Comparison of porosity in a Chernozemic clay loam soil under long-term conventional tillage and no-till

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Miller ◽  
E. G. Kokko ◽  
G. C. Kozub

Tillage practice can alter soil structure, porosity and the size distribution of pores. Consequently, this study was conducted to compare the long-term (since 1968) effects of conventional tillage (CT) using a heavy-duty cultivator and no-till (NT) on structure and porosity of a Dark Brown Chernozem (clay loam) soil in southern Alberta. Number and porosity of total, round, intermediate and elongated pores, maximum equivalent circular diameter (MECD), and mean circularity of pore sizes 50–500 µm (P-150), 500–1000 µm (P-500) and >1000 µm (P-1000) diameter were quantified. These parameters were determined for three depths (0–10, 10–20 and 20–30 cm) and two orientations (vertical, horizontal) using UV-dye impregnated soil sections and image analysis. The surface soil (0–10 cm) of CT was dominantly granular-spongy, but for NT it was dominantly crack to massive. Since tillage treatments were not replicated, only general trends on the effect of tillage and its interaction with depth and orientation are given and probability levels are not reported. Tillage treatment had an influence on P-150 and P-500 pores but little or no influence on P-1000 pores. Mean number and porosity of total and intermediate P-500 pores, which are the most important pore size class for seedling root growth in these soils, were higher for CT than NT for the surface soil, but were higher for NT than CT for the subsoil. For example, the total porosity of P-500 pores was 2.21% for CT and 1.95% for NT at the 0- to10-cm depth, 3.80% for NT and 2.27% for CT at the 10- to 20-cm depth, and 3.18% for NT and 2.80% for CT at the 20- to 30-cm depth. These results suggested a higher potential for seedling root growth in the surface soil of CT, but a greater potential for root growth in the subsoil of NT. Key words: structure, porosity, image analysis, tillage

2018 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 738-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.L. Van Eerd ◽  
A.H. DeBruyn ◽  
L. Ouellette ◽  
D.C. Hooker ◽  
D.E. Robinson

Automated wet-sieving is preferred for this clay loam soil due to better sensitivity and savings (time and disposables) despite a larger capital investment. Rotations with greater frequency of winter wheat and no-till compared with conventional plow system had greater wet aggregate stability values, indicating better surface soil quality.


Agriculture ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Ordoñez-Morales ◽  
Martin Cadena-Zapata ◽  
Alejandro Zermeño-González ◽  
Santos Campos-Magaña

In many regions, conservation tillage has been shown to contribute to preserving soil properties. However, in order to promote this practice in new areas, it is necessary to generate information about its results in local environmental conditions. Our objective was to study the effect of No Tillage (NT), Vertical Tillage (VT) and Conventional Tillage (CT) on physical soil properties of a clay loam soil and on yields (Avena sativa L.), in a semiarid area of Mexico. From 2013 to 2016 an experiment was conducted in random blocks, with the three tillage systems as treatments. Four variables were measured; bulk density (Bd), pore space (P), hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and crop yield. Our results did show scarce differences between the tillage systems. Values ranged between 1.21 g cm−3 to 1.39 g cm−3 for Bd, 45% to 55% for P, and 4.29 mm h−1 to 13.61 mm h−1 for Ks. Although differences were not significant among treatments, Bd decreased 6.7% for CT, 5.6% for NT and 0.7% for VT. P increased 6% for CT, 5% for NT and 0.5% for VT. Ks for CT decreased 6% more than for NT and VT. Average yield was 13% less in NT compared to CT and VT. A long-term investigation is needed in order to determine the effects of tillage methods, in our particular environmental conditions.


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

The objective was to quantify the effect of crop rotations, crop type, life cycle, nitrogen fertilizer, manure application, and fallow on soil hydrophobicity (SH). The SH was measured for a long-term (16 yr) dryland field experiment on a Dark Brown clay loam soil in southern Alberta, Canada. Mean SH was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater in rotations with grass, perennial crops, manure application, and continuous cropping; whereas cereal-legume rotations and N fertilizer effects were undetectable. A strong, positive correlation occurred between SH and soil organic carbon concentration (r=0.73). Soil water repellency should be measured on these plots using water-based methods.


2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 1325-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmelo Maucieri ◽  
Maurizio Borin

Abstract. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil texture and primary tillage type on soil CO2 emission and maize biomass production after digestate liquid fraction (DLF) spreading. The study was conducted in 2014 in two open fields at Terrasa Padovana (farm 1) and Bovolenta (farm 2) in the Veneto Region of Italy. Soil CO2 emission after digestate spreading was evaluated by comparing the effect of soil texture (sandy loam vs. clay loam) at farm 1 and the effect of long-term primary tillage management (>10 years) (ripping vs. plowing) in clay loam soil at farm 2. Unamended soil was considered the control at both farms. DLF was supplied before maize ( L.) sowing at a dose equal to 170 kg total nitrogen ha-1 using a splash-plate technique. DLF spreading determined a CO2 emission peak 1 h after spreading at both farms, with median emission values of 8.93 and 4.35 g m-2 h-1, respectively, from the sandy loam and clay loam soils at farm 1. At farm 2, primary tillage type did not exert a significant effect on CO2 emission peak, with a median value of 5.85 g m-2 h-1. About three days after DLF distribution, soil CO2 fluxes were less than 1 g m-2 h-1. The first soil harrowing and the first rainfall event after spreading determined significantly higher CO2 emissions from amended plots than from unamended plots for a few hours. At farm 1, soil CO2 emission during the maize growing season was significantly higher in the amended plots (+1.7 times) than in the unamended plots, which showed a median emission value of 0.29 g m-2 h-1; soil texture and tillage exerted no significant influence. Maize yield at dough stage was not significantly influenced by DLF at farm 1, with 22.7 ±1.6 Mg ha-1 and 18.7 ±2.8 Mg ha-1 in the clay loam and sandy loam soils, respectively. At farm 2, the distribution of DLF increased maize biomass production by +17% with respect to the unamended treatment that produced 18.0 ±2.4 Mg ha-1. Although the results reported in this article concern data from only one year, and further long-term experiments are needed to confirm our findings, they indicate that CO2 emissions after digestate distribution are lower in a clay loam soil than in a sandy loam soil and are not affected by primary tillage type. Keywords: Clay loam soil, Digestate splash-plate spreading, Plowing, Ripping, Sandy loam soil.


2007 ◽  
Vol 170 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Zhu ◽  
Jun Ren ◽  
Lichun Wang ◽  
Xiaoping Zhang ◽  
Xueming Yang ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Craig F. Drury ◽  
Xueming Yang ◽  
W. Daniel Reynolds ◽  
Xudong Zhang

Author(s):  
Catherine Anne Fox ◽  
Joseph J. Miller ◽  
Monika Joschko ◽  
Craig F. Drury ◽  
W. Reynolds

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