THE FRACTAL STRUCTURE OF SOIL AGGREGATES - ITS MEASUREMENT AND INTERPRETATION

The theory of fractal geometry is presented with reference to soil structure. Recent work on relating fractal structure to pore structure in soils is reviewed. It is suggested that the connection made in previous work between the fractal dimension and soil moisture retention curves is based on simplified assumptions that complicate the interpretation of results. A simple method for estimating the fractal dimension, D, of natural aggregates which circumvents some of these assumptions is presented. Preliminary results of aggregates from soils under different management systems show that, for the soils examined, D ranged from 2.75 to 2.93. The use of D to quantify heterogeneity in soil is explored.