Abstract
Managers, scientists, planners and designers of landscapes are interested in systematic investigations, to predict the reconstruction of disturbed soil resources for optimum vegetation productivity. In this study, a predictive equation for estimating neo-soil plant growth in Coryell County, Texas was developed. The equation predicts the vegetation growth for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), oats [Avena sativa L. (1753)], sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], cotton lint (Gossypium hirsutum L.), Bermuda grass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], and rangeland production in general. The results suggest that an all-vegetation predictive model was highly significant (p ≤ 0.0001), explaining over 80% of the variance. The equation employed hydraulic conductivity as a main-effect variable; bulk density and hydraulic conductivity as squared terms; and percent clay times bulk density, bulk density times soil reaction, hydraulic conductivity times available water holding capacity, and hydraulic conductivity times soil reactions as first order interaction terms, with each predicting variable containing a p-value equal to or less than 0.05. The results suggest that an annual crop equation and a plant-specific cotton lint equation also have merit.
Highlights
Since the 1980s, reclamation scientists have urged the development of science-based equations to predict plant growth in soils [1,2,3]
The intention and call for soil productivity equations paralleled these existing tests, as it was believed that soil productivity equations could be added to the palette of available tests pertinent to soil metrics and properties, especially in surface mine reclamation, and with regards to the vast array of human activities that reconstruct the soil profile
Topsey soil is a deep loamy soil residing in uplands, which forms in calcareous sediment with slopes ranging from 3% to 8%
Summary
Since the 1980s, reclamation scientists have urged the development of science-based equations to predict plant growth in soils [1,2,3]. The typical approach was to construct a new soil (neo-sol) profile, and grow crops on the new profile to determine the soil’s productivity, comparing the productivity with past productivity or to current reference areas This takes time, often up to 10 years of evaluation. In the mined land reclamation process, these equations might assist in developing profiles and design alternatives to efficiently and effectively utilize soil properties and resources, to maximize/optimize post-mining productivity. This call for the equations existed long before much of the population was strongly interested in sustainability, at a time when citizen environmental activists, concerned politicians and natural resource scientists passionate about such issues were still a small minority
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