Quantitative Assessment of Heterogeneity of Loamy Soil Particle Size Distribution: A Multifractal Approach

Particle size distribution (PSD) constitutes a fundamental soil property correlated to many other soil properties. In this paper, we describe a multifractal approach to characterize particle-size distribution of loamy soil and use the information obtained to quantify the soil heterogeneity. Particle size distributions of the experimental samples were characterized by multifractal techniques, six loamy soil samples were analyzed routinely for particle size distribution by laser diffraction in the range of scales, varying from 0.02 to 2000μm. The generalized multifractal spectrum, Dq was calculated in the range of moment order (q) between -10 and 10. Samples showed heterogeneity in their multifractal behavior, .D₁ and the coefficients of determination of D₁ presented 0.82<;D₁<;0.90 and R²≥0.99 respectively, D₁/D₀ and D₀-D₁ discriminates heterogeneity of PSD, The result indicates that multifractal approach may be useful for characterizing particle size distribution and thus quantifying the soil heterogeneity.