Infiltration as a tool for detecting soil changes due to cropping, tillage, and grazing livestock
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Authors: J. K. Radke, and E. C. Berry
Date: 1993
Journal: American Journal of Alternative Agriculture
Volume: 8
Number: 4
Pages: 164-174
Summary of Methods: To evaluate the use of infiltration measurements for detecting changes in soil properties, a series of infiltration studies were conducted on cropping systems (Kutztown , PA), tilled sites (Adel, Iowa) and sites grazed by beef cattle (Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Ames, Iowa). Three cropping treatments (low input-animal, low input-cash grain and conventional cropping), five tillage treatments (chisel, moldboard plow, no-till, disk and one tandem disk) and grazing at three stocking rates (low, medium and heavy) were tested on summer grazed grass pasture and a winter corn field.
Article Summary / Main Points: Changes in infiltration rate did not occur until more than four years after converting from a conventional to a low-input cropping system. Infiltration rates were higher after 14 years of no-till than Moldboard plow and Chisel. Earthworm populations were also highest under no-till. Infiltration rates decreased with increased stocking rates on grass pasture (long-term) while grazing over winter (short-term) did not show reliable patterns in infiltration rate or other soil properties with different stocking rates. Infiltration was an effective indicator of changes in soil physical properties and biological activity compared to other variables such as bulk density and earthworm activity.
Vegetation Types: Other (includes Forest and Eastern)
MLRA Ecoregions: 103 Central Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies 147 Northern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys 85 Grand Prairie
Agrovoc Control Words: Tillage Infiltration Grazing
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: beef cattle, grazing, cropping systems, soil physical properties, soil biological properties, earthworms
Annotation: The findings in this study are applicable to agricultural areas, pastures and rangelands which undergo cropping, tillage and grazing activities. The study was conducted in two different sites under different grazing and cropping systems. The use of existing long- and short-term study sites across the United Sates increases the strength to this study and findings. Since this was only a 2 year study, multiple years of data is required for better interpretation of the results and to apply in different sites.
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