Tillage system and residue management effects on soil structural quality

Conservation tillage and diversified crop rotations have been suggested as appropriate alternative soil management systems to sustain soil quality. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of residue management and tillage at two experimental sites with a sandy loam in Denmark. The soil was grown with a mix of winter and spring crops and crop residues were removed in one of the treatments (rotation 3 (R3) and not in the other (rotation 4 (R4). Three tillage systems were used for the residue treatments: moldboard ploughing to a depth of 20 cm (P), direct drilling (D) and harrowing to a depth of 8-10 cm (H) Residue removing resulted in the lower stability of aggregates to water in ploughed soil compared to direct drilled and harrowed soils. Tillage systems clearly influenced the soil quality. Although the ploughing resulted in the best visual soil structural quality compared to the reduced tillage systems, it also resulted in poorest soil structural stability. There was a significant effect of location and season on soil structural quality as assessed by a visual method. This may be ascribed to soil structural changes during the winter and difference in texture and water content.

کلیدواژه ها:

rotation ، tillage ، plant residue ، soil quality ، soil structure