Soil micromorphology of clayey hill slopes, central Italy

摘要

Thirty-one undisturbed samples were collected from depths of 1.5 to 3.0m on clayey hill slopes in the Pliocene and Allochthonous geological formations of Tuscany and Abruzzi in central Italy. Thin sections were made from each of the samples and the micromorphological aspects described semi-quantitatively using both microscopic and image analyses. The results were compared with the three, broad hill slope profiles - straight, convex and concave. The study showed that hill slope evolution by both creeping and surface and subsurface runoff has changed the conditions within the clay fabric and that linear voids due to tension and shear processes have formed in the soil. The data suggest that clayey hill slope form evolves from convex to concave via a linear shape.