Tillage and straw management for modifying physical properties of a subarctic soil

• Published in: Soil & tillage research Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 239 - 250
• Main Author: Sharratt, B.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.1996
• Subjects: ALASKA; CONSERVATION TILLAGE; CONTROL DE LA EROSION; EROSION; EROSION CONTROL; ESFUERZO DEL SUELO; HORDEUM VULGARE; LABRANZA DE CONSERVACION; LUTTE ANTIEROSION; PAILLE; PAJA; PROPIEDADES FISICO-QUIMICAS SUELO; PROPRIETE PHYSICOCHIMIQUE DU SOL; RESISTANCE MECANIQUE DU SOL; SOIL CHEMICOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES; SOIL STRENGTH; STRAW; TRAVAIL DU SOL DE CONSERVATION; Soil strength; Conservation tillage; Erosion
• ISSN: 0167-1987; 1879-3444
• DOI: 10.1016/S0167-1987(96)01035-5

Conservation tillage practices are intended to minimize soil erosion. Yet little is known concerning changes in physical properties of subarctic soils subject to tillage practices. This study ascertained whether physical properties of a newly cleared subarctic soil are altered after 7 years of continuous barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) using different tillage and straw management strategies. Tillage and straw treatments were established in 1983 near Delta Junction, Alaska, and consisted of conventional fall and spring disk, fall chisel plow, spring disk, and no-tillage. Tillage plots were split by straw management practices, which included straw and stubble, stubble only, and no straw or stubble. Soil samples were collected from the upper 0.15 m of the profile in the spring of 1990 to assess water content, bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, dry aggregate and mechanical stability, penetration resistance, water retention, and particle size distribution. Percent non-erodible aggregates, mechanical stability, and penetration resistance were greater for no-tillage compared to conventional tillage, chisel plow, and spring disk. No-tillage soils were also typically wetter, denser, and had a greater hydraulic conductivity. The spring disk treatment was least susceptible to erosion and also conserved soil water compared with chisel plow. Straw maintained on the surface conserved water and promoted soil stability.