Short-term effect of cover crops on aggregate stability assessed by two techniques

Aggregate stability (AS) is a property closely linked to soil fluid movement. AS can be determined by different methods and canbe improved using cover crops (CC), but the short-term effect of this practice has been little studied. The aim of this study wasto evaluate the soil surface aggregate stabi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Castiglioni, Mario Guillermo, Behrends Kraemer, Filipe
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/127851
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/127851
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Le Bissonnais method
De Leenheer & De Boodt method
soil quality
aggregate size distribution.
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/4.1
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/4
Descripción
Sumario:Aggregate stability (AS) is a property closely linked to soil fluid movement. AS can be determined by different methods and canbe improved using cover crops (CC), but the short-term effect of this practice has been little studied. The aim of this study wasto evaluate the soil surface aggregate stability of an Argiudoll under no tillage in the Pampas, during the first year after differentCC incorporation. AS was determined by using two laboratory techniques: Le Bissonnais and De Leenheer & De Boodt methods,after incorporating different CC (oat, vetch, wheat, oat + vetch) at two different times: after the CC was chemically dried andafter the subsequent corn crop harvest. A treatment without CC was also evaluated (fallow between summer crops) as a control.The presence of CC roots improved AS significantly compared to the control, while differences among the various CC were alsoobserved. The presence of corn roots and the residual effect of the decomposition of CC stubble left on the ground also had apositive effect on AS. The various pre-treatments applied by the Le Bissonnais method gave different results: fast wetting ofaggregates showed significant differences on AS between the different CC used, whereas slow wetting and mechanical rupturewere more effective than fast wetting showing AS differences over time. The results of the De Leenheer & De Boodt method weremore erratic and less consistent than those obtained by the Le Bissonnais method.