Hydraulic properties of fine-textured soils in lowland ecosystems of Western Serbia vary depending on land use

Abstract

Land use in agriculture can alter the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils, but little is known how it affects the hydraulic properties of the fine-textured soils of lowland agroecosystems in continental climates. This research assesses the impact of long-term (>100 years) continuous use of natural meadows and arable land, after conversion of native mixed deciduous forests, on hydraulic properties such as water retention, pore-size distribution, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and bulk density. The research was conducted on Fluvic Phaeozems in the valley of the Kolubara River, western Serbia. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples from three different land use systems (forest, meadow, and arable land) and three different locations were collected at 0–15, 15–30, and 30–45 cm soil depth. Significant effects of different land uses were observed for bulk density, total porosity, macroporosity, mesoporosity, microporosity, air-filled porosity, field water capacity, plant available water capacity and saturated hydraulic conductivity at 0–15 cm soil depth, but a much smaller effect was observed at 15–30 cm. The water content estimated by the van Genuchten model was similar to the measured water content (R2 = 0.932–0.972). At 30–45 cm soil depth, land use only significantly affected a few of the examined variables. Dexter's soil physical quality index (S-index) also detected degradation of soil physical quality after conversion from forest to agroecosystems. In summary, the conversion of native forests into agricultural land tends to cause considerable change in the hydraulic properties and soil physical quality of fine-textured soils in lowland continental agroecosystems, which could have an adverse effect on crop yield and the environment.