Impact of the No-Till technology on erosive degradation of soils in hollows

Abstract

The present research is aimed at studying the impact of the modern no-till agricultural technology on the development of erosion processes on cultivated arable land in the subzone of the southern chernozems of the Volgograd region. Evaluation of the impact of this agricultural technology was based on the analysis and comparison of soil cover in hollows located in the fields cultivated using either the classic technology or the no-till technology. The research methodology is based on combination of remote, field and laboratory methods for studying the soil cover. Analysis and generalization of data obtained in the course of laboratory studies of selected soil samples made it possible to identify a high degree of erosion processes in the hollows located in the fields, which had been cultivated using the no-till technology for three years. Comparison of the values of the content of organic carbon in the zones of removal, transit and accumulation of fine earth indicates the development of water degradation processes in the middle part of the hollows. Thus, for soil samples taken from a depth of 0-10 cm, the value of organic carbon content in the variant of soil tilled using the new technology is 2.6%, while in the variant tilled using the classic technology, this value is equal to 3.1%. The revealed differences in the soil cover of the hollows can be explained by interaction of the patterns of development of erosion-accumulation processes and the features of the no-till technology in specific natural and climatic conditions.