Abstract
Soil compaction can occur due to trafficking by heavy equipment and be exacerbated by unfavourable conditions such as wet weather. Compaction can restrict crop growth and increase waterlogging, which can increase the production of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Cultivation can be used to alleviate compaction, but this can have negative impacts on earthworm abundance and increase the production of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. In this study, a field was purposefully compacted using trafficking, then in a replicated plot experiment, ploughing, low disturbance subsoiling and the application of a mycorrhizal inoculant were compared as methods of compaction alleviation, over two years of cropping. These methods were compared in terms of bulk density, penetration resistance, crop yield, greenhouse gas emissions and earthworm abundance. Ploughing alleviated topsoil compaction, as measured by bulk density and penetrometer resistance, and increased the crop biomass in one year of the study, although no yield differences were seen. Earthworm abundance was reduced in both years in the cultivated plots, and carbon dioxide flux increased significantly, although this was not significant in summer months. Outside of the summer months, nitrous oxide production increased in the non-cultivated treatments, which was attributed to increased denitrifying activity under compacted conditions.
Highlights
Soil compaction is a form of soil degradation, which is an issue worldwide, due to the detrimental effects it has on agricultural productivity, through reduced crop growth, increased soil erosion and nutrient depletion [1]
We looked at the impact of topsoil compaction exerted by trafficking, which can occur when soils are trafficked by heavy equipment, especially in wet conditions [7,8]
The overall aim of the study was to identify the detrimental impacts of topsoil compaction, and to compare methods of alleviating this compaction in terms of their impact on soil compaction, earthworm populations, plant productivity and greenhouse gas emissions
Summary
Soil compaction is a form of soil degradation, which is an issue worldwide, due to the detrimental effects it has on agricultural productivity, through reduced crop growth, increased soil erosion and nutrient depletion [1]. The susceptibility of soils to compaction depends on the interaction between soil physical properties and climate; often soils are workable when soil moisture is lower than field capacity, making the window of opportunity for poorly draining soils narrow [5,9] Heavy clay soils, such as those found at this experimental site, are often prone to compaction when necessary field operations, such as harvest, coincide with wet weather. This may be exacerbated with the impact of climate change making weather patterns more extreme, with warmer wetter winters and increased occurrences of intense storms, potentially reducing machinery working days [10]
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