Conclusions
Soil clay content is one of the primary intrinsic soil properties affecting wind erodibility. We found clay amendment significantly impacted crust crushing energy. Crust crushing energy increased with increasing clay amendment (over a range of 0 to 16%) for types found across iPNW. Soil loss from a disturbed crust surface significantly decreased with increasing clay amendment. This can be primarily due to the change in aggregate GMD, followed by aggregate crushing energy, the latter of which influence vertical abrasion flux. Vertical abrasion flux significantly decreased with increasing clay amendment and aggregate crushing energy. Clay amendment was more effective in decreasing vertical abrasion flux for two sandy loams than two silt loams. The rate of change in vertical abrasion flux was more sensitive for soil types with weak crusts. The change in vertical abrasion flux appears to the same pattern with the change of soil loss caused by clay amendment. Vertical abrasion flux from erodible aggregates is the important source of soil loss for soil surface in the presence of weak aggregates.