson
(10-2mmolg -I)

Exchangeable cations
(10 2 mmol g - l ) :
Ca
Mg
K

Na

304

L.-M. BRESSON AND J. BOIFFIN

structure and a microrelief similar to those of a quite coarse seedbed. Then

plots were exposed to natural rainfall.

Observation procedures
Rainfall recording and observation
Rainfall was measured using a raingauge recorder whose resolution was 0.1
mm rainfall and 60 s time. Two periods could be distinguished (Fig. 1 ); from
March 15th to April 15th rainfall was almost uninterrupted so that the soil
surface remained moist, and from April 15th to June 1st the rainy sequences
were shorter and interrupted by short periods of soil surface desiccation. The
hydrodynamic behaviour of the soil surface under rainfall, especially the
abundance, size and duration of puddles, was observed as often as possible.

Macroscopic observations
Immediately after digging and raking, two rectangular microplots (50 35
cm) were delimited in each plot studied, where photographs and visual observations were repeatedly taken as crusting developed. Observations were
made after every 5 to I0 m m of rainfall. The visual monitoring was based on
the morphological features which are typical of the soil surface structural evolution (Boiffin, 1984): (1) area of "continuous patches" where inter-clod

Rain fa II
(turn)

I
J
r

LEGEND.

Rainfall thtenstty

Ii

,oi

Less than 1,4103 mm s i

~ J

14 i o 2 8 lO-Smms 1

More than 2,81O.S mrn s i

/vIA
Fig. 1. Rainfall amount and intensity.

rIME

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

305

TABLE II
Typical morphological features of the two main surface macroscopic facies
Morphological features

Continuous patches area (%)

Size of the finest clods which are
still unincorporated to crust
(mm)
Disjunction evidence:
development
distribution
Alteration of clods ( > 1 cm ):
edges shape
contact angles with underlying
surface

Surface macroscopic facies

F1

F2

0 to 60

>50

0.1 to 15

10 to 50

No or very w.
Diffuse

Moderate to strong
Mainly in microdepressions

Sharp

Blunted

Acute

Obtuse

interstices disappeared and thus induced a continuous surface; (2) size of the
finest clods which are still unincorporated to crust; ( 3 ) evidence of disjunction between plasma and skeleton grains; and (4) alteration of clod edges and
contact angles between clods and underlying surface. The combination of these
specific features defines two main "surface macroscopic facies", named F1
and F2, which are typical of the two crust development stages (Table II).

Microscopic observations
25 samples were taken from the reference (7), farmyard manure ( 5 ), limed
(4) and sodic ( 7 ) plots at each main crusting stage and in typical microsites.
Two additional samples were taken from the depositional crust of the ammoniated plot. The sampling dates and microsites were chosen in such a way
as to provide a range of surface macroscopic facies as large as possible. Airdried samples were impregnated with a polyester resin in which a blue fluorescent lighted dye (UV-Tex) was incorporated, and 5 X 8 cm thin sections
were prepared according to the m e t h o d described by Guillor6 (1983). The
pedic, matrix, textural and plasmic organizations were described according
to Bresson's scheme (1987) and using the terminology of Bullock et al.
( 1985 ). Photograms of thin sections were made according to the method described by Guillor6 ( 1987 ).
RESULTS

Macroscopic observations
Surface macroscopicfacies
The soil surface evolution was found to be gradual in all the plots. The
succession of the two main facies F1 and F2 was always observed, even in the

306

L.-M. BRESSON A N D J. B O I F F I N

Photos 1 to 6. Surface macroscopic facies (35 50 cm microplots, frame width 60 cm). 1. Reference plot: initial fragmentary facies F0.2. Reference plot: F1 facies (structural crust), with
continuous patches (arrow). 3. Reference plot: F2 facies (depositional crust), with soil loss
areas (micromounds, in dark colour, m) and depositional areas (in light colour, d). 4. Farmyard manure plot: F2 facies (depositional crust ). 5. Sodic plot: F 1 facies (structural crust ), with
continuous patches (arrow). 6. Sodic plot: F2 facies (depositional crust ), with flattened surface
and large and longlasting puddles ( in dark colour, p).
p l o t s w h e r e c r u s t i n g w a s r a p i d ( P h o t o s 1 - 6 ) . First, c o n t i n u o u s p a t c h e s a p p e a r e d in t h e a r e a s w i t h t h e f i n e s t clods, a n d e x p a n d e d b y i n c o r p o r a t i n g m o r e
and more coarse clods (Photos 2 and 5). The disjunction features between

MORPHOLOGICALCHARACTERIZATIONOF SOIL CRUSTDEVELOPMENTSTAGES

307

granomass (skeleton) and micromass (plasma), i.e. bare silt and sand grains,
remained scarce and diffuse, and no spatial segregation of basic particles could
be observed. Second, clear features of the basic particle disjunction and segregation developed, and the surface continuity markedly increased. Soil loss
areas (micromounds) and depositional areas (microdepressions where puddles formed during rainfall) could be distinguished at a decimetric scale
(Photos 3, 4 and 6 ).
Time and rapidity of the change from the first facies to the second varied
with the plots (Fig. 2). The sodic plot changed early and suddenly, and the
reference and ammoniated plots slightly later and gradually. The farmyard
manure and limed plots, where the F2 facies was confined to some places and
was not well developed, changed much later and slower.

Puddling
During rainfall, puddles appeared more or less early depending on the plots.
In the sodic plot, small (centimetre-size) puddles formed on March 22nd and
lasted only some minutes after rainfall had stopped. Afterwards, they formed
under most, even light (=2.8.10 - 4 m m s -~), rainfalls. Heavier rainfalls
(March 26th, April 5th, 7th and 11 th ) induced a several-day flooding of half
the plot (Photo 6). In the reference and ammoniated plots, first puddles occurred on March 25th, then even under very light rainfalls, but never lasted
longer than some ten minutes after rainfall had stopped. In contrast, within
the farmyard manure and limed plots, small puddles ( < 2 cm wide) could
only be observed on April 7th under a 2.8.10 - 3 m m s-l rainfall, and disapCumulative rainfall amount from the last tillage operation
0

20

~0

50

80

tOO

PLOT

Sodic

!Z:.!;.?..'.-:.:.?.

::':':"::'~"'i
.

Farmyard
manure

};

Rtference

1~0 turn.._

..;/.:i;~.!~....~.X~;:.~.::::.~.~.~?~ii~.F..!;i.~:~.~.;..!::~.::...~..;~Z.~!..~.-~;~.~.-.i
:::.:':::':::::!i'/.:-::t':'::'~:T.::::.:':':'.:F:::-:!~: Z ': '.":'.'::.: :" i :' "."..': -._:'-_':'.': :-: :" :.,

LEGEND
FI

transitional
(FI_F2) i

i ["2

Fig. 2. Surface macroscopic facies in the various plots according to the cumulative rainfall
amount.

308

L.-M. BRESSON A N D J. B O I F F I N

peared before it ended. Afterwards, no puddling was observed for low rainfall
intensities ( I < 1.4.10 -3 m m s -~ ).

Identification and characterization of typical microhorizons

The microhorizons observed in the reference plot are described in Table
III, and the main difference between the treated plots are given in Tables IVVII.
The three typical microhorizons m l, m2 and m3 previously defined by
Boiffin and Bresson (1987) could be identified (Photos 7-10). The m3 and
m2 microhorizons mainly differed from the initial one ( m l ) at the pedic
organization level by a continuous, instead of a fragmentary, microstructure.
At the matrix level, the m3 was very compact, while the m2 and the m 1 were
rather porous. At the textural level, the m3 was characterized by the disjunction between micromass (plasma) and granomass (skeleton), which was
generally expressed by alternate submillimetric microbeds more or less contrasted in texture and uncomformable with the underlying microhorizon.
A fourth typical microhorizon, named ml-2, allowed a more accurate description of the microstructural evolution during crust development. It showed
intermediate micromorphological characteristics (Table III); most macropores were typical packing voids, with a polyconcave shape (as in m l ), but
in thin sections the solid phase was 2D (two-dimensional) continuous (as in
m2). Nevertheless, the 3D void interconnection was indicated by both the
small relative spacing of the packing voids and their rather elongated shape
(Photo 7 ).

Chronosequences of microprofiles
Crust development could be described in each plot as a chronosequence of
microprofiles consisting of superposed typical microhorizons: m 1, m 2 / m 12 / m l and m 3 / m 2 / m l - 2 / m l (Fig. 3).

Typical microprofiles of the three macroscopicfacies

Microhorizon arrangement was closely related to the soil surface macroscopic facies, regardless of the plot, as reported for other soils by Boiffin and
Bresson (1987). In the initial fragmentary facies, F0, only the m l microhorizon was present. The soil surface was microscopically rough. The FI facies
was associated with m 2 / m l - 2 / m l microprofiles which occurred when and
where patches of structural crust began to develop (Photo 7 ). The m2 microhorizon was well developed only within the continuous patches, and very thin
( < 1 m m ) and discontinuous in the remaining parts of the crust. In the F2
facies, the depositional crust appeared within microdepressions and was
characterized by m 3 / m 2 / m 1-2/m 1 microprofiles (Photo 8). However, the

309

M O R P H O L O G I C A L C H A R A C T E R I Z A T I O N OF SOIL C R U S T DEVELOPMENT STAGES

0
~

.e~

o
o

.=

_~=,

~=

Co

o
.o=

~ ~,x.~:~

.-

"8

uEi

~o

~"~'~

~-~

.~

~
o

-. Uu . . ~

~I~. ~~

~,

~, - ~.~

.~
o
~

", ~~

=t
I

II

310

L.-M. BRESSON A N D J. B O I F F I N

TABLE IV

Comparison of the initial states (m 1 microhorizon) between the plots

Organization Differentiation criteria
level

Plots
reference

limed

farmyard

sodic

manure

Abundance of aggregates > 10

mm (%)
Interaggregate porosity (%)

20
35

20
40

30
50

70
30

Matrix

Matrix porosity (%)

25

25

10

25

Textural

Micromass ( < 5 / t m ) (%)

Fine organic matter
Fine calcium carbonate
Coarse organic matter
Coarse calcium carbonate
Textural distribution

20

20

25

15

Enau-

More *l

More .1

More .1

Pedic

(c/frdp)

Plasmic

chitonic

chitonic

Textural porosity (%)

20

Birefringence fabric

Moderately
differentiated

20

enaulic
25

enaulic
10

Weakly differentiated

1Referring to the reference plot.

m3 microhorizon could be observed in the F1 facies in some small scattered

spots (Photo 7).
The m 1-2 microhorizon always appeared at the same degradation stage as
the m2, i.e. when the continuous patches began to develop. The m 1-2 was
always located just below the m2.
The boundaries between m l and m l - 2 and between m 1-2 and m2 were
diffuse. Conversely, the boundaries between m2 and m3 were very sharp:
sorting and bedding in the m3, even when weakly expressed, induced a visible
differentiation from the m2 (Photo 8 ).

Microprofile differentiation between plots

The various typical microhorizons developed more or less early depending
on the plot. The resulting between-plot differentiation was increased by concomitant differences in thickening rate of the microhorizons (Fig. 3 ).
The m 1-2 was rapidly quite thick ( 10-20 m m ) in the reference and sodic
plots, whereas it remained thinner ( 5 - 1 0 mm ) in the farmyard manure plot
and scarcely visible in the limed plot. In all the plots, however, the m 1-2 microhorizon thickness increased as the structural degradation developed. The
m2 microhorizon was initially very thin ( < 1 m m ) and gradually thickened

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

311

Photo 7. Structural crust in the reference plot (vertical section, plain light): m 1-2 numerous,
polyconcave and probably 3D-continuous voids; m2 very thin and dense upper layer, and porous lower layer with convexo-concave to vesicular voids; arrow is small spot of early m3 (pocketlike distribution, poor sorting and microbedding, presence of microaggregates).
d u r i n g the F 1 facies, especially w i t h i n the c o n t i n u o u s p a t c h e s w h e r e it r e a c h e d
its m a x i m u m t h i c k n e s s at t h e initial stage o f the F2 facies. O u t s i d e these
p a t c h e s , t h e m 2 d e v e l o p e d s l o w e r b u t for a l o n g e r t i m e so t h a t in the F2 facies

312

L.-M. BRESSON AND J. BOIFFIN

Photo 8. Depositional crust in the reference plot (vertical section, plain light): ml-2 very thick,
with convex and smooth matrix voids; m2 very dense and quite thick especially in the micromounds; matrix voids are less abundant, smaller and more smooth than in the structural crust;
m3 strongly microbedded, with a microdepression facies (the clayey microbeds are convergent
from the middle to the sides of the puddle).
it w a s slightly t h i c k e r in m i c r o m o u n d s t h a n in m i c r o d e p r e s s i o n s . T h e m 2 w a s
q u i t e t h i c k ( 2 - 6 m m ) in t h e r e f e r e n c e plot, v e r y t h i n ( 0 . 5 - 2 m m ) in the
l i m e d ( P h o t o 9 ) a n d f a r m y a r d m a n u r e plots, a n d v e r y t h i c k ( 4 - 1 2 mm) in

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

313

Photo 9. Depositional crust in the limed plot (vertical section, plain light): ml undisturbed:
m 1-2 very thin, discontinuous; m2 very thin; m3 poorly sorted and bedded, presence of microaggregates,pocket-likedistribution.
the sodic plot (Photo 10). The m3 microhorizon was quite thick (up to 5
m m ) in the reference plot, and thinner (up to 3 m m ) in the limed (Photo 9)
and farmyard manure plots. It was very thick (up to 8 m m ) in the sodic plot
(Photo 10), and reached up to 20 m m in thickness in the ammoniated plot.

Time-dependent variations of the typical microhorizons.

Perceivable changes in some microscopic characteristics of the typical microhorizons occurred during crust development. The main modifications observed in each typical microhorizon were the following in the reference plot.
In the m 1-2 microhorizon, the macropores remained as packing voids, but
their abundance slightly decreased from the F1 facies (15%) to the F2 facies
(10%). The size of the voids was constant, but their shape obviously changed
in the continuous patches of the F1 facies: elongation a n d / o r tortuosity decreased and polyconcavity (Photo 11 ) was altered by angle rounding (convexo-concavity) while microscopical smoothness increased (Photo 12 ).
Initially, the m2 was not porous at the matrix level, but during the first
crusting stage (F1 facies), vesicles could be observed within the thickened
m2 below a thin ( < 1 m m ) aporous layer. The matrix porosity did not change
greatly during the second crusting stage (F2 facies): vesicles were less abundant and slightly smaller (50-250 ~tm instead of 100-500 ~tm), independently of the possible development of a m3 microhorizon.

314

L.-M. BRESSON A N D J, B O I F F I N

Photo 10. Depositional crust in the sodic plot (vertical section, plain light): m2 very thick; m3
well sorted and bedded, with a deltaic facies (the clayey microbeds are divergent from the middle to the sides of the puddle.
The m3 features which developed in small pocket-like holes at the end of
the Fl facies (Photo 7) were different from the typical m3 of the F2 facies
(Photo 8 )" the bedding was less distinct and the sorting was poorer in that
some microaggregates were often mixed with poorly sorted basic components.

Interplot differences of typical microhorizons

Depending on the plot, the microscopic characteristics of the initial microhorizon m 1 differed at all organization levels. The main differences can be
seen in Table IV. Moreover, partial fabrics as in m2 (presence of vesicles) or
as in m3 (bedding and sorting) could be observed, especially in the sodic
plot. They did not show any preferential orientation and distribution.
The m 1-2 microhorizon always had the same plasmic, textural and matrix
organizations as the underlying m 1, and so differed with plots. On the other
hand, the m 1-2 pedic organization markedly differed from that o f the m l, but
remained quite different between plots (Table V). The obvious evolution of
voids during the first crusting stage (F1 facies), which was previously described in the reference plot, could also be observed in the sodic plot. In contrast, the m 1-2 matrix voids did not change within the limed plot (Photo 9 ).
The m2 microhorizon was apedic in all the plots. At the matrix level, only

315

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

REFERENCE

FARMYARD MANURE

ilii
,) l c~)

.,~.=.~

~,Pmm

Z,.8 59

11.4

c32 l (,)
23.5

112.3

mmiiil

LIMED
FACI~

FO

FI

..~,o,.,,

(3, I

z%Pmrr Z,.8

5.9

AMMONIATED

SODIC

rL F2

FO

FI

23.6

FI_ F2

")

1123

F2

?: jl.

.10

~'

,o

i DATE

~3.15 03.15

~3.23 OZ.l~

.,CROS,TE

z~-,Pmm ,~.8 5.9

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

outside continuous patches

within continuous patches
micromound
microdepression

23.5

oArE 0~75 =.75

(Z)

MIC{;~JD~,TE

112.3

~Pr, m ~8 $9

03.76 ~3.23 0 ~ 6

f~)

[(2J

7r.z

(3){f~l
236

rr2.3

LEGEND

Fig. 3. Typical microprofiles in the various plots according to the surface macroscopic facies
and the cumulative rainfall amount.
slight interplot differences related to void shape and size could be observed
(Table VI). The m2 had the same plasmic and textural organizations as the
underlying m 1-2 and m 1 ones, and therefore slightly differed from one plot
to the other.
The m3 microhorizon was apedic (pedic level ) and aporous (matrix level )
in all the plots. Its textural and plasmic organisations markedly differed between plots especially with regard to the relative distribution of the microbeds, their thickness and textural porosity, and the sorting and orientation
o f their basic components (Table VII), and Photos 14, 15 and 16 ).

316

L.-M. BRESSON A N D J. B O I F F I N

-12

13

1 mm

1 mm

Photos 11 to 13. Evolution of the matrix voids

according to crust development in the reference plot (vertical section, circular polarized
light, negative). 11. Polyconcave packing void,
rough ( m l ) . 12. Convexo-concave matrix
void, characterized by a development of convexities and a smoothness increase ( m l - 2 ) .
13. Increase in smoothness and convexity of
matrix voids, from polyconcave packing voids
(lower part of the m l - 2 ) to typical vesicles
(upper part of the m2 ).

317

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

TABLE V
C o m p a r i s o n of the m 1-2 pedic organizations between the plots

Differentiation criteria

Plots
reference

limed

farmyard

sodic

ammoniated

2 to 5
Weak
Weak

0.2 to 0.5 *~
Strong *~
Strong*

manure
Void size ( m m )

Microscopic roughness
Polyconcavity distinctness

1 to 5
Moderate
Moderate

0.5 to 2
Strong
Strong

1 to 5
Moderate
Moderate

*t Related to fluffy microstructure (microaggregated c / f r d p ) .

TABLE VI
C o m p a r i s o n o f the m 2 matrix organizations between the plots

Differentiation criteria

Void size ( m m )

Microscopic roughness
Vesicle abundance

Plots
reference

limed

farmyard
manure

sodic

ammoniated

0.2to 1
Weak
Moderate

0.1 t o 0 . 3
Moderate
Low

0.1 t o 0 . 5
Moderate
Moderate

0 . 3 t o 1.5
Very weak
High

0.1 t o 0 . 3
Moderate
Moderate

DISCUSSION

Relationships between surface structural evolution and hydrodynamic regime

The development of the F2 facies, i.e. the depositional crust, closely coincided with puddle appearance in all the plots. This shows that puddling induced a thorough change in the conditions under which translocation and
deposition of the solid particles detached by rainfall occurred. This hypothesis is supported by the contrast between the m 1, m 1-2 and m2 microhorizons
and the m3 microhorizon: bedding and sorting in m3 and unconformability
between m3 and underlying m2 evidenced the sedimentary origin of the m3
microhorizon (Chen et al., 1980; Miicher et al., 1981; Valentin, 1981; Boiffin,
1984; Arshad and Mermut, 1988 ).
The early stage of surface crusting, which did not show textural disjunction
nor elementary particle segregation, also occurred in the sodic plot in spite of
its high dispersability (Fig. 2). Therefore, development of the depositional
crust seemed to be mainly determined by changes in surface hydrodynamic
regime and not directly by the soil composition.
Conversely, for a given rainfall sequence, the surface hydrodynamic regime

318

L - M . BRESSON A N D J. B O I F F I N

7'

o
0

i:m

j
/'
/

E~

E~

0
.=

.o

>o

<
[,,-

~b

t:~ t:m

--

~.

:~

bb

v=

p
t"q

,,..,

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

15

319

100 pm

Photos 14 to 16. Sorting of the m3 microbeds

of the depositional crust in different plots
(vertical section, plain light). 14. Reference
plot: the clayey microbed includes coarse
grains (g) and is capped by a thin film of pure
clay (arrow). 15. Sodic plot: the clayey microbed shows a differentiation of grain size
distribution according to the depth, which is
typical of a non turbulent sedimentation regime. 16. Ammoniated plot: the clayey microbed is constituted by 50 pm microaggregates (arrow).

320

L.-M. BRESSON A N D J. B O I F F I N

could be related to structural crust development. Indeed, puddles appeared

more rapidly on the plots where the m 1-2 and m2 microhorizons had rapidly
thickened. In fact, pore abundance and continuity of these microhorizons decreased in such a way (Tables IV-VI) that spreading and thickening of the
structural crust could induce a strong decrease in surface infiltrability. Previous work (Boiffin, 1984; Boiffin and Monnier, 1986) showed that, in similar soils, infiltrability ranged from 1.1-1.4- 10 -2 m m s- 1 for the initial state
( F0 facies ) to less than 1.4- 10- 3 m m s- ~for well-developed structural crusts
(F1 facies) and to 3-6- 10 -4 m m s -1 for the depositional crust (F2 facies).
Basic processes o f crust genesis
Structural crust
The main characteristics of the m 1-2 were intermediate between those of
the m l and the m2 (3D-continuous void space and 2D-continuous solid
phase) and its boundaries with m 1 and m2 were diffuse, which suggests that
it was a transitional microhorizon.
The m 1-2 and most of the m2 (except the upper part) seemed to result
from the gradual packing of the m 1. This process is mainly suggested by the
pedic and matrix void changes from m 1 to m 1-2 and then to m2 (Tables IVVI ) as observed in the reference plot: decrease in porosity and void number,
elongation, roughness and polyconcavity with development of convexities
(Photos 11, 12 and 13 ). This hypothesis is supported by the comparison of
the treated plots: the m l - 2 and m2 thickening (Fig. 3) and the decrease in
void roughness and polyconcavity (Tables V and VI) were more rapid and
complete in the sodic plot than in the limed one (Photos 9 and 10).
On the other hand, the interstitial clogging process related to splash, which
was suggested as a mechanism of structural crust formation (McIntyre, 1958;
Boiffin, 1984; Onofiok and Singer, 1984; Boiffin and Bresson, 1987), should
not play an important part in the m 1-2 genesis. Firstly, no disaggregation could
occur within this microhorizon. Indeed, the overlying m2 formed a protection against raindrop impact, and on the other hand, slaking from entrapped
air compression could not be very efficient under such moist conditions
(Boiffin, 1984; Norton, 1987; Le Bissonnais, 1988) whereas microcracking
from shrinking and swelling could not occur due to too low clay content
(Valentin, 1981; Le Bissonnais, 1988). Second, the overlying m2 which is
3D-continuous prevented the particles released from the soil surface by the
splash, from migrating within the m 1-2.
Finally, the main process involved in the genesis of the m 1-2 and the most
part of the overlying m2 seemed to be a gradual coalescence of the initial
aggregates by compaction under plastic conditions. Since these microhorizons developed from the surface, the compacting agent was rainfall rather
than the weight of the overlying soil material. In such a process, the part of

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

321

rainfall was double: dynamic compaction in depth by raindrop impact (Sor

and Bertrand, 1962; Boiffin, 1984) and plasticity increase by moistening. This
is consistent with the correlation between soil crusting susceptibility and soil
consistency showed by De Ploey ( 1978 ). The m2 thickening in the F2 facies
which occurred within the micromounds, and not within the sedimentary
depressions, confirmed that raindrop impact played a major role.
These results also suggest that the genesis of vesicles might be ascribed to
compaction of initial packing voids due to plastic strain under semi-liquid
conditions (Photos 11, 12 and 13).
However, the upper part of the m2 ( < 1 mm) which constituted the soilatmosphere interface, could result from a different process. Indeed, right at
the start of the m2 development, this upper part showed a very low textural
porosity and a vesicular matrix porosity (Table III and Photo 7 ). Moreover,
this thin interface did not thicken (0.5 to 1 mm) during crust development,
unlike the whole m2. Last of all, the differences between plots were quite small.
Therefore, the interstitial clogging processes of splash or muddy flow and subsequent compaction by raindrop impact (Mclntyre, 1958; Onofiok and Singer,
1984; Valentin and Ruiz Figueroa, 1987) probably took place in the upper
part of the m2 microhorizon.
Finally, in the structural crusts studied, the dispersion process which has
been advanced to explain the structural crust formation (Mclntyre, 1958)
especially in sodic soils with low electrolyte concentration water (Agassi et
al., 1981; Tarchitzky et al., 1984; Shainberg and Singer, 1985; Levy et al.,
1966) did not seem to affect directly the ml-2 and m2 genesis. Indeed, the
plasmic and textural organizations between the m2 and the underlying m 1-2
and m 1 did not differ, as confirmed by the similar m2 microhorizons of the
sodic and reference plots.
Depositional crust
Both time-dependent and interplot variations of the m3 microstructure
suggest four main stages in the genesis of the depositional crust.
At the first stage, the microbeds, filling in small pocket-like holes, were
poorly sorted and generally included some microaggregates (Tables III and
Photo 7 ). This could be related to a muddy flow process which induced shortdistance translocation of solid particles.
The second stage of the m3 development was clearly related to a runoffsedimentation regime. Indeed, clayey and silty or sandy microbeds (Table
III) alternated within small microdepressions. Each pair of microbeds might
be related to a rainfall event: the coarser particles would deposit when the
running water sheet suddenly stopped in the puddles, whereas the finer particles suspended in the puddles would begin to deposit slowly only after the
rainfall had stopped. The first coarse microbeds were generally silty, even
though the following ones were sandy, which might indicate that runoff was

322

L.-M. BRESSON A N D J. B O I F F I N

still quite low when the F2 facies began to develop. The clayey microbeds
which often included sand and silt grains probably developed under turbulent
conditions during rainfall, but they were generally capped by a thin film of
pure clay which probably slowly deposited after the rainfall had stopped
(Photo 14). This stage was hardly reached after a month in the limed plot
where puddles were very transient.
The third stage was characterized by the unconformability between the
coarse and fine microbeds. This deltaic aspect occurred within the areas where
puddles notably spread ("basins"), which suggest that during rainfall the
coarser particles mainly deposited in the external part of the basin, where the
running water sheet suddenly stopped, while the clay particles settled on the
whole surface of the basin (Photo 10). The clayey beds were all the thicker,
better sorted and more birefringent as they were located in the middle of the
basin (Photo 15 ), probably because, after rainfall, puddle subsiding concentrated the finest clay particles in the central part of those basins where they
slowly deposited. The "deltaic" features, i.e. nature and relative distribution
of the clayey beds, were more marked in the sodic plot where puddles were
very large (Table VII ).
The fourth stage was related to the general flattening of the plot surface.
Indeed, the deposited microbeds were thinner and more uniformly distributed. After a month, this stage was reached only in the sodic plot and, to a
lesser extent, in the reference plot (Table VII).
The direct influence of soil dispersability on the m3 microhorizon genesis
could not be clearly stated from this experiment, even though a high soil dispersability is supposed to increase basic particle disjunction during detachment, transport or deposition. On one hand, the good sorting and the strong
birefringence of the clayey microbeds within the sodic plot (Table VII ) could
be ascribed to high dispersability (Southard et al., 1988 ). Moreover, the textural distribution ( c / f rdp: coarse/fine related distribution pattern) of the
coarse microbeds within the limed plot was still quite chitonic, which shows
that the disjunction between micromass and granomass was poor: such close
binding could be related to the low dispersability induced by the high calcium
carbonate supply. On the other hand, the well sorted clayey microbeds in the
ammoniated plot were formed by stable 50/~m microaggregates (Photo 16 ).
In the same way, the sorting of the m3 was very poor in the farmyard manure
plot, although dispersability seemed to be rather high as indicated by disjunction between granomass and micromass (enaulic of rdp).
On the contrary, puddling duration, which was very short in the limed and
farmyard-manure plots and long in the sodic one, seems sufficient to explain
the m3 variability described above.

Medium- and long-term effects of soil crusting

Interplot comparison of the initial states (F0 facies, m l microhorizon)
shows (Table IV) that two main differences could be related to feed-back

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOIL CRUST DEVELOPMENT STAGES

32 3

effects of soil crusting. First, some fragments of the m2 and/or m3 microhorizon which were inherited from previous crusts could be observed in the m 1
microhorizon. Such features occurred more frequently in the plots which were
most crusted and least crumbled, such as the sodic one. Second, experimental
treatments produced a differentiation at the textural organization level which
was much more significant than the enrichment of the groundmass in organic
matter or calcium carbonate alone (Table III): (1) decrease in micromass
content in the sodic plot (see also analytical data Table I ); (2) more chitonic
nature of the c / f rdp in the limed plot, showing a closer association between
micromass and granomass; ( 3 ) enaulic c / f rdp of the farmyard-manure plot,
showing that the micromass, despite of its greater amount, was not closely
bound to the granomass; and (4) microaggregated c / f r d p (fluffy microstructure) of the ammoniated plot, which was consistent with the strong acidification of this plot. Therefore, the addition of direct and induced effects of the
fertilizers for over 50 years resulted in a real pedogenetic differentiation.
CONCLUSIONS

The general pattern of soil crust development was confirmed by this study
of a long-term experimental field where various fertilizers induced a wide soil
composition range: ( 1 ) first, sealing of the surface by a structural crust; (2)
then, formation of a structural crust; ( 3 ) the change from the first to the second stage depended on the hydrodynamic behaviour of the soil surface, which
was partly controlled by the structural crust development. This pattern should
be taken into account for reliable comparisons of crusting in soils of different
composition, climatic environment and land use and management.
In the sodic soil, the earlier and more rapid depositional crust development
was mainly due to the more rapid spreading and thickening of the structural
crust. Moreover, even in such a dispersable soil, the structural crust formation could not be directly attributed to dispersion processes. Although dispersion is thought by some authors to be a major process in soil crusting, its part
should be reconsidered.
The genesis of structural crust (m 1-2 microhorizon and the most part of
m2 microhorizon) could mainly be attributed to a coalescing process under
raindrop impact. Such a process probably played a significant part in the evolution of infiltrability together with the already known process of interstitial
filling due to soil particle detachment and transfer by splash or mass micromovements. This coalescing process which could be related to the decrease in
soil cohesion induced by moistening, greatly depended on soil composition,
and was most developed in the sodic soil.
In the depositional crust, the morphology of the typical m3 microhorizon
could not be explained without reference to the puddling process which was

324

L.-M. BRESSON A N D J. BOIFFIN

partly controlled by the previous development of the underlying ml-2 and

m2 microhorizons.
From a methodological point of view, the various elementary processes in
soil crusting occurred in various ways according to space and time. Therefore,
spatial relationships between the various functional sites (for example eroded
micromounds and sedimentary microdepressions) as well as the chronological relationships between the successive development stages should be taken
into account. So, the space and time experimental scale appears to be especially important for reliable estimating of soil crusting susceptibility.

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