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Quantifying improvements in water‐stable aggregation caused by corn stover retention
Author(s) -
Ojekanmi Abimbola,
Johnson Jane M. F.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.1002/saj2.20198
Subject(s) - stover , loam , corn stover , agronomy , mollisol , crop residue , soil water , plough , chemistry , field experiment , environmental science , soil science , biology , ecology , biochemistry , hydrolysis , agriculture
Corn ( Zea mays L.) stover harvest must be balanced against protecting soil properties, including water‐stable aggregates (WSA). The formation and maintenance of WSA functions of multiple factors including management. Harvesting stover alters the mass of the residue retained, which might alter a soil's ability to form and maintain WSA. A study was conducted on two independently replicated fields under chisel plow (CP) and no‐till (NT) management, both in a corn–soybean [ Glycine max . (L.) Merr.] rotation with four corn residue retention treatments (RRT): [harvesting only grain, grain plus cobs, grain plus about half the stover, and grain plus as much stover as possible (Grain + Aggressive)], returning about 8, 5, 4 and 2 Mg ha −1 yr −1 dry stover, respectively. Water‐stable aggregates, their distribution, and mean weight diameter (MWD) were determined on a clay loam or loam Mollisol collected at 0 to 5 and 5 to 10 cm. Treatments, crop phase, soil depth, and their interactions were analyzed via a mixed linear model. Linear regression was used to assay the relationships between WSA and the average mass of residue returned. In both fields, Grain + Aggressive had the lowest WSA and MWD, and fewer ≥2‐mm aggregates than other RRTs and, in the NT field, fewer in the 1‐ to 2‐mm class size as well. Overall, WSA increased by 0.85 and 2.25% per Mg stover returned under CP and NT, respectively. Harvesting stover reduced the formation and/or the maintenance of WSA, thereby reducing their ability to resist the erosive force of water.