Comparison between the pipette and bouyoucos methods and their relation with water retention in eight soils of the andean plateau, Parinacota Province, Chile

The purpose of this research was to compare two methods, the pipette and Bouyoucos, to quantify the distribution and particle size in soils of cold arid regions. Eight soils (29 samples) from de Andean Plateau, Parinacota Province, Chile, were sampled. With the results, a regression analysis was carried out and the corresponding scatter graph obtained. The results indicated that the organic carbon percentage and the salinity content had little influence, mainly due to the low content of both variables. Instead, Al ox + 1/2 Fe ox , that constitute one of the parameters that represent the degree of evolution of volcanic glasses towards short range ordering minerals, had an effect on the R 2 due to the incomplete dispersion of the Bouyoucos method