Premium
Seasonal changes in the structure of clay soils in relation to soil management and crop type. I. Effects of crop rotation at Cruden Bay, NE Scotland
Author(s) -
MACKIEDAWSON L. A.,
MULLINS C. E.,
FITZPATRICK E. A.,
COURT M. N.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.244
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2389
pISSN - 0022-4588
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2389.1989.tb01272.x
Subject(s) - soil structure , crop rotation , bay , soil water , environmental science , crop , agronomy , porosity , soil science , geology , biology , oceanography , geotechnical engineering
SUMMARY Changes in soil structure and macroporosity were investigated using large thin sections and image analysis of photographs taken from fluorescent resin impregnated soil blocks. In this way porosity measurements were combined with visual assessment of the distribution and type of soil pores and aggregates. Three sites were chosen on a clay soil at Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, and sampled throughout two growing seasons in order to characterize various stages of a 7‐year rotation. The seasonal pattern of structural change depended on the crop. During a dry period in April and May 1980, a system of cracks developed on the grass site but not on sites sown to spring barley. The changes in structure on the grass sites could mainly be attributed to changes in water content, and the resulting cycle of shrinking and swelling. After cultivation, structural changes resulting from settling were evident. Earthworm activity, especially after manure spreading, also had a pronounced effect on structure. Since many of these processes are cyclic in this environment, the resulting structural states showed a pattern of cyclic recurrence.