A description of acid soils and the relationships between properties of acid soils and the nutrient status of grazed pastures in the southeast of South Australia

Soil Research ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
TJV Hodge ◽  
DC Lewis

Areas of low soil pH in the south-east of South Australia were delineated by using previously submitted soil samples and soil association maps. A survey was then undertaken in the major soil associations to determine the severity and characteristics of highly acid soils. The acid soil types identified were a siliceous sand over clay (Db/Dy) and a siliceous sand over organic matter/sesquioxide pan (Uc). The top 2.5 cm of both soil types was significantly less acid than the remaining portion of the A horizon, with pH decreasing rapidly with depth until the B horizon, where a substantial soil pH increase occurred. As soil pH (0.01 M CaCl2) decreased below 4.5, extractable soil aluminium (0.01 M CaCl2) increased rapidly, to a maximum extractable concentration of 17 �g g-l. These soil types were also found to be deficient in both phosphorus and potassium, with 65% of the sites having extractable phosphorus concentrations below the critical value of 20 �g g-1 and 35% below the critical value for extractable potassium of 80 �g g-l. For subterranean clover, significant positive correlations were observed between soil pH and plant calcium and sulfur, and between extractable soil aluminium and plant aluminium. Significant negative correlations were observed between soil pH and plant manganese and between extractable soil aluminium and plant calcium and magnesium. For ryegrass, significant positive correlations were observed between extractable soil aluminium and plant aluminium and manganese. Significant negative correlations were observed between soil pH and plant manganese and between extractable soil aluminium and plant calcium. No other significant correlations were obtained. The results are discussed in relation to further acidification and management of these acid siliceous sands.

1977 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. PENNEY ◽  
M. NYBORG ◽  
P. B. HOYT ◽  
W. A. RICE ◽  
B. SIEMENS ◽  
...  

The amount of cultivated acid soil in Alberta and northeastern British Columbia was estimated from pH values of farm samples analyzed by the Alberta Soil Testing Laboratory, and the effect of soil acidity on crops was assessed from field experiments on 28 typical acid soils. The field experiments consisted of two cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and one cultivar each of rapeseed (Brassica campestris L.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) grown with and without lime for 2 yr. There are about 30,000 ha of soils with a pH of 5.0 or less where soil acidity seriously restricts yields of all four crop species. There are approximately 300,000 ha with a soil pH of 5.1–5.5 where liming will on the average increase yields of alfalfa by 100%, yields of barley by 10–15%, and yields of rapeseed and red clover by 5–10%. There are a further 1,600,000 ha where soil pH ranges from 5.6 to 6.0 and liming will increase yields of alfalfa by approximately 50% and yields of barley, rapeseed and red clover by at least 4–5%.


1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 1095 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Hill

Potential adaptation zones were modelled for major temperate pasture species using climate data and knowledge-based logical rules. A GIs database was constructed using a 0.025 degree digital elevation model and the Australian Climate Surfaces to create layers of monthly mean climate data for Australia. Soil pH maps for New South Wales, Victoria, and south-eastern South Australia were digitised and added to the database. Simple models using logical operators were constructed using estimates of temperature and aridity thresholds for the main temperate pasture species. The logical models were executed using primary and derived climate layers to create raster maps of potential adaptation zones for pasture species in eastern and south-western Australia. Areas of adaptation on freehold/leasehold land were expressed relative to a potential temperate pasture adaptation zone described by the lower (arid) limit of annual legume adaptation in temperate Australia and the northern limit of lucerne adaptation. Potential adaptation within this area ranged from 66% for lucerne down to <20% for perennial ryegrass in eastern Australia, and 93% for subterranean clover down to zero for perennial ryegrass in south-western Australia. Utility of the species adaptation zones could be enhanced using soil pH maps: a zone for serradella in NSW was refined by restricting adaptation to areas of climatic suitability with low soil pH. Maps for lucerne and Mount Barker subterranean clover showed good agreement with validation data for NSW. The zones may be readily adjusted by simple changes to parameter values in the algorithms. This knowledge-based approach has potential as an aid to targeting resources for plant improvement or to provide advice for more efficient utilisation of existing commercial pasture plants.


1971 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 201 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Siman ◽  
FW Crodock ◽  
PJ Nicholls ◽  
HC Kirton

The effects of increasing rates of lime and ammonium sulphate on French beans were studied on an acid red basaltic soil (pH 4.5-4.8), rich in manganese, on the north coast of New South Wales. Addition of lime resulted in an increased plant yield, a higher soil pH, and a marked reduction in available soil manganese and plant manganese. Applications of 2 or more tons lime per acre corrected manganese toxicity. Ammonium sulphate applications acidified the soil, increased manganese levels in both soil and plant tissue, and increased the frequency of manganese toxicity symptoms at less than 2 tons lime per acre. At pH 4.7-4.8, exchangeable and water-soluble manganese levels were sensitive to slight changes in reaction. Changes in pH between 5.2 and 6.0 caused only slight alterations in manganese levels in soil and plants. Two tons lime per acre reduced the level of manganese in the soil to about half that in the untreated soil, whereas 3 tons lime was necessary to halve the level of manganese in plants. Close linear relationships were found between rates of lime application and pH, between exchangeable and water-soluble manganese, and between both water-soluble and exchangeable soil manganese and plant manganese. Hyperbolic relationships were found between lime and manganese in soil and plants and also between pH and manganese fractions. Toxic levels of manganese in soil and leaves varied seasonally and yearly, and symptoms usually appeared when the manganese content of the first mature leaves was greater than 600 p.p.m. in the winter crop. Symptoms were more closely related to high levels of plant manganese than to soil manganese. The results of this trial indicate that soil and plant analyses are useful for predicting manganese toxicity in acid soils.


1952 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Anderson ◽  
DV Moye

In a study of the factors concerned in the effect of lime on subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) on an acid soil where nodulation is defective, it has been found that responses equal to those obtained with heavy dressings of lime can be obtained by the application of molybdenum together with only 2 cwt. of lime per acre at seeding. Marked response to molybdenum was obtained only where low levels of lime were used. Where heavier dressings of lime were applied the clover grew normally and did not then require treatment with molybdenum. Where no lime was used nodulation was defective and, during the first two )ears, response to molybdenum did not occur or was very small. Nodulation subsequently improved on the unlimed soil and response to molybdenum progressively increased over the five-year period of the experiments. In the year of sowing best results were obtained where the inoculated seed was drilled with the lime. The evidence suggests that defective nodulation of subterranean clover may be expected on new land where the soil reactions are less than pH 5.0, and that soils of higher pH but with minimum values less than pH 5.5 are also suspect. The importance of treatment with adequate superphosphate in addition to lime and molybdenum in the development of subterranean clover on this acid soil is stressed. The interpretation and significance of the positive and negative lime-molybdenum interactions obtained are discussed.


1969 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-125
Author(s):  
A. Vélez-Ramos ◽  
L. Standifer

Studies on the optimum amounts of plant residue additives, incubation time, and moisture level for maximum release of extractable Mn were performed with four soil types using greenhouse and controlled environment facilities. Addition of decomposing ryegrass or alfalfa residues to flooded soils significantly increased extractable Mn in three of the four soil types, but no effect was obtained with any soil having a low moisture content. Organic matter decomposition and flooding tended to shift soil pH toward neutrality, lessening the effect of pH on the release of extractable Mn.


1977 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 981 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Beavington ◽  
WA Wright

A survey of the copper status of herbage and its supporting soil over various soil parent materials (all with acid soils) on part of the coast of New South Wales showed levels of herbage copper ranging from < 1 to 14 ppm, EDTA-extractable soil copper from 0.2 to 32 ppm and a correlation between these two variables of r = 0.51 (P < 0,001). Very low levels of herbage copper were associated with high proportions of inferior grasses and both were associated with low 'available' soil copper. High levels of herbage copper were associated with high proportions of clover though not necessarily with the highest levels of 'available' soil copper. The content of molybdenum in herbage varied widely giving many very low copper/molybdenum ratios.


2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vele P Ila'ava ◽  
Pax Blamey ◽  
Colin J Asher

There were strong relationships between exchangeable aluminium (Al) and relative top yield, and between soil pH and relative top yield in the Garret and Bisinella soils. Sweet potato plants produced maximum top yields at soil exchangeable Al <3.0 cmol ((+)/kg, with a 10% yield reduction coinciding with a value of approximately 5.0 cmol (+)/kg. The value was lower for the Bisinella soil than the Garret soil. In the case of pH, maximum yield in both soils was evident at a soil pH of 5.0 with 90% of maximum yield being achieved at about pH 4.7. These results suggest that soil pH would be a good index for Al toxicity. The close relationships between sweet potato growth and both exchangeable Al and soil pH need to be explored further to determine whether it will hold across a wide range of acid soil groups.


2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 765-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miodrag Jakovljevic ◽  
Mirjana Kresovic ◽  
Srdjan Blagojevic ◽  
Svetlana Antic-Mladenovic

Some important chemical properties of various samples of two types of acid soil from Western Serbia (pseudogley and brown forest) are presented in this paper. Mobile Al was found in elevated and toxic quantities (10?30 mg/100 g) in the more acid samples of pseudogley soil. All samples of brown forest soil were very acid and the quantities of mobile Al were in the range from 12.8 to 90.0 mg/100 g. In a selected number of pseudogley soils, the influence of pH and other soil properties on the mineralization and nitrification processes was investigated. Strong inhibition of nitrification at low soil pH was found to be related to high quantities of mobile Al. At pH values less than 4.0 (in 1 M KCl), processes of chemical nitrification and denitrification of applied nitrites were registered in the pseudogley soils. .


2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 2061-2071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivo Ribeiro da Silva ◽  
Tarcísio Fernando Côrtes Corrêa ◽  
Roberto Ferreira Novais ◽  
Fabrício de Oliveira Gebrim ◽  
Flancer Novais Nunes ◽  
...  

A large proportion of soybean fields in Brazil are currently cultivated in the Cerrado region, where the area planted with this crop is growing considerably every year. Soybean cultivation in acid soils is also increasing worldwide. Since the levels of toxic aluminum (Al) in these acid soils is usually high it is important to understand how cations can reduce Al rhizotoxicity in soybean. In the present study we evaluated the ameliorative effect of nine divalent cations (Ca, Mg, Mn, Sr, Sn, Cu, Zn, Co and Ba) in solution culture on Al rhizotoxicity in soybean. The growth benefit of Ca and Mg to plants in an acid Inceptisol was also evaluated. In this experiment soil exchangeable Ca:Mg ratios were adjusted to reach 10 and 60 % base saturation, controlled by different amounts of CaCl2 or MgCl2 (at proportions from 100:0 up to 0:100), without altering the soil pH level. The low (10 %) and adequate (60 %) base saturation were used to examine how plant roots respond to Al at distinct (Ca + Mg)/Al ratios, as if they were growing in soils with distinct acidity levels. Negative and positive control treatments consisted of absence (under native soil or undisturbed conditions) or presence of lime (CaCO3) to reach 10 and 60 % base saturation, respectively. It was observed that in the absence of Aluminum, Cu, Zn, Co and Sn were toxic even at a low concentration (25 µmol L-1), while the effect of Mn, Ba, Sr and Mg was positive or absent on soybean root elongation when used in concentrations up to 100 µmol L-1. At a level of 10 µmol L-1 Al, root growth was only reverted to the level of control plants by the Mg treatment. Higher Tin doses led to a small alleviation of Al rhizotoxicity, while the other cations reduced root growth or had no effect. This is an indication that the Mg effect is ion-specific and not associated to an electrostatic protection mechanism only, since all ions were divalent and used at low concentrations. An increased exchangeable Ca:Mg ratio (at constant soil pH) in the acid soil almost doubled the soybean shoot and root dry matter even though treatments did not modify soil pH and exchangeable Al3+. This indicates a more efficient alleviation of Al toxicity by Mg2+ than by Ca2+. The reason for the positive response to Mg2+ was not the supply of a deficient nutrient because CaCO3 increased soybean growth by increasing soil pH without inducing Mg2+ deficiency. Both in hydroponics and acid soil, the reduction in Al toxicity was accompanied by a lower Al accumulation in plant tissue, suggesting a competitive cation absorption and/or exclusion of Al from plant tissue stimulated by an Mg-induced physiological mechanism.


1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
BJ Scott ◽  
BR Cullis

The effects of soil amendment with shallow (0-10 cm) incorporated lime or dolomite were examined at 3 sites with acid soils over 6 years. Measurement was made of soil pH and exchangeable cations, and of subterranean clover dry matter production, seed set, and concentrations of calcium, magnesium, manganese, nitrogen and phosphorus. Application of lime or dolomite increased the production of dry matter, but not by the alleviation of molybdenum deficiency. Response in yield ranged from nil to 47%, with most responses in the range 20-35%. Such responses persisted for 5-6 seasons following lime or dolomite application. Differences in soil pH associated with liming were maintained for the 6 years of measurement, so that the benefits in pasture production from soil amendment are likely to accrue beyond the time span of this study. The analyses of plant dry matter indicated that manganese toxicity may have been a factor in the response to lime at 1 harvest, and that higher nitrogen concentration was associated with liming at another. Generally, the plant analyses did not indicate a clear mechanism for the plant responses to lime, although the soil analyses indicated the presence of exchangeable aluminium in the unamended plots at all 3 sites. The plant responses demonstrated that acidity constrained the yield of subterranean clover grown on these soils.


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