scholarly journals Effect of lupins and pasture on soil acidification and fertility in Western Australia

1993 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 457 ◽  
Author(s):  
SP Loss ◽  
GSP Ritchie ◽  
AD Robson

An 'across the fence' comparison of farmer paddocks with nearby virgin bush sites was made at 3 locations, to measure the effects of lupins and subterranean clover based pastures on the chemical properties of the soil. Estimated rates of acidification in the 0-60 cm depth were 0.29-0.55 kmol H+/ha.year for wheat-lupin paddocks and 0.16-0.2 1 kmol H+/ha .year for pasture paddocks. A significant proportion of this acidification occurred below 20 cm, particularly in the lupin paddocks (up to 70% of the total). Severe water repellency had developed at 1 location that had produced 30 lupin crops with the occasional wheat crop. Despite these detrimental effects, lupins maintained soil mineral nitrogen and organic matter contents and electrical conductivities similar to those in pasture paddocks, even though the soils in the lupin rotations had been sown to wheat more frequently.

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.


1984 ◽  
Vol 24 (127) ◽  
pp. 595 ◽  
Author(s):  
TG Reeves ◽  
A Ellington ◽  
HD Brooke

Three experiments, begun in successive years, were conducted between 1974 and 1979 in north-eastern Victoria to investigate the effects of rotating wheat (cv. Olympic) and 'sweet' lupins (Lupinus angustifolius cv. Uniharvest) on crop yields, soil fertility and crop diseases. The grain yield of continuous wheat was 2.58 t/ha and of continuous lupins 0.66 t/ha (P<0.05). Wheat, grown after a lupin crop, yielded 750 kg/ha more than wheat after wheat, and a second wheat crop, after lupins, yielded 420 kg/ha more than a third successive wheat crop. Lupins, grown after wheat, yielded 50-165% more than lupins after lupins. Grain nitrogen of wheat was significantly increased after lupins (P<0.01). Differences in soil mineral nitrogen were apparent ten weeks after sowing, with mean nitrogen levels of 37 and 55 kg/ha under wheat and lupins, respectively. Soil mineral nitrogen (0-20 cm) was consistently greater after lupins than after wheat (P<0.01) when measured just before seeding the succeeding crop. Overall, mean accretion of mineral nitrogen under lupins was 4 1 kg/ha.year. Residual nitrogen from lupins, after one succeeding wheat crop had been grown, was also evident (mean 23 kg/ha). Crop rotation influenced the incidence of crop diseases in wheat and lupins. Lupins after lupins suffered severely from brown leaf spot (Pleiochaeta setosa), up to 63% of plants being infected compared with only 18% after wheat. Disease incidence (mainly Gaeumannomyces graminis) in wheat increased from less than 1% in the first year of cropping, to 36% infection in year 3. When wheat was grown after lupins, disease incidence was negligible.


1996 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Shepherd ◽  
R. Sylvester-Bradley

SUMMARYSoil mineral nitrogen (Nmin) was measured to 90 cm at a total of 12 sites in the UK in the autumn after an oilseed rape experiment, which measured responses to fertilizer N. On average, Nmin, increased by 15 kg/ha per 100 kg/ha fertilizer nitrogen (N) applied to the rape, up to the economic optimum amount of N (Nmin). There were larger increases in Nmin where fertilizer applications exceeded Nopt, thus super-optimal fertilizer applications disproportionately increased the amount of nitrate likely to leach over-winter. The small effects of sub-optimal N on Nmin were associated with large increases in N offtake by the oilseed rape, whereas the larger effects of super-optimal N on Nmin were associated with only small increases in N offtake. Over 70% of the variation in autumn Nmin was explained by the previous rape's N fertilizer rate and the topsoil organic matter content.Nitrogen applied to the rape increased grain yields of the succeeding wheat crops when no further fertilizer N was applied to the wheat. It was concluded that N applied to oilseed rape significantly affected Nmin after harvest, and these effects were not completely nullified by leaching over-winter, so soil N supply to the succeeding wheat crop was significantly increased. Responses in grain yield indicated that each 100 kg/ha N applied to the rape provided N equivalent to c. 30 kg/ha for the following cereal. Each 1% of soil organic matter further contributed N to the wheat, equivalent to 25 kg/ha.It is important to ensure that oilseed rape receives no more than the optimum amount of fertilizer N if subsequent leaching is to be minimized. Reductions below optimum amounts will have only a small effect on leaching. Substantial changes in the economic optimum N for rape production should be accompanied by adjustment in fertilizer N application to following wheat crops. Fertilizer recommendation systems for wheat should take account of the fertilizer N applied to the preceding oilseed rape and the topsoil organic matter content.


Soil Research ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 977 ◽  
Author(s):  
DP Heenan ◽  
KY Chan

Wheat was grown as a monoculture or in rotation with lupin or subterranean clover in a long-term rotation, stubble and tillage experiment established in 1979, on a red earth (Gn 2 . 12) at Wagga Wagga, N.S.W. The effect of rotation, tillage and stubble management on the supply of soil nitrogen, and amounts leached were studied by in situ sequential soil sampling during the wheat phase of the rotation in years 10 and 11. Of the rotations, grazed subterranean clover-wheat accumulated higher mineral nitrogen levels during the wheat phase than a lupin-wheat rotation, which in turn produced higher levels than wheat-wheat. The mean seasonal total of net soil nitrogen mineralized (0-15 cm) was 239 kg N ha-1 for subterranean clover-wheat, 165 kg N ha-1 for lupin-wheat and 99.5 kg N ha-1 for wheat-wheat. In a lupin-wheat rotation, retention of stubble increased the net amount of nitrogen mineralized in both seasons. Direct drilling also increased net mineralization in 1990 but the results were inconsistent in 1989. Losses from the surface 15 cm were closely related to the amounts mineralized, with the highest recorded in subterranean clover-wheat rotations. Percent recovery of soil mineralized nitrogen by the above-ground wheat crop following lupin ranged from 57% to 83%, with both direct drilling and stubble retention reducing recovery. While total plant uptake of nitrogen in a wheat-wheat rotation was low, percent recovery was high (77%), compared with that in a subterranean clover-wheat rotation (60%).


2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 975 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. S. Dear ◽  
J. M. Virgona ◽  
G. A. Sandral ◽  
A. D. Swan ◽  
S. Morris

Soil mineral nitrogen (N) profiles during the growing season and changes in total soil N and available N after 3–4 years were examined under 9 different pasture swards containing annual legumes, lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), or one of 4 perennial grasses at 2 sites representative of the low and medium rainfall belt of south-eastern Australia. The effect of the presence of phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) or lucerne on the spatial variation in surface pH was also measured. The 9 pastures were subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.), subterranean clover with annual weeds, yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus L.), lucerne, phalaris, cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula (Schrader) Nees), wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia richardsonii (Cashm.) H.P. Linder), and a mixture of lucerne, phalaris, and cocksfoot. All the perennial treatments were sown with subterranean clover. Available mineral N values in the surface 0.10 m of soil following summer rainfall were substantially higher in pure subterranean clover or serradella (Ornithopus compressus L.) swards (24–50 μg N/g) than those containing a mixture of subterranean clover and perennials (9–20 μg N/g). Apparent leaching of soil nitrate down the profile during winter was greatest in annual pasture treatments and least in swards containing perennials. Soil pH(CaCl2) at the 0–0.10 m depth varied with proximity to perennial plants and was significantly higher (+0.2–1.1 pH units) near the base of perennial plants than in gaps between the perennials or in annual-only swards. Available mineral N to 1.0 m before cropping at the end of the pasture phase was highest following subterranean clover (175–344 kg N/ha) and serradella (202–316 kg N/ha) at both sites. Available N was lowest (91–143 kg N/ha) following perennial grass–clover swards at the drier site where the annual legume content was lower, but perennial grass–clover swards produced larger soil N values (147–219 kg N/ha) at the higher rainfall site. Removal of the pasture in August–September compared with November in the year before cropping increased available N at the time of sowing by an average of 44% (51 kg N/ha) at the drier site and 43% (74 kg N/ha) at the wetter site. Incorporating perennial pasture species in swards was found to be advantageous in reducing nitrate leaching and preventing a decline in surface soil pH; however, available soil N to following crops could be lower if the annual legume content of perennial grass-based pastures declined due to competition from the perennial species.


1965 ◽  
Vol 5 (18) ◽  
pp. 310 ◽  
Author(s):  
RR Storrier

Water, in addition to the natural rainfall, was applied at five different stages of crop development to Heron wheat growing on a highly fertile soil. Dry matter yield, grain yield, the grain yield parameters (ear number, grain number per ear, weight per grain), and nitrogen content were measured. Changes in soil mineral nitrogen content as a consequence of water application and subsequent plant uptake were also studied. A single application of water at jointing, and treatments involving watering at all pre-anthesis stages during a period of moisture stress, increased straw and grain yields and floret development, as reflected in grain number per ear. Water applied after anthesis controlled to some degree the loss of dry matter and plant nitrogen exhibited by a maturing wheat crop. The number of tillers produced, the number surviving, or the number of ears were not increased by adding water at any stage of development. The increased grain yield that followed late additions of water was due to increases in the weight per grain. The addition of water during the jointing to milk stage increased the uptake of mineral nitrogen by the crop, to a depth of 30 inches. No increase in the mineralization of organic nitrogen was detected by soil analysis, but an approximate balance sheet indicated that mineralization, which was occurring during the growing season, was further stimulated by watering.


1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (106) ◽  
pp. 561 ◽  
Author(s):  
CH Williams

Long-term changes in some chemical properties of yellow podzolic soils under subterranean clover pastures were studied near Binda, New South Wales. The rate of decrease in pH of the surface 10 cm of soil was greatest in the early years following pasture establishment, and decreased with time. Over 50 years the decrease in pH was approximately one unit, resulting in current soil pH values of about 5.0. The increased acidity had led to increases in CaCI,-extractable manganese and exchangeable aluminium. Although the build-up of soil organic matter under a 32- year-old subterranean clover pasture was largely confined to the surface 10 cm, the decrease in pH extended to a depth in excess of 30 cm. Total soil nitrogen increased gradually throughout the 50-year period, reflecting increases in the soil organic matter. There were associated increases in cation exchange capacity and titratable acidity. Total soil phosphorus also increased with time and was correlated with the decrease in pH. This reflected the accumulation of organic and inorganic residues from phosphate fertilizers, but it seems unlikely that the acidity of the superphosphate contributed directly to the increase in soil acidity although it is essential for the establishment and maintenance of the legume, the main source of the increase in soil organic matter. It seems likely that the area of pasture soils adversely affected by acidity problems will increase in the future.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Antonio Junqueira Teixeira ◽  
Ronaldo Severiano Berton ◽  
Aline Reneé Coscione ◽  
Luis Alberto Saes ◽  
Marcio Koiti Chiba

Sewage sludge (SS) or biosolid has been studied as source of nutrient for several different plant species. It also contributes to soil fertility recycling organic matter and plant nutrients. This followup work examines a three-year (2001–2004) field experiment designed to evaluate the response of banana plants (Cavendish subgroup) to the application of biosolid as source of nitrogen. The treatments consisted of control (mineral PK, no N), three rates of sludge, and two rates of mineral NPK fertilizer. Plant and soil N concentration, fruit yield, plant height, stem diameter, and foliar endurance index were measured. Fruit yield with mineral fertilization or sludge applications did not differ statistically(P>0.05). Application of biosolid resulted in statistically significant higher agronomic efficiency(P<0.05)in comparison to mineral fertilizers. The concentration of soil mineral nitrogen increased using mineral fertilizer or sludge until 0.80 m after three years of application. The effect of the source of N was smaller than the effect of the rate. Biosolid can be used as source of N for banana growers.


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