Effects of grain group absence of sandy clayey purple soil on the reduction of water-holding characteristics

Purple soil is widely distributed in southwestern China and is one of the important natural resources. Because of the loose parent rock and low degree of differentiation, purple soil is characterized by a loose structure that is easily eroded and high soil fertility. Soil erosion is very serious in the purple soil region, which is one of the main sources of sediment in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and has a certain impact on the agricultural production and engineering development in the purple soil region. After erosion, purple soil shows the characteristics of reduced dry density of soil and serious loss of fine particles, which affects its water-holding characteristics. In order to explore the changes of soil water-holding properties of purple soil after rainfall erosion, this study was carried out to analyze the effect of missing grain groups on the water-holding properties of sandy clayey purple soil under rainfall conditions by selecting three test methods, namely, axial translation technique, filter paper method, and saturated salt saturated saline solution vapor equilibrium technique for the three grain groups which are the most susceptible to changes in the rainfall conditions, and carrying out the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) test with the absence of grain groups within the full suction range to analyze the effect of the missing grain groups on the water-holding properties of sandy clayey purple soil. The results show that: 1) the missing grain group reduces the water-holding characteristics of sandy clayey purple soil, which is most obvious in the boundary effect zone and transition zone, and has less effect on the residual zone. The mass of the missing grain group is inversely proportional to the air intake value and the residual water content. 2) Using the grain size parameters (constrained diameter、average diameter、median diameter、effective diameter) to characterize the soil grading condition, the relationship between the soil grading curves and the characteristic values of SWCC was established. It was found that except for effective diameter, the other parameters were linearly inversely related to the air intake value and residual water content; 3) The data obtained from different methods were fitted using the Fredlund-Xing model, and it was found that the results of the data obtained from a single test method fitted better, but the SWCC significantly deviated from the test data points in the boundary effect zone and the transition zone. Root mean square error (RMSE)、percent bias (PB) and mean absolute percent relative error (MAPRE) were introduced as evaluation indexes, and it was found that the suction range was the main factor affecting the fitting effect of SWCC, and within a certain suction range, the larger the range of data points involved, the better the model fitting effect was, and after a certain suction value was reached, the suction range had very little effect on the model fitting effect. It is proposed that to obtain the accurate SWCC of purple soil quickly, only the maximum suction value needs to be determined, and the number of test points with high suction is reduced, which can effectively shorten the SWCC test period. The results lay a foundation for the subsequent study of the role of soil erosion and water-holding characteristics of purple soil, and also provide reliable ideas for the prevention of soil erosion and the application of soil-water characteristic curves in the Three Gorges Reservoir area.