Chapter 1 - Soil Compaction Problems in World Agriculture

Abstract

There is widespread evidence for the prevalence of problems in crop production which are attributable to soil compaction caused by the passage of vehicles, implements and draft animals. Agricultural, horticultural and forestry crops are known to experience these problems in both temperate and tropical regions. Soil compaction problems were experienced in commercial production long before any coherent research was undertaken on this subject. During the early part of the 19th century, draft animals were observed to cause soil compaction during cultivation, while during the second half of the 19th and early years of the 20th centuries the use of steam engines for cultivation was accompanied by excessive compaction, unless cable traction was employed or soils were extremely dry. The introduction of the internal combustion engine for small tractors did not initially lead to widespread compaction problems but by the middle of the 20th century, and particularly during the past 30 years, mechanization has advanced to such a scale and intensity that compaction problems have become of worldwide importance. Soil compaction is now considered to be a multi-disciplinary problem in which machine/soil/crop/weather interactions play an important role and which may have dramatic economic and environmental consequences in world agriculture. However, recent progress in scientific understanding of the soil compaction process and its implications, improved insight into proper vehicle use and soil management, and the development of mechanization systems and novel running gear, provide new perspectives for reducing soil compaction problems in crop production.