Abstract
The multi-height (low, L = 3 cm; intermediate, M = 100 cm; high, H = 200 cm) Beerkan run methodology was applied on both a minimum tilled (MT) (i.e., up to a depth of 30 cm) and a no-tilled (NT) bare loam soil, and the soil water retention curve was estimated by the BEST-steady algorithm. Three indicators of soil physical quality (SPQ), i.e., macroporosity (Pmac), air capacity (AC) and relative field capacity (RFC) were calculated to assess the impact of water pouring height under alternative soil management practices. Results showed that, compared to the reference low run, M and H runs affected both the estimated soil water retention curves and derived SPQ indicators. Generally, M–H runs significantly reduced the mean values of Pmac and AC and increased RFC for both MT and NT soil management practices. According to the guidelines for assessment of SPQ, the M and H runs: (i) worsened Pmac classification of both MT and NT soils; (ii) did not worsen AC classification, regardless of soil management parameters; (iii) worsened RFC classification of only NT soil, as a consequence of insufficient soil aeration. For both soil management techniques, a strong negative correlation was found between the Pmac and AC values and the gravitational potential energy, Ep, of the water used for the infiltration runs. A positive correlation was detected between RFC and Ep. The relationships were plausible from a soil physics point of view. NT soil has proven to be more resilient than MT. This study contributes toward testing simple and robust methods capable of quantifying soil degradation effects, due to intense rainfall events, under different soil management practices in the Mediterranean environment.
Highlights
The mechanical impact of water drops, occurring during intense rainfall events, may deteriorate the soil physical properties [1,2,3]
The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mechanical impact of different heights of water pouring on the soil physical quality (SPQ) of NT and minimum tilled (MT) loam soil
The water impact changed the soil physical quality assessment; according to the literature guidelines, M and H cause a decrease in macroporosity below the critical limit of 0.04 cm3 cm−3, i.e., the results suggested soil degradation due to excessive compaction (Figure 5)
Summary
The mechanical impact of water drops, occurring during intense rainfall events, may deteriorate the soil physical properties [1,2,3]. The surface soil structure deterioration can occur due to the breakdown of the chemical-physical bonds responsible for soil aggregation, the displacement of the detached soil particles, and as a consequence of the subsequent re-compaction of the finest soil particles [2,4]. Because of these main processes, a soil seal, that is a relatively dense and compact surface soil layer, generally thin and with low permeability, can be formed [5]. Under specific critical soil conditions, i.e., a sloping bare soil, soil sealing may represent the main cause of surface runoff and erosion during rainstorms [6,7] in arid and semi-arid environments [1,8]
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