Use Of Soil Resources Research Articles

Growth, Yield, and Water Use Responses of Peach to Repeated Root Pruning in a Sub-humid Climate

The objectives of this 7-year study were to determine the effect of repeated root pruning and irrigation on peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) tree growth and soil water use. Root pruning began in the year of planting. Peach trees trained to a freestanding “Y” were root-pruned at flowering for 4 years (1985 to 1988) and subsequently at flowering and monthly through July for 3 years (1989 to 1991). Irrigation was withheld or applied the full season or only during stage 3 of fruit growth on root-pruned and non-root-pruned trees. Root pruning limited soil water availability throughout most of the growing season when irrigation was withheld; however, when irrigation was applied, there was no difference in soil water availability. The root length density of peach roots was greatest in the 0 to 30-cm depth, was promoted by irrigation, and was reduced by root pruning in the 0 to 90-cm root zone. Full-season irrigation increased vegetative growth over the nonirrigated treatments. Root pruning had no effect on vegetative growth measured as fresh pruned material. The treatments had no effect on leaf nutrient content, except that root pruning reduced Zn in five consecutive years. Fruit yield was reduced 1 in 5 years by root pruning, and full-season irrigation reduced yield in 3 of 5 years. Repeated root pruning restricted the lateral spread of the root zone and the use of soil resources, yet on the deep soil of this site, restricting the lateral extent of the root zone did not reduce vegetative tree growth.

Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility

Based on the work of the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) Programme, this is a handbook of recommended and validated methods for the characterization and analysis of tropical soils, with the aim of achieving sustainable use of soil resources. The objectives of the programme revolve around five main themes: synchrony of nutrient release and plant growth demands; management of soil organic matter; soil water balance; effects and management of soil fauna; and integration of biological processes into the maintenance of soil fertility. The methods given are endorsed by the International Soil Science Society and are part of the International Union of Biological Sciences and the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme.

Long‐Term Tillage and Rotation Effects on Properties of a Central Ohio Soil

AbstractSustainable use of soil resources can be assessed from management‐induced changes in soil properties from long‐term experiments. Such data are scanty, especially with regard to changes in soil physical properties. Therefore, soil physical and chemical analyses were performed 28 yr after initiating a crop rotation‐tillage experiment on a well‐drained Wooster silt loam soil (fine‐loamy, mixed, mesic Typic Fragiudalf) at Wooster, OH. All combinations of three rotations (continuous corn [CC; Zea mays L.]; corn and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in a 2‐yr rotation [CS]; and corn, oat [Avena sativa L.], and meadow in a 3‐yr rotation [COM]) and of three tillage treatments (no‐tillage [NT]; chisel plow [CP]; and moldboard plow [MP]) were maintained on the same plots for the entire length of study. All crops were grown every year. Soil properties studied for the 0‐ to 15‐cm layer were: structural stability of aggregates, bulk density, total porosity, penetration resistance, organic C, pH, cation‐exchange capacity (CEC), and exchangeable K, Ca and Mg. Mean bulk densities measured prior to tillage treatments and planting were 1.18, 1.24, and 1.28 Mg m−3 for CC, CS, and COM rotations, respectively. The lowest bulk density was observed for the CC‐NT combination. Total aggregation in CS was 26.9% greater than CC and 111.2% greater than COM. With tillage treatments, aggregation was in the order of NT>CP>MP. Rotation treatments had no effect on aggregate size. In accord with bulk density, the relative magnitude of organic C content was 100, 85, and 63 for CC, CS, and COM rotations, respectively.

Tillage effects on soil degradation, soil resilience, soil quality, and sustainability

Soil degradation, decrease in soil's actual and potential productivity owing to land misuse, is a major threat to agricultural sustainability and environmental quality. The problem is particularly severe in the tropics and sub-tropics as a result of high demographic pressure, shortage of prime agricultural land, harsh environments, and resource poor farmers who presumably cannot afford science based recommended inputs. Tillage methods and soil surface management affect sustainable use of soil resources through their influence on soil stability, soil resilience, and soil quality. Soil stability refers to the susceptibility of soil to change under natural or anthropogenic perturbations. In comparison, soil resilience refers to soil's ability to restore its life support processes after being stressed. The term soil quality refers to the soil's capacity to perform its three principal functions e.g. economic productivity, environment regulation, and aesthetic and cultural values. There is a need to develop precise objective and quantitative indices of assessing these attributes of the soil. These indices can only be developed from the data obtained from well designed and properly implemented long-term soil management experiments conducted on major soils in principal ecoregions.

Intertemporal soil resource use: Is it socially excessive?

Intertemporal soil resource use: Is it socially excessive?

Underground Niche Separation in Successional Plants

Weekly root extension of six successional annuals in glass—faced boxes was measured over a growing season in 42 soil resource states. Niche breadth and overlap were calculated and compared to values obtained from publish root diagrams of eight tall grass prairie species. Differences in use of soil resources by the successional species were found and interpreted as primitive niche separation to avoid competition. Temporal displacement in absorption of moisture and nutrients is apparently important only to one species (Ipomoea hederacea). The six species showed marked differences in total composition of N, K, Ca, and Mg, although proportional similarities in nutrient use were high. The dominants of the successional community, Setaria faberii, Polygonum pensylvanicum and Ambrosia artemisiifolia had broader niches than the species with lower biomass and density. Two—dimensional overlap matrices in time and space showed Chenopodium album and Setaria to be highest in mean overall overlap, Polygonum and Ambrosia to be intermediate, and Abutilon theophrasti and Ipomoea to be lowest. The use of multidimensional resource states in the construction of an overlap matrix incorporating more than one parameter of the niche hypervolume was shown to be more useful than the multiplication of overlaps along each of the two parameters, space and time. Mean overlap in the use of underground space was considerably lower in the mature community (prairie) than in the successional community (oldfield). This corroborates the hypothesis that competition is less important in the evolution of fugitive species of the oldfield than of equilibrium species of the prairie.