Dong, Li , Yang, Wanyu , Wang, Quanjiu , Tao, Wanghai , Ma, Changkun
2026-05-01 GEODERMA 2026 469(卷), null(期), (null页)
Evaporation-induced salt accumulation leads to progressive soil salinization, which has significant implications for numerous environmental processes and applications. In this study, we investigate how pore structure influence evaporation-driven crystallization and its feedback on evaporation dynamics and hydrological functions in packed soil. The pore network model, extracted from high-resolution X-ray microtomography images, was applied to quantify internal pore structure and simulate hydraulic properties in the absence/presence of salt crystallization. Experimental results indicated a significantly higher evaporation rate for NaCl solution compared to Na2SO4 solution across all textures (up to similar to 30% during the high-rate period). NaCl predominantly formed surface efflorescence, transitioning from a compact crust in fine-textured soils to patchy "cauliflower-like" deposits in coarse soils, which act as an additional porous layer that restricts brine supply and impedes vapor exchange. In contrast, Na2SO4 precipitation occurred mainly as near-surface subflorescence, with the main crystallization zone progressively detaching from the surface as sand content increased. Crystallization reduced near-surface porosity by 2.12-5.23% for NaCl and 4.86-10.93% for Na2SO4, accompanied by pore-size redistribution and increased tortuosity. These structural changes led to substantial reductions in transport properties: intrinsic permeability decreased by 15.79-31.97% (NaCl) and 28.07-51.98% (Na2SO4), while relative vapor diffusivity declined by 33.34-42.11% and 44.45-62.50%, respectively. The results demonstrate that crystallization-induced evolution of pore structure, permeability, and vapor diffusivity should be explicitly incorporated into hydrological models to improve predictions of evaporation and salinization, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions.