Influence of Various Soil and Water Conservation Methods on the Moisture Balance at Coffee Plant Root Zone

Abstract

Background: The study of the moisture balance can be used to suppose the plants water requirement and the plants water use efficiency. The moisture balance influenced by climate factor, therefore climate change can affect the moisture balance especially in rainfed. Therefore, an effort is needed to manage soil moisture in rainfed as a climate change mitigation measure: soil and water conservation. This study aimed to determine the influence of soil and water conservation on the moisture balance in the coffee root zone. Methods: This study was conducted at people’s coffee plantation of Argotirto village, Sumbermanjing Wetan District, Malang Regency, located between 8.2411-8.1443 S and 112.4031-112.4634 E. Observation were made on February to November 2020, divided into observations in the wet season, dry seasons and flowering period. The observation plots consisted of terraced plot (P0), terraced + straight silt pit (P1), terraced + L-shaped silt pit (P2) and terrace + biopore (P3). The observation variables were: soil physical characteristics and moisture balance components there were precipitation, percolation, runoff, evapotranspiration and soil moisture storage. Result: At P1, the runoff depth was 80.89% lower and the percolation was 44.22% higher than P0. The total soil moisture storage at P1 was 20.06% higher than P0 in the dry season, indicating that P1 could increase the period of surplus moisture in the dry season.

Improvement of Soil Pore Distribution and Soil Moisture Content using Organic Matter Addition Technology

“…This research was conducted in the Smallholder Coffee Plantation of Argotirto Village, Sumbermanjing W etan District, Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia, located between 8.2411-8.1443 S and112.4031-112.4634 E. The Sumbermanjing Wetan District is situated at an elevation of 598 meters above sea level, experiencing an average temperature ranging from 22.5 to 26.2C (BPS, 2022). The soil type at the research location is Inceptisol, with Typic Humudepts suborder (Saraswati et al, 2022). The coffee variety cultivated in this area is Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) that is 2 years old with Gliricidia sepium plants as shade.…”

“…Soil moisture content decreased in the second month and increased in the third month after the application of organic matter. This indicates that the application of organic matter leads to increased soil aggregation, thereby increasing soil porosity and resulting in increased water storage in soil pores (Panagea et al, 2021); Hanuf et al, 2021;Saraswati et al, 2022). In the second month, treatment with 2 biopores + green manure (P4) had the highest soil moisture content at each depth.…”