Effects Of Soil Management Research Articles

Effects of conventional versus no-tillage systems on the population dynamics of elaterid pests and the associated damage at establishment of maize crops

No-till agriculture, combined with the practices of continuous soil cover by retaining crop residues and of crop rotation, including cover crops, represents a relatively widely adopted management system that aims to increase soil organic matter content as well as long-term sustainability. However, its impacts on wireworm populations in the soil and risk of damage to crops are uncertain, and current recommendations may unjustifiably limit grower options. Consequently, this study examined the effects of no-tillage soil management on the population dynamics of Agriotes wireworm pests (Coleoptera: Elateridae) by bait sampling, maize plant damage assessments, and pheromone trapping (adults) within three farms in northeastern Italy, from 2011 through 2016, as compared to conventional tillage. The four-year cropping rotation consisted of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), oilseed rape (Brassica napus), maize (Zea mays), and soybean (Glycine max) under both tillage treatments. The nature and intensity of damage caused by wireworms to maize early stages was assessed each year. Wireworms and beetles comprised of four different species (A. brevis, A. sordidus, A. ustulatus, and A. litigiosus) were captured, with the numerically dominant species (A. sordidus) accounting for over 90% of all captures. All species responded similarly to tillage practices. No effects of tillage operations were associated with beetle captures (P > 0.28) and larval densities (P > 0.45). No differences were observed between tillage treatments in wireworm feeding maize damage scores (P > 0.17; means for no-till and conventional tillage maize were 3.82 and 4.14 percent damage, respectively). These results suggest that switching from a conventional tillage system to a no-till maize production may not cause an increase of wireworm damage to maize, even though no-till conditions have been historically associated with increased wireworm damage risk. Possible causes of these results are discussed.

ASSESSMENT OF SOIL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF FARMERS IN ZARIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the soil management practices of farmers in Zaria Local Government Area, Kaduna state, Nigeria. Both primary and secondary means of data collection were employed in the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select both the study locations and the respondents based on the characteristics of the population and the objectives of the study. The sample size of 384 copies of questionnaire was purposively used to acquire data from the selected respondents. This was analyzed in SPSS 2.0 version, using simple descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and mean derived from 4-point Likert scale. The study indicated that the most adopted soil management practice by the respondents was the use of animal manure with 28.1%. This is followed by Mixed Cropping (26.3%). while shifting cultivation is the least practice (1.7%). The results also revealed that manure application is the most effective soil management practice with a mean score of ( = 4.21). while the lowest mean score is zero tilling with a value of ( = 1.51). Findings also showed that Soil fertility depletion is the strongest challenge to soil management practices with 32.9%. The paper concludes that farmers in the study area can adopt many soil management practices. The paper recommends that there is need for mobile advisory teams of agricultural extension agents and the N-power agro unit to be set up, equipped, mobilized to reach out farmers to increase their awareness on adoption of improved agro soil management practices through training and consultation with farmers.

Soil structure as a significant indirect factor affecting crop yields

Soil structure as a significant indirect factor affecting crop yields

Review on role of lime on soil acidity and soil chemical properties

One of the chemical soil degradation difficulties which affect soil production in the Ethiopian highlands is due to soil acidity. These review efforts to put together soil acidity concept, causes extent and management practices. Soil acidity is the problem of agricultural activities in Ethiopian highlands or cultivated lands and is getting an increase. To adjust acid soils and increase yields of crops of their choices farmers need simple and supportable methods, such as liming. An important role for raising soil pH and enhancing crop productivity liming has play an important role. In Ethiopia, because of soil acidity and associated toxic nutrient availability the gap between probable and actual yield is very varied .The application of mineral fertilizers without adjustments is simply wastage of resources, because acidic soils are not reactive those mineral fertilizer. Improving yield production and there by satisfying yield gains effective and efficient acid soil management practices is important .This review emphases on the role of liming on soil chemical properties and also causes and managements of soil acidity and its successive effect on soil fertility and crop yield, in addition to this Integrated acid soil management improves the permanence of yields and maximizes nutrient use efficiency

Mid-Term Effects of Conservative Soil Management and Fruit-Zone Early Leaf Removal Treatments on the Performance of Nerello Mascalese (Vitis vinifera L.) Grapes on Mount Etna (Southern Italy)

The aim of this study was to analyze the mid-term influence of minimum tillage (MT) combined with early leaf removal (ELR) on the performance of the black grapevine variety Nerello Mascalese (Vitis vinifera L.). The research was carried out from 2015 to 2018 in a vineyard located in the Mount Etna area, East Sicily, Southern Italy. An average of about 8000 cm2 of leaves were removed from the ELR vines, corresponding to a canopy defoliation of 44% in 2017 and 30% in 2018. As for the stem water potential of both primary and lateral leaves, ELR-MT treatment showed the best performance (up to −0.4 MPa) among the four combinations. In 2017, no differences in yield/vine were found among treatments, whereas in 2018 the yield was significantly lower in ELR treatments. Among the different treatments performed, the ELR-MT showed the best results both in terms of physiological plant parameters (water status and photosynthetic activity) and fruit quality (higher concentration of sugars and total anthocyanins and polyphenols). ELR-MT treatment is also associated with a lower incidence of tillage operations from four to only one per year (−60–70 h/ha). In contrast to what was observed in the first 3 years of application (i.e., from 2015 to 2017), yield was heavily penalized during the fourth year of application (2018), probably due to the excessive depletion of nutritional reserves, the reduction of bud fertility and the unfavorable meteorological condition. For these reasons, the ELR-MT combination might require an interruption every 2–3 years of application.

Preconsolidation stress of gibbsitic and kaolinitic Oxisols under a multipractice conservationist coffee system

Our goal was to analyze the impact of a multipractice soil conservationist system on coffee production in tropical soils (LATOSSOLO VERMELHO-AMARELO caulinítico/kaolinitic Haplustox and LATOSSOLO VERMELHO-gibbsítico/gibbsitic Acrustox) in Minas Gerais, Brazil. In the experimental area, the soil management involved a set of multiple conservationist practices during cultivation for more than 3.5 yrs. Soil samples were collected at 0-5, 10-15, and 20-25 cm depths at two positions: planting rows and between rows. The soil physical and mechanical properties were determined, with a focus mainly on the preconsolidation stress model (preconsolidation stress versus matric tension). For the purpose of analysis, a split-split plot experimental design was implemented. A linear mixed regression model (LMR) was fitted, and Wald’s test was performed (P < 0.05). An improvement of soil physical quality for both Oxisols was observed at the planting row position. The effects of multipractice soil management after 3.5 yrs of cultivation in association with increased gibbsite content could promote new soil structure organization, as revealed by LMR, resulting in more resilient soils (between rows) and increasing the resistance to external pressures on gibbsitic Acrustox. Overall, the findings herein are in concordance with global trends towards conservationist practices that may alleviate soil compaction in agricultural systems to maintain environmental sustainability.

Organic carbon dynamics in interrows of Vitis vinifera with different years of soil use and management

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of soil use and management on organic carbon stocks in the interrows of Vitis vinifera with different years of cultivation. A vineyard located in Rio Grande do Sul state, with 4, 9 and 16 years of management, was evaluated. Soil samples from different layers, 0.0-0.10, 0.10-0.20, 0.20-0.30, 0.30-0.40, 0.40-0.50 and 0.50-0.60 m, were collected on wheel tracks, between wheel tracks and under the planting rows. As a reference, samples were collected in native grassland of the region. Organic matter content, bulk density and soil porosity were evaluated. Carbon stock was determined according to the correction of the sampled thickness. The results were subjected to analysis of variance and means were compared by Tukey test at 0.05 probability level. Soil management caused alterations in its structure and organic matter content, observed mainly in the first 30 cm, regardless of the area studied. Highest values of bulk density were observed on the tractor wheel tracks, followed by under the planting row and between wheel tracks. Alteration in soil cover for vineyard planting led to a reduction in the carbon stock, compared to the native grassland. The area under management for 4 years showed higher carbon stocks between the wheel tracks, whereas the areas under 9 and 16 years of management showed highest values in the wheel tracks.

Identifying regions of inhomogeneities in spatial processes via an M-RA and mixture priors.

Soils have been heralded as a hidden resource that can be leveraged to mitigate and address some of the major global environmental challenges. Specifically, the organic carbon stored in soils, called soil organic carbon (SOC), can, through proper soil management, help offset fuel emissions, increase food productivity, and improve water quality. As collecting data on SOC are costly and time-consuming, not much data on SOC are available, although understanding the spatial variability in SOC is of fundamental importance for effective soil management. In this manuscript, we propose a modeling framework that can be used to gain a better understanding of the dependence structure of a spatial process by identifying regions within a spatial domain where the process displays the same spatial correlation range. To achieve this goal, we propose a generalization of the multiresolution approximation (M-RA) modeling framework of Katzfuss originally introduced as a strategy to reduce the computational burden encountered when analyzing massive spatial datasets. To allow for the possibility that the correlation of a spatial process might be characterized by a different range in different subregions of a spatial domain, we provide the M-RA basis functions weights with a two-component mixture prior with one of the mixture components a shrinking prior. We call our approach the mixture M-RA. Application of the mixture M-RA model to both stationary and nonstationary data show that the mixture M-RA model can handle both types of data, can correctly establish the type of spatial dependence structure in the data (e.g., stationary versus not), and can identify regions of localstationarity.

Effect of Soil Management and Training System on Negroamaro Wine Aroma.

This study aimed to assess the impact of two soil managements and training systems on yield and wine aroma compounds of Negroamaro variety grown in a warm climate region (southern Italy). Cover crop (CC) and soil tillage (ST) as soil management, whilst bilateral Guyot (BG) and monolateral Guyot (MG) as training systems were compared. Free and bound volatile fractions were evaluated by GC-MS. ST and CC as well as BG and MG significantly affected yield parameters. In particular, yield was higher in ST and BG than in CC and MG, respectively; moreover, it was found to be positively influenced by interaction between BG and ST. Regarding aroma compounds, significant interactions between soil management and training system factors were observed. In case of free volatiles, the most positive interaction was found between BG and ST, whereas, for bound volatiles, the best interaction was represented by MG with both soil tillage and cover crop. Vine leaf area and development over vine growth stages along with water stress levels played an important role in determining the aroma profile as well as yield parameters. In conclusion, the training system significantly interacted with soil management and affected most of important aroma compounds in Negroamaro wine.

Effect of Soil Management on Erosion in Mountain Vineyards (N-W Italy)

We studied the effects of three soil management approaches (permanent grassing, chemical weeding, and buffer strips), and the additional impact of tractor passage on soil erosion in a sloping vineyard located in the inner part of Aosta Valley (N-W Italian Alps). The vineyard rows were equipped with a sediment collection system with channels and barrel tanks. A total of 12 events with sediment production were observed across 6 years, and the collected sediments were weighted and analyzed. Average erosion rates ranged from negligible (mainly in grassed rows) to 1.1 t ha−1 per event (after weeding). The most erosive event occurred in July 2015, with a total rainfall of 32.2 mm, of which 20.1 were recorded in 1 h. Despite the limited number of erosive events observed, and the low measured erosion rates, permanent grassing reduced soil erosion considerably with respect to weeding; buffering had a comparable effect to grassing. The tractor passage, independent of the soil management approaches adopted, visibly accelerated the erosion process. The collected sediments were highly enriched in organic C, total N, and fine size fractions, indicating a potential loss of fertility over time. Despite the measured erosion rates being low over the experiment’s duration, more severe events are well documented in the recent past, and the number of intense storms is likely to increase due to climate change. Thus, the potential effects of erosion in the medium and long term need to be limited to a minimum rate of soil loss. Our experiment helped to compare soil losses by erosion under different soil management practices, including permanent grassing, i.e., a nature-based erosion mitigation measure. The results of the research can provide useful indications for planners and practitioners in similar regions, for sustainable, cross-sectoral soil management, and the enhancement of soil ecosystem services.

Seeking for an optimal strategy to avoid arsenic and cadmium over-accumulation in crops: Soil management vs cultivar selection in a case study with maize

Soil management and cultivar selection are two strategies to reduce the accumulation risk of heavy metals in crops. However, it is still an open question which of these two strategies is more efficient for the safe utilization of contaminated soil. In this study, the available bio-concentration factors (aBCF) of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) among 39 maize cultivars were determined through a field experiment. The effect of soil management was mimicked by choosing diverse sampling sites having different soil available contents of As and Cd. The aBCF of As and Cd in grain ranged from 0.02 to 0.13 and 1.17 to 42.2, respectively. The accumulation ability of As and Cd was classified among different maize cultivars. Soil pH and total As controlled the level of available As in soils, while soil pH dominated available Cd in soil. A soil pH of 6.5 was recommended to simultaneously minimize soil available As and Cd by managing soil conditions. The quantitative effects of cultivar and soil management on grain As and Cd were expressed as Q [Grain As] = 0.746Q [Cultivar]-0.126Q [pH]+0.276Q [Asavailable] (R2 = 0.648, P = 1.00 × 10−37) and Q [Grain Cd] = 0.913Q [Cultivar]-0.192Q [pH]+0.071Q [SOC] (R2 = 0.782, P = 1.00 × 10−37), respectively. Cultivar selection contributed stronger than soil management to decrease the As and Cd levels in maize grains. A feasible method to seek for a more efficient strategy was proposed for the safe utilization of contaminated soil.

Soil Health Response of Histosols to Flooded versus Dry-Fallow Conditions during Summer

Evaluating changes in soil properties associated with flooded fields during the summer months in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) provides us an opportunity to assess the effect of soil management associated with flooded versus dry-fallow field conditions on Histosols. This information will be beneficial to current and potential growers farming flooded rice in south Florida, as well as Extension agents who work on rice and soil conservation agencies such as the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). This new 6-page publication was written by Jehangir H. Bhadha, Jay Capasso, Abul Rabbany, Nan Xu, and Matthew VanWeelden, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Soil and Water Sciences.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss697

The Effect of Soil Management on Pore Size Distribution and Water Infiltration

The Effect of Soil Management on Pore Size Distribution and Water Infiltration

ROOT DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF MIXED STANDS OF Eucalyptus urograndis AND Acacia mangium UNDER DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOIL TILLAGE

Atmospheric nitrogen (N)-fixing tree species provide numerous benefits for the soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of soil management on root development and growth of trees in mixed stands of Eucalyptus urograndis (Eucalyptus urophylla S. T. Blak and Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden) and Acacia mangium Willd. These species were established in a randomized block design with split plots, subjected to minimum tillage and intensive tillage, monospecific stand of Eucalyptus urograndis (1) and Acacia mangium (2), in addition to the intercropping of these species with 50% of the density of the compound compartment of each species (3). Increments in diameter and height were measured up to 49 months after installation of the experiment and fine roots (<2 mm in diameter) were sampled at five different points in two sets of trees per plot up to 1.0 m depth (0-0.1, 0.1-0.3, 0.3-0.5, 0.5-1.0 m) using a steel probe with 0.045 m internal diameter. After 49 months, E. urograndis trees showed greater increments in height and diameter. Treatment 2 showed a higher fine root density (FRD) in all layers. The implementation of mixed stands intensified the FRD of E. urograndis in the 0-0.1 m layer. Effect on root development was observed only in the 0.1-0.3 m layer, where intensive tillage increased FRD in treatment 2. Thus, mixed stands can be an excellent alternative for forest production in areas subjected to soil degradation.

Structure Stability of Cultivated Soils from Semi-Arid Region: Comparing the Effects of Land Use and Anionic Polyacrylamide Application

The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations call for applying soil management practices that contribute land degradation neutrality. Our objectives were to investigate the effect of (i) soil management—conventional tillage (CT under crop) and no-tillage (NT under grass)—and (ii) an amendment (polyacrylamide (PAM)) application on the structure stability indices of soils from a semi-arid region. Two sets of experiments were conducted using the high-energy moisture characteristic (HEMC) method for the assessment of (i) land-use type (CT vs. NT) in soils (30 samples) varying in texture, and (ii) the effect of six PAM concentrations (0, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mg L−1) on three typical soils (sandy clay loam, clay loam, and clay) under CT management; then, the contributions of PAM concentration (CT) and NT were compared. Water retention curves of samples were obtained at a matric potential from 0 to −5.0 J kg−1 and characterized by a modified van Genuchten model that yields (i) model parameters α and n, and (ii) a soil structure stability index (SI). The treatments affected the shape of the water retention curves. Change of land use from CT to NT and PAM application to CT soil increased the SI and ɑ, and decreased n compared to CT-managed soils. The magnitude of the NT and PAM effect was inversely related to soil clay content. CT-managed soils treated with a low PAM rate (10–25 mg L−1) gave SI comparable to that obtained for the NT-managed soils, while CT-managed soils treated with a high PAM rate (50–200 mg L−1) yielded 1.3–2.0 and 2–4 times higher SI than that for NT and CT-managed soils, respectively. Our findings suggest that both the change of land use to NT or the addition of small amounts of PAM are viable alternatives for stabilizing CT-managed weakly alkaline semi-arid soils, whose soil structure stability is a priori limited.

Sustainable Viticulture: Effects of Soil Management in Vitis vinifera

Soil management in vineyards is of fundamental importance not only for the productivity and quality of grapes, both in biological and conventional management, but also for greater sustainability of the production. Conservative soil management techniques play an important role, compared to conventional tillage, in order to preserve biodiversity, to save soil fertility, and to keep vegetative-productive balance. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate long-term adaptation strategies to create a balance between the vine and the surrounding environment. This work sought to assess the effects of following different management practices on Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon during 2017 and 2018 seasons: soil tillage (T), temporary cover cropping over all inter-rows (C), and mulching with plant residues every other row (M). The main physiological parameters of vines (leaf gas exchange, stem water potential, chlorophyll fluorescence, and indirect chlorophyll content) as well as qualitative and quantitative grape parameters (technological and phenolic analyses) were measured. Significant differences in gas exchanges related to the different season and inter-row management were observed. C showed more negative values of water potential, due to the grass–vine competition, especially when water availability was lower. The competition exerted by C led to differences in fruit setting with impact on yield; therefrom, significant differences also in sugar and anthocyanic content were observed.

Temperature and soil management effects on carbon fluxes and priming effect intensity

Any change in the intensity and sign of CO2 flux between soil and atmosphere is expected to have a significant impact on climate. The net emission of CO2 by soils depends on antagonistic processes: the persistence of dead plant matter and the mineralization of soil organic matter. These two processes are partly interdependent: their interaction is known as the “priming effect” (PE), i.e. the stimulation of the mineralization of stable soil organic matter by more labile fresh organic matter.Documenting the response of PE to global change is needed for predicting long term dynamics of ecosystems and climate change. We have tested the effects on PE of temperature, nutrient availability, biodegradibility of added organic matter (fresh vs. decomposed), soil cover (agricultural vs. forest soil) and interactions.Our results suggest that the biodegradability of plant debris (wheat straw, fresh or pre-decomposed) is the first determinant of the intensity of PE, far ahead of temperature and nutrients: fresh wheat straw addition induced up to 800% more CO2 emission than pre-decomposed one. The raise of temperature from 15 to 20 °C, increased basal soil organic matter mineralization by 38%, but had little effect on PE. Interactions between biodegradability of straw and the other factors showed that the agricultural soil was more responsive to all factors than the forest soil.We have shown in our study that the intensity of PE could be more dependent on soil cover and plant residue management than on other drivers of global change, particularly temperature and nutrients. There is an urgent need to assess the genericity of our results by testing other soil types and plant debris for a better integration of PE in models, and for identifying alternative land carbon management strategies for climate change mitigation.

Soil management in semi-arid vineyards: Combined effects of organic mulching and no-tillage under different water regimes

Optimizing water use in vineyards is crucial for ensuring the sustainability of viticulture in semi-arid regions, and this may be achieved by minimizing direct water evaporation from the soil through the use of mulching. In this context, the current study aimed at assessing the combined effects of the vine-row application of an organic mulch (vine prunings) and no-tillage under two water regimes on soil properties, plant water and nutritional status, yield and must composition of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Bobal grown under semi-arid conditions. For this purpose, a field experiment in a split-plot design was carried out for three years (2016–2018) in a mature Bobal vineyard located in Eastern Spain. Two soil management strategies (tillage and organic mulching with no-tillage) were assessed under two water regimes (rainfed and deficit drip irrigation) with four replications per combination. Vine responses were determined by measuring midday stem water potential, leaf nutrient concentrations, pruning weight, yield components and grape composition. Soil properties were assessed at the end of the experiment. Mulching and no-tillage positively affected vine water status under both water regimes, resulting in reductions in grape phenolic composition. Interactive effects of both water regime and soil management on water use efficiency were found. Regardless of soil management practice, irrigation increased yield and pruning weight when compared to rainfed conditions. Soil management had slight effects on vine nutritional status. At the end of the experiment, soil compaction increased and infiltration decreased as a consequence of mulching and no-tillage. Organic mulch and no-tillage improved vine water status, however, considering the final soil surface compaction and low water infiltration rate, longer-term studies are necessary to assess the sustainability of combining both practices.

Battery-Less Wireless Chipless Sensor Tag for Subsoil Moisture Monitoring

Inefficient soil management is a hindrance to food productivity and a contributing factor to the degradation of soil quality. Despite decades of research confirming the benefits of using sensors in effective soil management and crop yield, they are still not widely used in farms for several reasons including high cost, difficulty in large area deployment, and requirement of labor-intensive wiring. In this paper, we report a low-cost battery-less chipless wireless sensor tag that can be batch-manufactured for large-scale agricultural surveillance. The sensor tag works based on backscattering techniques for the wireless measurements of the volumetric water content (VWC) of the soil. The sensor tag consists of shorted dipole resonators whose resonance frequencies are dependent on the effective permittivity of the VWC of its surrounding soil. The resonant frequency of the sensor tag is measured by an orthogonally polarized reader antenna that observes the peak in the backscattered spectrum. As a proof-of-concept, a sensor tag with two resonators of length 10 cm and 9 cm, is buried at a depth of 10 cm in the soil and is wirelessly read from a free-space distance of 50 cm, to demonstrate its capability to measure the changes in VWC. The resonators of length 10 cm and 9 cm have demonstrated a linear change of −3.92 MHz/VWC and −4.85 MHz/VWC, respectively, within the VWC range 4-27%. By changing the functional passivation layers on the demonstrated sensor tag, this concept can be applied to a wide range of low-cost subsoil sensors for precision agriculture applications.

The multidimensionality of soil macroecology.

The recent past has seen a tremendous surge in soil macroecological studies and new insights into the global drivers of one-quarter of the biodiversity of the Earth. Building on these important developments, a recent paper in Global Ecology and Biogeography outlined promising methods and approaches to advance soil macroecology. Among other recommendations, White and colleagues introduced the concept of a spatial three-dimensionality in soil macroecology by considering the different spheres of influence and scales, as soil organism size ranges vary from bacteria to macro- and megafauna. Here, we extend this concept by discussing three additional dimensions (biological, physical, and societal) that are crucial to steer soil macroecology from pattern description towards better mechanistic understanding. In our view, these are the requirements to establish it as a predictive science that can inform policy about relevant nature and management conservation actions. We highlight the need to explore temporal dynamics of soil biodiversity and functions across multiple temporal scales, integrating different facets of biodiversity (i.e., variability in body size, life-history traits, species identities, and groups of taxa) and their relationships to multiple ecosystem functions, in addition to the feedback effects between humans and soil biodiversity. We also argue that future research needs to consider effective soil conservation policy and management in combination with higher awareness of the contributions of soil-based nature’s contributions to people. To verify causal relationships, soil macroecology should be paired with local and globally distributed experiments. The present paper expands the multidimensional perspective on soil macroecology to guide future research contents and funding. We recommend considering these multiple dimensions in projected global soil biodiversity monitoring initiatives.