How Humic Acid and Friends Can Save Cold Soil

In the chilly northern farmlands, soil cracks are a big problem. They appear when the ground freezes and thaws. These cracks let water and soil wash away. This is called erosion. Scientists wanted to see if adding special substances could help. They used a lab to mimic the cold weather and rain. They tested humic acid (H) alone and mixed with other stuff like lignosulfonate (L) or polyacrylamide (P). They checked how wide the cracks got and how much soil washed away. Without any treatment, the soil had the biggest cracks and lost the most soil. Just 1% of humic acid helped a bit. But 2% made things worse. The soil became looser. Cracks got more intense, and more soil washed away.Now, when they mixed humic acid with L or P, things got interesting. The cracks became finer. This made the soil better at holding together. Even though the cracks were bigger in some cases, much less soil washed away. Up to 99. 62% less! The best mix was H with P. It stopped cracks from getting bigger and reduced erosion the most. This shows that using these mixes can make soil stronger and protect it from erosion. This study gives new ideas for farmers in cold places. They can use these mixes to keep their soil healthy and prevent erosion.