Evaluating long-term impact of land use on selected soil physical quality indicators

Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 471 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Abu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Continuous Cultivation ◽  
Field Capacity ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Response ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Pasture Grasses ◽  
Andropogon Gayanus ◽  
Long Term Impact

This paper presents findings of comparative evaluation of selected soil physical quality (SPQ) indicators, obtained from fields subjected to: >50 years of cultivation of three perennial pasture grasses (i) Digitaria smutsii (DS), (ii) Brachiaria decumbens (BD), and (iii) Andropogon gayanus (AG); (iv) >50 years of continuous cultivation (CC) of cereals–legumes; and (v) >20 years of natural fallow (NF). The study was aimed at identifying the land-use system having optimal values for SPQ. Fields under CC had the highest bulk density, and the lowest total porosity (PORt) and macroporosity (PORp), field capacity (FC), and available water capacity (AWC). Perennial pasture grasses fields had significantly higher organic carbon, PORt, FC, AWC, and saturated hydraulic conductivity, and, hence, had better SPQ than CC fields and, in some instances, NF fields. The usefulness of ratios FC/PORt = 0.66 and ACt/PORt = 0.34 as additional indicators for assessing soil response to land-use systems was not proven in this study, and therefore, further studies should be conducted on the subject matter. Pasture grasses improved SPQ values relative to continuous cereal–legume cropping and fallow. The SPQ under CC and NF fields might be best improved by applying organic matter.

scholarly journals Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in Brazil

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3156
Author(s):  
Felipe Bonini da Luz ◽  
Martha Lustosa Carvalho ◽  
Daniel Aquino de Borba ◽  
Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein ◽  
Renato Paiva de Lima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Clayey Soil ◽  
Field Capacity ◽  
Conventional Tillage ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality

Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer with projections for expanding the current area by 30% in the coming years, mainly in areas previously occupied by pastures. We assess soil water changes induced by land-use change (LUC) for sugarcane expansion in the central-south region of Brazil. For that purpose, soil samples were collected in a typical LUC sequence (native vegetation–pasture–sugarcane) in two contrasting soil textures (i.e., sandy and clayey). Soil hydro-physical properties such as pores size distribution, bulk density, soil water content, water tension, and drainage time at field capacity, plant-available water, and S-index were analyzed. Our data showed that long-term LUC from native vegetation to extensive pasture induced severe degradation in soil physical quality and soil water dynamics. However, conventional tillage used during conversion from pasture to sugarcane did not cause additional degradation on soil structure and soil water dynamics. Over time, sugarcane cultivation slightly impaired soil water and physical conditions, but only in the 10–20 cm layer in both soils. Therefore, we highlight that sustainable management practices to enhance soil physical quality and water dynamics in sugarcane fields are needed to prevent limiting conditions to plant growth and contribute to delivering other ecosystem services.

scholarly journals Soil Physical Quality and Relationship to Changes in Termite Community in Northwestern Colombian Amazon

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ervin Humprey Duran-Bautista ◽  
Yolima Muñoz Chilatra ◽  
Juan Diego Galindo ◽  
Tania Alexandra Ortiz ◽  
María Fernanda Bermúdez
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Soil Biology ◽  
Amazon Forest ◽  
Silvopastoral Systems ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Rubber Plantations ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
The Impact

Conversion from Amazon forest to low-management pasture or agriculture causes not only degradation of aboveground vegetation but also negative changes in soil properties and ecosystem services. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of physical soil degradation on termite community changes in three contrasting land uses (natural regeneration, rubber plantations, and silvopastoral systems). Soil physical quality was assessed through a set of physical variables, such as bulk density, porosity, soil macro-aggregation state, Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) and penetration resistance, which were summarized in an overall synthetic indicator of physical quality. Besides, transects of 20 × 2 m were established in each land use; each transect was divided into four sections of 5 m to search and collect termites during 1 hour in each section; likewise, termites were collected from blocks of soil 25 × 25 × 10 cm (length, width, and depth, respectively) adapted from the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) method. In total, 60 transects were evaluated, 20 in each land use. A total of 41 species were collected across the three land uses evaluated: natural regeneration presented 60% of the collected species (25 species), silvopastoral systems 53% (22 species), and rubber plantations 39% (16 species). Additionally, composition species from the silvopastoral, agroforestry systems, and natural regeneration were different, and a close association between these last land uses was observed. Soil physical characteristics showed significant variations between land uses. The rubber plantations presented lowest values of soil physical quality, while the natural regeneration showed high soil physical quality. These changes affected termite community and lead to changes in its composition with disproportionate loss of some species; however, there are some that can acclimate well to the decline in the soil physical quality.

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.

scholarly journals Influence of slope aspect and position on soil physical quality and management implications at University of Uyo Teaching and Research Farm, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Agro-Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-48
Author(s):  
P.I. Ogban
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Pore Space ◽  
Soil Aggregates ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Infiltration Rate ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Management Factors

The effect of north and south aspects (NA and SA) and positions viz upper (US), middle (MS) and lower (LS) on soil physical quality from 2000 to 2020 was evaluated at the University of Uyo Teaching & Research Farm, to identify management factors at the Farm. Results showed that coarse sand increased while clay content decreased significantly (p < 0.05) and soil textural class was loamy sand on slope aspects and positions. Soil bulk density and total porosity were similar on the slope aspects and positions. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was significantly (p < 0.05) higher on SA (10.6 cm h–1) than NA (3.1 cm h–1) but declined by 93.03% and 52.47%, respectively in 20 years. Soil organic carbon, water-stable aggregates, mean-weight diameter of soil aggregates and structural index decreased by 14.81% and 38.33%, 60.53% and 55.53%, 31.26% and 21.71%, and 48.60% and 69.0%, respectively in NA and SA within the 20-year period. One minute infiltration rate was similar on NA and SA, while final infiltration rate, cumulative infiltration, sorptivity and transmissivity were significantly (p < 0.05) different; these soil hydraulic properties decreased in NA and SA by 83.0% and 86.43%, 52.63% and 14.29%, 81.53% and 63.9%, 95.0% and 85.63% and 90.42% and 96.11%, respectively on the aspects after the 20 years. Slope aspects and positions were generally similar in their effects on soil physical quality attributes, most of which were degraded after the 20 years. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified seven soil quality management factors namely (1) water intake, (2) soil texture, (3) soil pore space, (4) and (6) Fe and Al oxide, and (5) and (7) soil structural stability factors that could be used to improve and conserve the soil and water for increases in crop production on the farm.

scholarly journals PHYSICAL QUALITY OF SOILS UNDER A CROP-LIVESTOCK-FOREST SYSTEM IN THE CERRADO/AMAZON TRANSITION REGION

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Musse Moreira ◽  
Júlio César Lima Neves ◽  
Genelício Crusoé Rocha ◽  
Ciro Augusto de Souza Magalhães ◽  
Austeclinio Lopes Farias Neto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Transition Region ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Planted Forest ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Physical Attributes ◽  
One Year

ABSTRACT Integrated crop-livestock-forest (iCLF) systems have gained prominence in the past decades as an alternative of sustainable land use, particularly in regions in which there is pressure against agricultural expansion in protected ecosystems such as the Brazilian Amazon. In this context, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of one year of use of the iCLF system in the Cerrado/Amazon transition region to determine its impact on soil quality compared to other traditional land uses in the region (planted forest, crop, forage, and native forest). The results indicated that the iCLF system did not jeopardize the soil physical quality, and only the crop land use affected the soil physical attributes. The land uses with the lowest impact on the physical condition of the soil were the iCLF system and the planted forest.

Soil structure dynamics in annual croplands under controlled traffic management

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris G. Guenette ◽  
Guillermo Hernandez-Ramirez ◽  
Peter Gamache ◽  
Roger Andreiuk ◽  
Lewis Fausak
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Water Transmission ◽  
Controlled Traffic

Soil samples were collected from commercial agriculture sites within western Canada that were subjected to compaction from farm equipment in both conventional (imposed) traffic and controlled traffic regimes. Soil characteristics such as bulk density, pore volume fractions, and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity were compared with soil physical quality parameters, such as S-index and mass fractal aggregation between trafficked and untrafficked field areas. Our results showed that untrafficked soil characteristics displayed substantial improvements over those exposed to equipment compaction. Untrafficked soils in the controlled traffic regime exhibited total porosity improvements up to 15% in more than half of the study sites. In addition, spatial reductions of equipment compaction increased the volume of soil pore diameters associated with preferential water transmission from 40% to 180%. Changes in these soil characteristics within untrafficked soils correlated well with enhancements in the soil structure metrics, as improvements to the S-index were coupled with evidence of hierarchical aggregation. Irrespective of the positive changes to soil structure, significant increases in crop yield were rarely observed in favor of a controlled traffic regime. Our results suggest that the integration of controlled traffic farming into management systems may take several years for the benefits to soil physical quality to translate into observable improvements in crop yield.

scholarly journals Effects of traffic control on the soil physical quality and the cultivation of sugarcane

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Soares de Souza ◽  
Zigomar Menezes de Souza ◽  
Reginaldo Barboza da Silva ◽  
Ronny Sobreira Barbosa ◽  
Fernando Silva Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Root Development ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Soil Bulk Density ◽  
Root Surface ◽  
Sugar Yield ◽  
Track Width ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Technological Quality

The cultivation of sugarcane with intensive use of machinery, especially for harvest, induces soil compaction, affecting the crop development. The control of agricultural traffic is an alternative of management in the sector, with a view to preserve the soil physical quality, resulting in increased sugarcane root growth, productivity and technological quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of an Oxisol with and without control traffic and the resulting effects on sugarcane root development, productivity and technological quality. The following managements were tested: no traffic control (NTC), traffic control consisting of an adjustment of the track width of the tractor and sugarcane trailer (TC1) and traffic control consisting of an adjustment of the track width of the tractor and trailer and use of an autopilot (TC2). Soil samples were collected (layers 0.00-0.10; 0.10-0.20 and 0.20-0.30 m) in the plant rows, inter-row center and seedbed region, 0.30 m away from the plant row. The productivity was measured with a specific weighing scale. The technological variables of sugarcane were measured in each plot. Soil cores were collected to analyze the root system. In TC2, the soil bulk density and compaction degree were lowest and total porosity and macroporosity highest in the plant row. Soil penetration resistance in the plant row, was less than 2 MPa in TC1 and TC2. Soil aggregation and total organic carbon did not differ between the management systems. The root surface and volume were increased in TC1 and TC2, with higher productivity and sugar yield than under NTC. The sugarcane variables did not differ between the managements. The soil physical quality in the plant row was preserved under management TC1 and TC2, with an improved root development and increases of 18.72 and 20.29 % in productivity and sugar yield, respectively.

scholarly journals Revisiting the S-index for soil physical quality and its use in Brazil

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quirijn de Jong van Lier
Keyword(s):  
Bulk Density ◽  
Water Retention ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Critical Value ◽  
Water Retention Curve ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Soil Physics ◽  
Physical Quality ◽  
Soil Physical Quality ◽  
Additional Value

The S-index was introduced in 2004 in a publication by A.R. Dexter. S was proposed as an indicator of soil physical quality. A critical value delimiting soils with rich and poor physical quality was proposed. At present, Brazil is world leader in citations of Dexter's publication. In this publication the S-theory is mathematically revisited and extended. It is shown that S is mathematically correlated to bulk density and total porosity. As an absolute indicator, the value of S alone has proven to be incapable of predicting soil physical quality. The critical value does not always hold under boundary conditions described in the literature. This is to be expected because S is a static parameter, therefore implicitly unable to describe dynamic processes. As a relative indicator of soil physical quality, the S-index has no additional value over bulk density or total porosity. Therefore, in the opinion of the author, the fact that bulk density or total porosity are much more easily determined than the water retention curve for obtaining S disqualifies S as an advantageous indicator of relative soil physical quality. Among the several equations available for the fitting of water retention curves, the Groenevelt-Grant equation is preferable for use with S since one of its parameters and S are linearly correlated. Since efforts in soil physics research have the purpose of describing dynamic processes, it is the author's opinion that these efforts should shift towards mechanistic soil physics as opposed to the search for empirical correlations like S which, at present, represents far more than its reasonable share of soil physics in Brazil.

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