Assessment of Microenvironmental Conditions Related to the Use of Synthetic Sheet Mulches for Protecting Newly Planted Trees in Semi-Arid Environments

Stepanek, Laurie; Brandle, James R.; Harrell, Mark O.

doi:10.1300/j064v19n04_04

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Controlling weeds with mulches is probably the most environmentally safe way to provide weed control (Stepanek et al, 2002). Mulches may be inorganic, such as plastics or landscape fabrics, or organic, such as wood chips, straw, or hay.…”

Section: Establishment Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Development and function of Shelterbelts in Temperate North America

Mize

Brandle

Schoeneberger

et al. 2008

Advances in Agroforestry

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As the world's population continues to expand, the pressure on farmland, both from expansion of urban areas (United Nations, 2002) and from a need to produce more food and fiber (Hewitt and Smith, 1995; Gardner, 1996), will increase. In direct competition with the increasing demand for more food and fiber is a growing public desire for conservation of natural systems and a focus on quality of life issues (

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Section: Establishment Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Development and function of Shelterbelts in Temperate North America

Mize

Brandle

Schoeneberger

et al. 2008

Advances in Agroforestry

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“…Plants and organic materials have been recorded to be one of the major factors that affect soil aggregate stability (Six et al, 2004). Reports have shown that black polyethylene and black-woven polypropylene improved the structural stability of the soil by enhancing the growth of plants which is a source of organic material (Stepanek et al, 2002). Soil solarization techniques improve soil structure by creating favorable conditions for soil aggregation, through changes in soil water content and temperature thereby improving the efficient mineralization of soil organic matter (Green et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in soil thermal properties under different soil solarization materials varying in thickness under field conditions in Nigeria

Onwuka¹,

Christiana²

2019

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An in-depth knowledge on the soil thermal properties under different soil solarization techniques is essential for soil treatment against soil-borne pathogens. This paper presents an investigation on effects of different soil solarization materials on soil thermal properties, organic matter and aggregate stability under field conditions. This study evaluates three materials: translucent whitish plastic (TWP), transparent nylon (TN) and black nylon (BN) each at three thickness levels (0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 mm) and control (bare soil). The parameters investigated in this study included soil temperature, organic matter, bulk density, volumetric moisture content, thermal conductivity, volumetric heat capacity, heat flux, thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity. The results showed that the soil solarization materials varying in thickness influenced the soil heat energy transfer and had a significant effect on soil bulk density and volumetric moisture content. The results revealed that transparent nylon at a thickness of 0.05 mm recorded the highest soil temperature (62 o C) and was significantly higher than black nylon at a thickness of 0.15 mm (44 o C) and the bare soil (41 o C). Transparent nylon at a thickness of 0.05 mm also recorded the highest organic matter content (19.60 g kg -1 ). The bulk density of the bare soil (1.57 Mg m -3 ) was significantly higher than the bulk densities of soils covered with solarization materials. Transparent nylon at thickness of 0.05 mm had the highest volumetric moisture content (0.116 m 3 m -3 ) while translucent whitish plastic at a thickness of 0.15 mm recorded the lowest (0.401 m 3 m -3 ). Transparent nylon at a thickness of 0.05 mm transmitted the highest quantity of heat through a unit length of soil per unit cross-sectional area (2.50 W mk -1 ). The variation in volumetric heat capacity between the solarization materials was highly noted in transparent nylon (TN) at a thickness of 0.05 mm (2.65 J (m 3 K) -1 ) and less in bare soil (control) with a value of (1.65 J (m 3 K) -1 ). Transparent nylon with thickness of 0.05 mm transferred the highest heat per unit area of soil (42338.25 W.m -2 ), while bare soil transferred the lowest. The highest thermal diffusivity (1.35 m 2 s -1 ) was recorded in the soil with no solarization material. The soil under transparent nylon with thickness of 0.05 mm recorded the highest exchange of thermal energy (2.57 Jm -2 K -1 S -1/2 ) with the environment and was significantly higher than other solarization materials. The transparent nylon had the highest soil macro aggregate stability. This study will help farmers in terms of choice and adoption of affordable conservation methods in treating the soil against soil-borne pathogens.

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“…There are, however, concerns that herbicides may be toxic to people and the environment and may cause damage to young trees from herbicide drift. Recently, several silvicultural studies have shown that plastic (Davies, 1988;Walker and McLaughlin, 1989;Bendfeldt et al, 2001;Samyn and Vos, 2002;Stepanek et al, 2002;Green et al, 2003;Shirgure et al, 2003) and paper sheet mulches (Wooten and Helms, 1981;Zutter et al, 1987;Siipilehto, 2001) resulted in increased survival rates and more rapid growth depending on type of tree, location, weed competition and various environmental factors. One of the problems associated with the use of plastic mulches is the cost of removal and disposal from the field either prior to or after harvest, particularly in short-rotation tree farms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%