Estimation of reference bulk density from soil particle size distribution and soil
organic matter content
Thomas Keller a,b,c,⁎, Inge Håkansson
Crop growth and yield are affected by soil compactness.
Rather than using bulk density, it has been suggested
that soil compactness be described by relative bulk density, e.g. the degree of compactness, previously
defined as the ratio of bulk density (ρ) to reference bulk density (ρref)
This study investigated relationships
between ρref as defined by Håkansson (1990) and soil particle size distribution (PSD) by analysing soil data
from 171 experimental sites in Sweden, two in Poland and three in Finland.
PSD was characterised either by
the common size fractions (i.e. clay, silt and sand content) or by fitting a (continuous) mathematical function
to the experimental PSD data.