Abstract
Soil water regimes have been shown to have important implications for the erosion risks associated with land management decisions. Despite this, there remains a paucity of information on soil moisture thresholds for farm management operations including the periodic ploughing and reseeding of improved pasture used for ruminant farming. Against this background, this study analysed sediment loss monitored on a heavily instrumented farm platform, in SW England, over four phases of ploughing and reseeding. Precipitation and sediment yields were highly variable between the ten different field scale catchments on the experimental platform after reseeds. Post-plough period rainfall ranged between 461–1121 mm and corresponding sediment yields between 0.20 - 3.13 t. ha−1 yr−1. The post-plough and reseeding periods accounted for a very high proportion (mean 28.8 %) of monitored sediment fluxes over the study (2012–2019) despite only covering an average of 10.9 % of the 2002 days of flume monitoring. Post-plough sediment yields were highest (2.57 t. ha−1 yr−1 and 3.13 t. ha−1 yr−1) when two catchments were ploughed in autumn months and soils were saturated. The yields for the same catchments after summer ploughing were far lower (0.72 t. ha-1yr-1and 0.73 t. ha-1yr-1). Thresholds of 35–38 % soil moisture were identified at which ploughing represented a highly elevated erosion risk. Whilst pinpointing thresholds for the clay loam soils with slowly permeable drainage in the study area, the results serve to illustrate the wider need for robust scientific data on soil moisture status to help guide the timing of farm management operations for improving production, to help reduce negative environmental consequences.
Highlights
Increasing demand for food, energy and water in the context of population growth mean that the sustainable use of finite agricultural land resources is a policy priority (Godfray et al, 2010; McBratney et al, 2014)
The results presented underscore the significance of soil moisture content in substantially elevating the risk of soil erosion and sediment loss from long-term pasture fields during ploughing and reseeding for sward improvement
This study illustrates the importance of prevailing soil moisture content in the context of managing soil erosion risk accompanying scheduled pasture ploughing and reseeding
Summary
Increasing demand for food, energy and water in the context of population growth mean that the sustainable use of finite agricultural land resources is a policy priority (Godfray et al, 2010; McBratney et al, 2014). In the UK, grassland represents 67 % of total agricultural land area meaning that its sustainable management is key to ensuring the maintenance of soil fertility and the good status of waterbodies (Defra, 2015). Soils in the UK under productive grassland with an intact sward experience lower erosion rates when compared to cultivated land, with typical rates ranging between 0.17 and 1.38 t ha-1 yr−1 (Whitmore et al, 2004; Bilotta et al, 2010; Evans et al, 2017). The average proportion of farm area reseeded annually for grass in the UK has recently been reported as 11.8 %, with a range between 4.2 %–50 % (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, 2018)
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