Long-term soil tillage effects on selected physical and biological parameters

Abstract

The lowest soil temperature values were found for no-tillage both on the surface and in each examined soil layer to 0.5 m depth. However, there were differences among the ploughed treatments only in the topsoil (0.1 m), below this layer similar soil temperature values were obtained. In our experience maize emergence and growing were strongly affected by soil temperature in the upper 0.1 m depth. Our results of pore size distribution indicated that changes in the total porosity occurred due to the changes in the macroporosity since the meso- and the microporosity were not affected by soil management. The lowest macroporosity was observed under no-tillage, but it can be assumed that the majority of these pores (>30 mm) belongs to biopores due to a higher abundance of earthworms improving the general physical and biological state of soil.