Multifractal analysis of soil structure under long-term wastewater irrigation based on digital image technology

Abstract

Soil structure exerts important influences on edaphic conditions and the environment. It constitutes a fundamental soil property correlated to many other soil properties. In this study, generalised dimensions of soil structure are computed from data obtained by 2D image analysis of soil samples irrigated with wastewater for 30 and 50 years. The samples analysed show suitable scaling properties. The generalised dimensions Dq appear defined with R2 greater than 0.89 in the range of moment order (q) between -10 and +10. The variation of Dq with respect to q and the shape of the multifractal generalised spectrum reveal that soil structure has properties close to multifractal self-similar measures. These results show that multifractal analysis is an appropriate tool for characterising soil structure and thus may be used as an indicator of soil structure as well as for deriving important soil physical properties. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.