Open AccessSoil pore distribution as affected by cattle trampling under no-till and reduced-till systems
Author(s) -
Julio Osvaldo Iglesias,
Juán Alberto Galantini,
Helmuth Kruger,
Santiago Venanzi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
agriscientia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.129
H-Index - 9
eISSN - 1668-298X
pISSN - 0327-6244
DOI - 10.31047/1668.298x.v31.n2.16536
Subject(s) - trampling , tillage , porosity , bulk density , macropore , agronomy , environmental science , grazing , soil structure , conventional tillage , no till farming , soil science , soil water , zoology , materials science , soil fertility , biology , mesoporous material , biochemistry , composite material , catalysis
Soil pore size affects soil air and water dynamics, and thus influence crop productivity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of reduced-tillage (RT) and no-tillage (NT) systems on soil pore distribution under animal grazing. The soil was sampled at 0-5, 5-10, 10-15 and 15-20 cm depths before and after animal grazing. Bulk density, total porosity and the volume of three pore sizes (macropores, mesopores and micropores) were determined. Differences in total porosity between both tillage systems were statistically significant (P<0.01) in the top 10 cm layer before grazing. Lower total porosity in NT could be related to the effect of previous years'grazing. In RT, disk operations before planting the oat (Avena sativa) crop increased porosity values in the tilled zone at 0-10 cm and decreased them at depths below 10 cm. Macroporosity accounted for 32 (RT) and 20% (NT) of the total porosity in the soil surface, and decreased to 17 (RT) and 17% (NT) in deeper layers. Cattle trampling had a more pronounced effect under RT as compared with NT. Tillage operations increased macroporosity, which had been reduced by cattle trampling. Bulk density and total porosity were adversely affected below 15 cm depth.