The effects of chiseling and sulfur fertilization on infiltration, soil moisture, and vegetation parameters in the Ait Rbaa perimeter of central Morocco

Abstract

Abstract This study evaluated the effectiveness of chiseling and elemental sulfur fertilization upon soil moisture and vegetation response on an upland and a swale site with fine loamy, carbonatic, thermic, typic calcixeroll soils in the Ait Rbaa Perimeter of Central Morocco. Ponding infiltration, soil water content on a mass basis of the 0‐to 10‐cm and 10‐ to 20‐cm soil layers, peak season biomass production, and botanical composition were monitored during the two growing seasons following the treatments (1984/85 and 1985/86). Chiseling significantly (p < .001) improved infiltration on both sites, although the improvement was greater on the finer and less stony swale site. The land treatment also increased the average water content of the top 20 cm of soil. In the chiseled treatments, average soil water content decreased with soil depth on the upland site, while it increased on the swale site. Both the average infiltration rates of 5 cm of water and the average water content generally varied inversely with sampling time. Average peak season biomass production was 11 % greater with chiseling. Chiseling also positively affected botanical composition on the upland site by depressing average forb proportion and increasing legume ratio in the first growing season. The application of elemental sulfur at the rates of 0, 30, and 60 kg ha‐1 did not significantly (p < .05) affect any of the measured variables. The gain in production of biomass resulting from chiseling must be evaluated in terms of costs and returns before any recommendation on the practice can be made.