Impact of the Technological Path on Some Soil Properties on Loess Slope

Abstract

Investigations of horizontal and vertical changes of soil moisture and soil compaction on eroded loess slope, were the aim of the work. The study was performed on a farm in the municipality of Brzeźnica [N50°8'33,03, E18°13'16,31] (Province of Silesia, Poland). The research and collection of soil samples were carried out on 20.07.2017. On the day of the measurement, the slope was covered with winter wheat. The soil moisture and compaction degree were monitored at 36 points in the experimental area. The distance between the points along the slope were: 25 m (points: 1, 1a, 1b-6, 6a, 6b), 50 m (points: 6, 6a, 6b-11, 11a, 11b) and 200 m (points: 11, 11a, 11b-12, 12a, 12b), while across the slope, the distances were 2 m apart. The vertical changes were determined based on the measurements at depths: 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50 and 50-60 cm. Soil moisture were carried out using device of the TDR HH2 type. The soil moisture was ranged between 2.8% and 28.0%. The degree of compaction was determining using the Eijkelkamp manual penetrometer up to a maximum depth of 80 cm. The statistical analysis includes depths up to 30 cm. The soil compaction values ranged between 0.24 and 2.66 MPa. There were large differences between the values of examined parameters both horizontally and vertically in relation to the location on the slope. The horizontal and vertical distributions of the investigated parameters were elaborated using the analysis of variance, three-way, where the independent factors were: road and location 2 and 4 m from it (factor A), depth (factor B), and position along the slope (factor C). The analysis of variance showed that in the case of compaction, there is a statistically significant effect of the technical path and distance from it, and depth, on the formation of this property. In the case of soil moisture, the analysis of variance showed a statistically significant effect of the technical road and distance from it, as well as the depth, on the shaping of this property.

Use of Pedotransfer Functions in the Rosetta Model to Determine Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity (Ks) of Arable Soils: A Case Study

“…Water permeability is a key property of soils, especially with regard to the design of soil irrigation and drainage facilities, modelling of surface runoff and erosion phenomena in land-formed areas, and environmental processes occurring in porous media [1][2][3]. The study of soil physics, and in particular the determination of the filtration coefficient (Ks) based on direct methods, is a very interesting issue; nevertheless, it is both labour-intensive and costly [4][5][6][7][8][9].…”