Elsevier

Geoderma

Volume 116, Issues 1–2, September 2003, Pages 3-27
Geoderma

Advances and challenges in predicting agricultural management effects on soil hydraulic properties

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(03)00091-0Get rights and content

Abstract

Agricultural management practices can significantly affect soil hydraulic properties and processes in space and time. These responses are coupled with the processes of infiltration, runoff, erosion, chemical movement, and crop growth. It is essential to quantify and predict management effects on soil properties in order to model their consequent effects on production and the environment. We present work done thus far on this topic area along with the challenges that lie ahead. The effects of tillage and reconsolidation, wheel-track soil compaction, crop residue management, macropore development and management interactions with natural sources of variability, such as topography, are addressed. Whether explicitly or implicitly, the available field studies include interactions between treatments, such as tillage, crop rotation and residue management. Controlled equipment traffic has been shown to have significant effects on soil compaction and related hydraulic properties in some soils and climates, but in others, landscape and temporal variability overwhelm any effects of wheel tracks. New research results on wheel-track effects in Colorado are highlighted along with initial attempts to predict their effects on hydraulic properties. The greatest challenge for the future is improved process-based prediction using a systems approach to include tightly coupled process interactions in space and time.

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to present the advances made thus far in quantifying and predicting the effects of agricultural management on soil hydraulic properties. The basic soil hydraulic properties of interest are soil porosity, soil-water content-matric potential relationship (θ(h), commonly called the soil-water retention characteristic), and hydraulic conductivity as a function of soil-water content or potential, K(θ) or K(h). A particular goal is to characterize the management-induced temporal and spatial variability in observed or estimated soil hydraulic properties and processes. There is limited information available on this topic area, despite many field studies of soil variability and management effects. The sparcity of quantitative research on management effects has been noted at various times in the literature Cassel, 1983, Mapa et al., 1986, Hill, 1990, Cresswell et al., 1993, van Es et al., 1999.

Nevertheless, we found many studies in the literature relating management practices to soil hydraulic properties and processes in a non-predictive sense. A comprehensive review of this literature is beyond the scope of this paper. Instead, we focus on the available quantitative, predictive studies and highlight the needs and challenges for further work.

Section snippets

Tillage and reconsolidation

Tillage is the most widely researched management practice affecting soil hydraulic properties and processes in the field. Results of tillage treatments, however, have not always been consistent across locations, soils and experimental designs Klute, 1982, Hines, 1986, Ahuja and Nielsen, 1990. This situation has not changed.

No-tillage (NT) and minimum tillage (MT) have been compared with various conventional tillage (CT) practices over different time periods with mixed results. In general, the

Mechanical compaction

Mechanical loading of soils under vehicles used for management practices can compact the soil, causing increased bulk density, decreased porosity, and altered pore shapes and size distributions (Warkentin, 1971). Changes in these basic soil properties change the soil-water retention and hydraulic conductivity characteristics, and changes in these hydraulic properties affect the amount of infiltration and available soil water.

The amount of soil compaction depends on the applied load, soil type

Crop residue management

Studies of the direct effects of crop residue management on soil hydraulic properties and processes have focused on the use of surface residue to control soil crusting or sealing. Duley (1939) studied the effects of surface factors on infiltration using residue cover and man-made material to protect the soil surface. Fig. 7 provides an illustration of infiltration (soil intake) rates with two surface covers (straw and burlap), which subsequently were removed to allow the soil to seal, thus

Additional work and challenges for prediction

Several challenges and needs for further research have been highlighted in the sections above. The following section reviews studies that may be viewed as the first steps toward quantitative prediction in some of the most challenging areas. In particular, we highlight the need for innovative research on cropping systems and management practices affecting soil macropores, followed by the effects of interactions between some of the management practices reviewed above. In addition to management

Discussion and summary

We have provided an overview of the advances and challenges in quantifying agricultural management effects on soil hydraulic properties particularly relevant to temporal, but also spatial, variability. Despite a shortage of investigations directly addressing our topic, we have identified a number of studies quantifying management effects on at least a few basic soil properties, and their relevance to more detailed characterization of soil hydraulic properties and processes.

Experimental results

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr. Gale Dunn and Mike Murphy for collection of sample cores in Colorado. Dr. Liwang Ma was instrumental in data analyses for wheel-track effects. We also thank Prof. Gary Peterson for collaboration at the Lindstrom Farm, Colorado, and Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Lindstrom for the use of their land for long-term field experiments.

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