Effect of Irrigated Crop Rotation and Phosphorus Fertilizer-Manure on Soil Water Repellency of a Clay Loam Soil in Southern Alberta

Author(s):  
Jim J. Miller ◽  
Mallory Owen ◽  
Ben Ellert ◽  
Xueming Yang ◽  
Craig F. Drury ◽  
...  

Soil water repellency (SWR) was measured for a 28 yr field study under irrigation on a clay loam Dark Brown soil in southern Alberta. The objectives were to study the effect of legume-cereal crop rotations, feedlot manure, and phosphorus (P) fertilizer application on soil hydrophobicity (SH) and soil water repellency index (RI) under irrigation. Mean SH and RI were similar (P > 0.05) for a legume-cereal and cereal rotation, and were unaffected by P fertilization. However, P fertilization shifted the RI classification from slight to sub-critical. In contrast, SH was significantly greater for manured than non-manured treatments, while RI was unaffected. Soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) correlated with SH (r=0.74), but not with RI (r=-0.17). This suggested a closer association between the quantity of SOC and quantity of hydrophobic compounds (SH method) compared to the hydrophobic coatings inhibiting infiltration of water (RI method). No significant correlation between SH and RI (r=-0.09) suggests that SH is not a good predictor of SWR using the RI method. Overall, manure application increased SH and P fertilization shifted the RI classification from slight to sub-critical. In contrast, legume-cereal rotations had no influence on SH and SWR using RI method compared to continuous cereal.

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 575-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Miller ◽  
M.L. Owen ◽  
X.M. Yang ◽  
C.F. Drury ◽  
W.D. Reynolds ◽  
...  

A 21 yr field study comparing zone tillage (ZT), no-tillage (NT), and moldboard plow tillage (MP) was used to elucidate tillage effects on soil hydrophobicity (SH) and soil water repellency index (RI) in a cool, humid clay loam soil in southwestern Ontario. The SH was 38% (P ≤ 0.05) greater for ZT and NT than MP, and it was similar between crop row (0.34) and crop inter-row (0.37) for ZT. The RI values were not different among tillage systems, or between the crop row versus crop inter-row positions under the three tillage systems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-244
Author(s):  
J.J. Miller ◽  
M.L. Owen ◽  
X.M. Yang ◽  
C.F. Drury ◽  
W.D. Reynolds ◽  
...  

Long-term (58 yr) cropping and fertilization effects on soil water repellency were determined for a clay loam soil in southwestern Ontario, Canada by measuring soil organic carbon (SOC), soil water repellency index (RI), and soil hydrophobicity (SH). The 12 treatments (non-replicated) included fertilized and non-fertilized legume-based crop rotation (ROT) with four phases (corn–oat–alfalfa–alfalfa), continuous corn (CC), and continuous Kentucky bluegrass (KBG). We hypothesized that SOC, RI, and SH would be greater for each phase of the ROT versus CC, KBG versus CC and ROT, and fertilized versus non-fertilized treatments. Surface (0–10 cm) soil samples were collected in the spring of 2017. Laboratory measurements were conducted to determine SOC, RI (ratio of soil sorptivity to ethanol and water), and SH (ratio of hydrophobic CH– to hydrophilic CO– functional groups). Mean SOC and SH were greater (P ≤ 0.05) for each phase of the ROT versus CC (33% to 2.4 times), KBG versus CC (3.2–6 times) and each phase of ROT (2.2–2.8 times), and fertilized versus non-fertilized rotation oats and KBG (15%–30%). Mean RI was greater for KBG versus CC (4.8 times) and KBG versus each phase of the ROT (3.0–5.5 times) under fertilization only, greater for fertilized versus non-fertilized KBG (6.8 times), but similar for each phase of ROT versus CC. In general, legume-based rotations, perennial grass, and fertilizer enhanced SOC and SH, and to a lesser extent soil RI.


2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (Special Issue No. 1) ◽  
pp. S21-S29 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.D. Hallett

This article describes the phenomenon of soil water repellency, starting from the fundamental principals of water transport and storage in soil. Soil water repellency is a reduction in the rate of wetting and retention of water in soil caused by the presence of hydrophobic coatings on soil particles. For crop production and the maintenance of amenity turf, water repellency can stress plants resulting in poorer yield quality or grass ‘playability’, respectively. The biological causes of water repellency, primarily the influence of fungi, will be discussed, as an understanding of the source of the problem will be beneficial in developing solutions. Exacerbation of repellency through climate change and the use of ‘engineered’ soils for amenity surfaces will be demonstrated using research findings from around the globe. In developing solutions to soil water repellency, its positive benefits, if maintained at very low levels, need to be considered. Water repellency is a key process in the physical stabilisation of soil and its impact on evaporation also needs to be considered. Before developing a rapid solution to repellency based only on water transport rates, a holistic understanding of the impacts on soil water relations is essential.


Soil Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kegan K. Farrick ◽  
Zakiya Akweli ◽  
Mark N. Wuddivira

Soil water repellency is a major concern in many systems as it substantially reduces infiltration and enhances surface runoff. While it is recognised that repellency is affected by the soil organic matter in natural ecosystems, the impact of manure and compost additions on the development and persistence of repellency in agroecosystems, particularly in the tropics, is poorly understood. We therefore examined the impact of different manure, compost additions and temperature on soil water repellency of tropical soils. We monitored the change in repellency in a Cambisol (Talparo – clay loam), Acrisol (Piarco – silt loam) and Arenosol (Arena – loamy sand), amended with three different manure and compost combinations at three different concentrations and four temperatures. Water repellency was the strongest among soils with higher clay content, which was likely due to the higher levels of organic matter observed in the clay loam. The cattle manure produced the most severe repellency despite having the lowest total organic carbon, whereas the sugarcane bagasse produced the lowest repellency. The increases in temperature had the strongest influence on repellency in sandy soils. Our results strongly support the findings of other studies that the quality of the organic material is more important than the total organic carbon in controlling the severity of repellency. This exploratory work also highlighted the importance of plant compost in reducing the level of repellency caused by cattle manure while still having a positive influence on the nutrient status of soils.


2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 360-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Iovino ◽  
Pavla Pekárová ◽  
Paul D. Hallett ◽  
Ján Pekár ◽  
Ľubomír Lichner ◽  
...  

Abstract The extent (determined by the repellency indices RI and RIc) and persistence (determined by the water drop penetration time, WDPT) of soil water repellency (SWR) induced by pines were assessed in vastly different geographic regions. The actual SWR characteristics were estimated in situ in clay loam soil at Ciavolo, Italy (CiF), sandy soil at Culbin, United Kingdom (CuF), silty clay soil at Javea, Spain (JaF), and sandy soil at Sekule, Slovakia (SeF). For Culbin soil, the potential SWR characteristics were also determined after oven-drying at 60°C (CuD). For two of the three pine species considered, strong (Pinus pinaster at CiF) and severe (Pinus sylvestris at CuD and SeF) SWR conditions were observed. Pinus halepensis trees induced slight SWR at JaF site. RI and RIc increased in the order: JaF < CuF < CiF < CuD < SeF, reflecting nearly the same order of WDPT increase. A lognormal distribution fitted well to histograms of RIc data from CuF and JaF, whereas CiF, CuD and SeF had multimodal distributions. RI correlated closely with WDPT, which was used to develop a classification of RI that showed a robust statistical agreement with WDPT classification according to three different versions of Kappa coefficient.


Geoderma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 402 ◽  
pp. 115264
Author(s):  
Enoch V.S. Wong ◽  
Philip R. Ward ◽  
Daniel V. Murphy ◽  
Matthias Leopold ◽  
Louise Barton

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Kim ◽  
R. R. Pullanagari ◽  
M. Deurer ◽  
R. Singh ◽  
K. Y. Huh ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naama Tessler ◽  
Lea Wittenberg ◽  
Noam Greenbaum

Variations in forest fires regime affect: (1) the natural patterns of community structure and vegetation; (2) the physico-chemical properties of soils and consequently (3) runoff, erosion and sediment yield. In recent decades the Mediterranean ecosystem of Mount Carmel, north-western Israel, is subjected to an increasing number of forest fires, thus, the objectives of the study were to evaluate the long-term effects of single and recurrent fires on soil water repellency (WR) and organic matter (OM) content. Water repellency was studied by applying water drop penetration time (WDPT) tests at sites burnt by single-fire, two fires, three fires and unburnt control sites. Water repellency in the burnt sites was significantly lower than in the unburnt control sites, and the soil maintained its wettability for more than 2 decades, whereas after recurrent fires, the rehabilitation was more complicated and protracted. The OM content was significantly lower after recurrent than after a single fire, causing a clear proportional decrease in WR. The rehabilitation of WR to natural values is highly dependent on restoration of organic matter and revegetation. Recurrent fires may cause a delay in recovery and reduced productivity of the soil for a long period.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1413-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicasio T. Jiménez‐Morillo ◽  
José A. González‐Pérez ◽  
Antonio Jordán ◽  
Lorena M. Zavala ◽  
José María Rosa ◽  
...  

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