Does occasional tillage undo the ecosystem services gained with no-till? A review

Blanco‐Canqui, Humberto; Wortmann, Charles S.

doi:10.1016/j.still.2019.104534

Cited by 113 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 81 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…It is well recognized that frequent and excessive traffic of farm equipment and animals can cause soil compaction, which reduces macroporosity and fluxes of water, heat, and gas through the soil, adversely affecting crop production and environmental quality (Hamza & Anderson, 2005). Freeze-thaw cycles and other processes often buffer compaction, but if compaction persists, practices such as tillage or subsoiling are often needed to alleviate excessive compaction (Blanco-Canqui et al, 2020;Hamza & Anderson, 2005). Cover crops could be a potential biological practice to manage soil compaction, potentially eliminating the need for the use of mechanical practices, but the question is: Do CCs really alleviate soil compaction?…”

Section: Do Cover Crops Reduce Soil Compaction?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Well-managed soils should be able One of the reemerging strategies to improve soil ecosystem services that has generated much interest in recent years is the use of CCs. Implications of CCs on soil water conservation (Unger & Vigil, 1998), watershed hydrology (Dabney, 1998), water quality (Blanco-Canqui, 2018), C sequestration (Jian, Du, Reiter, & Stewart, 2020;Poeplau & Don, 2015), soil fertility and crop production (Daryanto, Jacinthe, Fu, Zhao, & Wang, 2019), forage for livestock and feedstock for biofuel production (Blanco-Canqui & Wortmann, 2020), and other ecosystem services (Blanco-Canqui et al, 2015;Schipanski et al, 2014) have been reviewed and discussed. However, the extent to which CCs improve soil physical and hydraulic properties has not been specifically reviewed or widely discussed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cover crop impacts on soil physical properties: A review

Blanco‐Canqui

Ruis

2020

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

149

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cover crop (CC) impacts on soil ecosystem services including erosion control, C sequestration, soil productivity, and others have been reviewed. However, CC impacts on soil physical properties, which affect the soil's ability to perform a variety of soil ecosystem services, have not been synthesized. We reviewed 98 peer-reviewed publications up to 10 June 2020 on CCs and soil physical properties. Our review indicates that, in most studies, CCs reduce soil penetration resistance or compaction by 0-29% (average, 5%). They improve wet aggregate stability by 0-95% (average, 16%) and cumulative infiltration by 0-190% (average, 43%) but have negligible impacts on bulk density, dry aggregate stability, saturated hydraulic conductivity (K sat), unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K unsat), volumetric water content at −10 to −33 kPa matric potential (field capacity), and plant available water. Soils under CCs can be cooler in daytime and warmer at nighttime, and warmer in winter and cooler in the rest of year. Volumetric heat capacity increases and thermal diffusivity decreases, indicating that CCs could moderate heat transport rate. Soil texture, tillage system, CC-derived soil C concentration, and CC duration affect CC impacts on physical properties. For example, the positive impacts from CCs can increase as CC management duration increases and combining CCs with no-till can improve water infiltration more than with tilled soils. Long-term data on hydraulic properties, thermal properties, dry aggregate stability, and pore-size distribution are scant. In general, CCs improve most soil physical properties, but the magnitude of improvement is highly site-and management specific.

show abstract

Section: Do Cover Crops Reduce Soil Compaction?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cover crop impacts on soil physical properties: A review

Blanco‐Canqui

Ruis

2020

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

149

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In no‐till systems, where the absence of soil tillage tends to promote V. myuros , an early intervention is necessary; once a dense carpet of V. myuros is present, tillage is currently the only really effective control method. This would come at the cost of jeopardising the benefits of several years of no‐till (Schillinger et al ., 2010; Scherner et al ., 2016; Blanco‐Canqui and Wortmann, 2020). Post‐harvest burning, used to control downy brome in the Pacific North‐west of the United States, was reported to be inefficient to control V. myuros (Schillinger et al ., 2010).…”

Section: Management Of Vulpia Myurosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulpia myuros, an increasing threat for agriculture

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vulpia myuros is an annual grass species of Mediterranean origin, which has achieved a global distribution. It is a fast‐growing species, with high colonisation and competitive abilities. This species is considered an invasive weed in most countries where it has been introduced, with highly negative economic impact where it now dominates. It is increasingly found to be a problematic weed in winter cereals, especially in no‐till and reduced tillage systems, across Europe, United States and Australia. Seeds of V. myuros have reduced germination potential when buried. However, where tillage interventions are reduced, ideal conditions for V. myuros are created. Minimum and no tillage practices are increasing worldwide, with a concomitant increase in the spread and abundance of V. myuros. Effectiveness of herbicides is mostly suboptimal, in particular for well‐established populations forming dense swards, even though no herbicide resistance has yet been identified. An integrated management approach, increasing crop diversification combined with management adaptations, possibly including herbicides is suggested as an effective control strategy. Despite increasing research on V. myuros, more information is needed to optimise the management of this weed. Based on the species’ Mediterranean origins and adaptation to warm and dry environments, an increase of its global importance may be expected with climate changes. It is thus paramount to increase the awareness around this species, improve its identification in the field and monitor its spread before it becomes a concern of similar magnitude to grass weeds like Alopecurus myosuroides or Lolium rigidum.

show abstract

“…Some reports suggest that there has been a 9.2 percent decrease in the use of no-till (averaged across the U.S.) as a direct result of herbicide-resistant weed problems [6]. As a consequence, there has been increased research into the possibility of strategic, single, or occasional tillage to control herbicide-resistant weed populations in conservation tillage systems without incurring serious negative impacts on soil properties and crop yields [6,14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbicide Resistance, Tillage, and Community Management in the Pacific Northwest

Dentzman

Burke

2021

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of glyphosate as a replacement for tillage has been credited with spurring the adoption of conservation tillage in the United States. With herbicide-resistant weeds becoming a significant agronomic problem, however, it is unclear whether conservation tillage gains are in danger of being reversed as farmers turn to tillage to manage weeds that herbicides can no longer kill. Using 2015 focus groups, a 2016 national survey, and an ongoing Community Herbicide Resistance Management Initiative in four communities of the Pacific Northwest we assess the following questions: (1) How do U.S. farmers view tillage as an option for controlling herbicide-resistant weeds, (2) Do attitudes towards and experience with herbicide-resistant increase farmers’ usage of tillage, and (3) Can community management provide an avenue for maintaining conservation tillage while also increasing effective management of herbicide-resistant weeds? We find that many farmers consider tillage to be an emergency fail-safe in managing weeds, that there is a complex relationship between herbicide resistance awareness, concern, and tillage use that can be partly explained by experience and dedication to conservation tillage, and finally that community management has the potential to provide the support and resources necessary to prevent a large-scale increase in tillage related to herbicide resistance management.

show abstract

Does occasional tillage undo the ecosystem services gained with no-till? A review

Cited by 113 publications

References 81 publications

Cover crop impacts on soil physical properties: A review

Cover crop impacts on soil physical properties: A review

Vulpia myuros, an increasing threat for agriculture

Herbicide Resistance, Tillage, and Community Management in the Pacific Northwest

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About