During the wet season in the U.S. Midwest, upland soils are often under water for days or weeks, causing oxygen depletion, or reducing conditions, which may in turn affect the chemistry of the soil-water system and, consequently, soil aggregation. Loss of soil aggregation impacts agriculture by decreasing soil quality and crop production.

Recently, soil scientists investigated how changes in the reduction-oxidation (redox) status of the soil can impact soil aggregation during short-term ponding conditions. The group included Alfredo De-Campos, a former graduate student from Purdue University, and Amrakh Mamedov and Chi-hua Huang, from USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory at West Lafayette, IN. Results from this study were published in the March/April, 2009 issue of Soil Science Society of America Journal.