Capacity and Intensity Indicators to evaluate the effect of different crop sequences and cover crops on soil physical quality of two different textured soils from Pampas Region

2022 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 105268
Author(s):  
M.P. Salazar ◽  
L.A. Lozano ◽  
R. Villarreal ◽  
A.B. Irizar ◽  
M. Barraco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Pampas Region

scholarly journals Physical quality of an Oxisol cultivated with maize submited to cover crops in the pre-cropping period

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-2178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiana de Souza Pereira ◽  
Itamar Andrioli ◽  
Amauri Nelson Beutler ◽  
Cinara Xavier de Almeida ◽  
Faber de Souza Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Soil Bulk Density ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Tillage System

The intensive use of land alters the distribution of the pore size which imparts consequences on the soil physical quality. The Least Limiting Water Range (LLWR) allows for the visualization of the effects of management systems upon either the improvement or the degradation of the soil physical quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of a Red Latosol (Oxisol) submited to cover crops in the period prior to the maize crop in a no-tillage and conventional tillage system, using porosity, soil bulk density and the LLWR as attributes. The treatments were: conventional tillage (CT) and a no-tillage system with the following cover crops: sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) (NS), pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke) (NP) and lablab (Dolichos lablab L.) (NL). The experimental design was randomized blocks in subdivided plots with six replications, with the plots being constituted by the treatments and the subplots by the layers analyzed. The no-tillage systems showed higher total porosity and soil organic matter at the 0-0.5 m layer for the CT. The CT did not differ from the NL or NS in relation to macroporosity. The NP showed the greater porosity, while CT and NS presented lower soil bulk density. No < 10 % airing porosity was found for the treatments evaluated, and value for water content where soil aeration is critical (θPA) was found above estimated water content at field capacity (θFC) for all densities. Critical soil bulk density was of 1.36 and 1.43 Mg m-3 for NP and CT, respectively. The LLWR in the no-tillage systems was limited in the upper part by the θFC, and in the bottom part, by the water content from which soil resistance to penetration is limiting (θPR). By means of LLWR it was observed that the soil presented good physical quality.

Assessment of tillage effects on soil quality of pastures in South Africa with indexing methods

Soil Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 274 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Swanepoel ◽  
C. C. du Preez ◽  
P. R. Botha ◽  
H. A. Snyman ◽  
J. Habig
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
Chemical Degradation ◽  
Soil Quality Index ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality

Soil quality of pastures changes through time because of management practices. Excessive soil disturbance usually leads to the decline in soil quality, and this has resulted in concerns about kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum)–ryegrass (Lolium spp.) pasture systems in the southern Cape region of South Africa. This study aimed to understand the effects of tillage on soil quality. The soil management assessment framework (SMAF) and the locally developed soil quality index for pastures (SQIP) were used to assess five tillage systems and were evaluated at a scale inclusive of variation in topography, pedogenic characteristics and local anthropogenic influences. Along with assessment of overall soil quality, the quality of the physical, chemical and biological components of soil were considered individually. Soil physical quality was largely a function of inherent pedogenic characteristics but tillage affected physical quality adversely. Elevated levels of certain nutrients may be warning signs to soil chemical degradation; however, tillage practice did not affect soil chemical quality. Soil disturbance and the use of herbicides to establish annual pastures has lowered soil biological quality. The SQIP was a more suitable tool than SMAF for assessing soil quality of high-input, dairy-pasture systems. SQIP could facilitate adaptive management by land managers, environmentalists, extension officers and policy makers to assess soil quality and enhance understanding of processes affecting soil quality.

Evaluation of soil physical quality of irrigated agroecosystems in a semi-arid region of North-eastern Brazil

Soil Research ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 455 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. P. Pereira ◽  
M. E. Ortiz-Escobar ◽  
G. C. Rocha ◽  
R. N. Assis Junior ◽  
T. S. Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Bulk Density ◽  
Natural Vegetation ◽  
Water Retention Curve ◽  
Retention Curve ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Eastern Brazil ◽  
North Eastern

Concern about soil physical quality has grown in recent years, particularly in view of serious problems caused by intensive soil use. We hypothesised that improper soil management in irrigated areas damages the structure of sensitive soils in some regions in North-eastern Brazil. The aim of the study was to evaluate the physical quality of irrigated soils planted with annual and perennial crops, compared with soils under natural vegetation in Ceará State, Brazil. Measurements were made of least limiting water range (LLWR), the S index, and relative density. Undisturbed soil samples were collected at two depths (5–10 and 20–25 cm) in four cultivated areas (banana, guava, pasture, and maize/bean in succession) and two natural vegetation areas (NV1, NV2) adjacent to the cultivated areas. All sites were in the Jaguaribe-Apodi Irrigated District, Limoeiro do Norte, Ceará, Brazil. The LLWR was determined using the water retention curve, soil resistance to penetration, and soil bulk density, which are parameters needed to obtain the upper and lower limits of LLWR. The S index was obtained from the water retention curve. The relative density was obtained from the relationship between bulk density and maximum density obtained from the Proctor test. The S index varied as a function of soil management. The variation in LLWR differed between the studied areas as a function of soil bulk density. The relative densities for NV1 and NV2 were lower than for cultivated areas, showing that intensive soil use has caused compaction. The studied parameters seem to be good indicators of soil physical quality, and it was noticed that soils under cultivation suffer an alteration of their structure relative to soils under natural vegetation.

scholarly journals Physical Quality of an Oxisol in Different Agricultural Systems in Brazilian Cerrado

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Diego Dos Santos Pereira ◽  
Rafael Montanari ◽  
Christtiane Fernandes Oliveira ◽  
Jean Carlos de Almeida Ramos ◽  
Alan Rodrigo Panosso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bulk Density ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Forest Plantations ◽  
Soil Resistance ◽  
Brazilian Cerrado ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Resistance To Penetration

The soil physical quality is a way of evaluating the current condition of forest plantations that is growing in the southeast region of Mato Grosso do Sul State. In this sense, this work aimed to evaluate the impact of the forest plantations on the physical quality of an Oxisol (Haplic Acrustox) in Cerrado. The experiment was conducted in the Experimental area of the Teaching and Research Farm, of the Engineering college of Ilha Solteira (UNESP), located in the city of Selvíria-MS, situated in the conditions of the Brazilian Cerrado. The soil samples were collected at depths of 0.00-0.10; 0.10-0.20; 0.20-0.30 and 0.30-0.40 m in three areas cultivated for 30 years: area (1) Pine forest (Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis); (2) Eucalyptus forest (Eucalyptus camaldulensis); (3) Reforested ciliary forest, being used a completely randomized design, with 25 replications and 3 treatments. The analyzed attributes of the soil was: macroporosity (Ma), microporosity (Mi), total porosity (TP), bulk density (BD), real particle (RP), soil resistance to penetration (PR), gravimetric moisture (GM), volumetric moisture (VM) and sand, silt and clay contents. The three evaluated areas presented macroporosity below the critical limit (0.100 m³ m-³), thereby impairing the root development. The three evaluated areas affected the physical quality of the soil. Being the physical attributes that most influenced in the reduction of the soil physical quality was the bulk density, total porosity, microporosity, macroporosity and soil resistance to penetration.

Using GPR surveys and infiltration experiments for assessing soil physical quality of an agricultural soil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Di Prima ◽  
Vittoria Giannini ◽  
Ludmila Ribeiro Roder ◽  
Ryan D. Stewart ◽  
Majdi R. Abou Najm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Layer ◽  
Pore Network ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Soil Matrix ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Amplitude Fluctuations ◽  
Single Ring ◽  
Infiltration Experiment

&lt;p&gt;Time-lapse ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys in conjunction with automated single-ring infiltration experiments can be used for non-invasive monitoring of the spatial distribution of infiltrated water and for generating 3D representations of the wetted zone. In this study we developed and tested a protocol to quantify and visualize water distribution fluxes under unsaturated and saturated conditions into layered soils. We carried out a gridded GPR survey on a 0.3-m thick sandy clay loam layer underlain by a restrictive limestone layer at the Ottava experimental station of the University of Sassari (Sardinia, IT). We firstly established a survey grid (1 m &amp;#215; 1 m), consisting of six horizontal and six vertical parallel survey lines with 0.2 m intervals between them. The field survey then consisted of six steps, including &lt;strong&gt;i)&lt;/strong&gt; a first GPR survey, &lt;strong&gt;ii)&lt;/strong&gt; a tension infiltration experiment conducted within the grid and aimed at activating only the soil matrix, &lt;strong&gt;iii)&lt;/strong&gt; a second GPR survey aimed at highlighting the amplitude fluctuations between repeated GPR radargrams of the first and second surveys, due to the infiltrated water moving within the matrix flow region, &lt;strong&gt;iv)&lt;/strong&gt; a single-ring infiltration experiment of the Beerkan type carried out within the grid on the same infiltration surface using a solution of brilliant blue dye (E133) and aimed to activate the whole pore network, &lt;strong&gt;v)&lt;/strong&gt; a third GPR survey aimed to highlight the amplitude fluctuations between repeated GPR radargrams of the first and third surveys, due to the infiltrated water moving within the whole pore network (both matrix and fast-flow regions), and &lt;strong&gt;vi)&lt;/strong&gt; the excavation of the soil to expose the wetted region. The shapes of the 3D diagrams of the wetted zones facilitated the interpretation of the infiltrometer data, allowing us to resolve water infiltration into the layered system. Finally, we used the infiltrometer data in conjunction with the Beerkan estimation of soil transfer parameter (BEST) method to determine the following capacitive indicators of soil physical quality of the upper soil layer: air capacity &lt;em&gt;AC&lt;/em&gt; (m&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;#8211;3&lt;/sup&gt;), plant-available water capacity &lt;em&gt;PAWC&lt;/em&gt; (m&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;#8211;3&lt;/sup&gt;), relative field capacity &lt;em&gt;RFC&lt;/em&gt; (&amp;#8211;), and soil macroporosity &lt;em&gt;p&lt;sub&gt;MAC&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/em&gt; (m&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; m&lt;sup&gt;&amp;#8211;3&lt;/sup&gt;). Results showed that the investigated soil was characterized by high soil aeration and macroporosity (i.e., &lt;em&gt;AC&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;p&lt;sub&gt;MAC&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;/em&gt;) along with low values for indicators associated with microporosity (i.e., &lt;em&gt;PAWC&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;RFC&lt;/em&gt;). These findings suggest that the upper soil layer facilitates root proliferation and quickly drains excess water towards the underlying limestone layer, and, on the contrary, has limited ability to store and provide water to plant roots. In addition, the 3D diagram allowed the detection of non-uniform downward water movement through the restrictive limestone layer. The detected difference between the two layers in terms of hydraulic conductivity suggests that surface ponding and overland flow generation occurs via a saturation-excess mechanism. Indeed, percolating water may accumulate above the restrictive limestone layer and form a shallow perched water table that, in case of extreme rainfall events, could rise causing the complete saturation of the soil profile.&lt;/p&gt;

Assessing the effects of cardoon intercropping with different cover crops on soil physical quality with BEST-2K method and automatic infiltrometers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vittoria Giannini ◽  
Simone Di Prima ◽  
Laura Mula ◽  
Roberto Marrosu ◽  
Mario Pirastru ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Water Retention ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Cynara Cardunculus ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Flow Domain ◽  
Fast Flow

&lt;p&gt;Cardoon (&lt;em&gt;Cynara cardunculus&lt;/em&gt; L.) is a promising energy crop for marginal areas in Mediterranean environment. Temporary intercropping with cover crops can provide multiple services such as weed suppression, additional and diversified biomass production and soil physical quality (SPQ) improvement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A number of studies have demonstrated that the Beerkan estimation of soil transfer parameters (BEST) method appears promising for assessing SPQ in agricultural soils, given that it allows the entire determination of the water retention and hydraulic conductivity curves, and the derivation of both static and dynamic SPQ indicators in the field. However, BEST is suitable only for single-permeability (SP) soils. Lassabatere et al. (2019) designed a method for the hydraulic characterization of dual-permeability (DP) soils named BEST-2K to address the case of the soils prone to preferential flow. DP models are increasingly adopted in soil science to take better account of water flow dynamics in heterogeneous soils. Moreover, recent investigations suggested that a comprehensive assessment of SPQ of agricultural soils also involving DP approaches may substantially improve our capacity to evaluate the effect of specific management practices on key &amp;#8220;domain-oriented&amp;#8221; processes. Indeed, DP models assume that soil encompass two domains, including the matrix and the fast-flow domain that respectively host the smallest and the largest pores. While in the matrix domain the intra-aggregate pores constitutes the primary source of plant-available water and nitrous oxides, in the fast-flow domain the inter-aggregate pores are the primary region for root-essential air, carbon dioxide generation and nutrient leaching losses (Reynolds, 2017).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We investigated the effects of temporary intercropping with cover crops belonging to different functional groups on SPQ. In October 2019, an experimental trial intercropping &lt;em&gt;Cynara cardunculus&lt;/em&gt; cv Bianco Avorio with four different cover types (3 cover crops: &lt;em&gt;Vicia villosa&lt;/em&gt; Roth. cv Haymaker Plus, &lt;em&gt;Eruca sativa&lt;/em&gt; L. cv Nemat and &lt;em&gt;Camelina sativa&lt;/em&gt; (L.) Crantz. cv Italia and spontaneous weeds) was set up at the Ottava experimental station of the University of Sassari (Sardinia, IT).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The new BEST-2K method was used for assessing SPQ of the different intercropping systems. At this aim, we carried out multi-tension infiltration experiments in order to selectively activate only the matrix or the whole pore network, and for the characterization of the water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions of matrix and fast-flow domains. Then, we used these functions to determine SPQ indicators for the two domains. A zero-point scenario (1 month after sowing) has been already drawn. The field measurements will be repeated in summer after the harvest of the above-ground biomass of both cardoon and cover crops.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;References&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lassabatere, L., Di Prima, S., Bouarafa, S., Iovino, M., Bagarello, V., Angulo-Jaramillo, R., 2019. BEST-2K Method for Characterizing Dual-Permeability Unsaturated Soils with Ponded and Tension Infiltrometers. Vadose Zone Journal 18. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2018.06.0124&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reynolds, W.D., 2017. Use of bimodal hydraulic property relationships to characterize soil physical quality. Geoderma 294, 38&amp;#8211;49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.01.035&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

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