Quantification of the relationship between root parameters and soil macropore parameters under different land use systems in Retisol

Abstract

The study aimed to quantify the relationship between root parameters and soil macropore characteristics in two soil layers of Retisol from a hilly landscape in Western Lithuania, as influenced by different land use systems. The decreases in root volume and root length density were dependent on land use and soil depth. The values of root length density and root volume at 0-20 cm depth tended to decrease in the following order: grassland > forest > arable land under conventional tillage. The highest volume in the framework of macropores was recorded for medium-size pores under arable land (3.02%), for fine pores (2.56%) in forest soil and very fine pores in grassland soil (below 1.19%) at the 0-10 cm soil depth, while at 10-20 cm soil depth, the coarse macropores dominated in the arable land system (below 1.41%). Root length density, root volume and the volume of very fine macropores had close relationships (p < 0.01, r = 0.91 and r = 0.68, respectively) under different land use at 0-20 cm depth. In Retisol, the roots were concentrated at 0-10 cm soil depth, and their volume was higher compared to the 10-20 cm depth. Plant roots increased the volume of very fine macropores in all land use systems, within the entire 0-20 cm soil depth. K e y w o r d s: plough layer, porosity, root length, root volume, tillage, X-ray computed tomography

Long-term contrasting tillage in Cambisol: effect on water-stable aggregates, macropore network and soil chemical properties

“…The average content of the macropores tended to decrease in the following order: medium > fine > very fine > coarse macropores in the arable land under conventional tillage (Table 4). Similar results were obtained under conventional tillage in the Retisol (Kochiieru et al, 2020b).…”

“…Hu et al (2016) wrote that the variability in the transfer of soluble substances affects soil voids and cracks between the soil aggregates, which increases the volume of soil porosity. Several studies have been published to characterize the macropore structure parameters using X-ray computed tomography, such as macropore volumes and the size distribution of macropores (Hu et al, 2015) for different land uses and soil types (Kochiieru et al, 2020b;. The main factors influencing the parameters of the soil macropores are the types of soil and land use (Luo et al, 2010;Kochiieru et al, 2020b).…”

“…Several studies have been published to characterize the macropore structure parameters using X-ray computed tomography, such as macropore volumes and the size distribution of macropores (Hu et al, 2015) for different land uses and soil types (Kochiieru et al, 2020b;. The main factors influencing the parameters of the soil macropores are the types of soil and land use (Luo et al, 2010;Kochiieru et al, 2020b). Hu et al (2015) found that anthropogenic impacts have greatly affected the soil pores in the pastures of Northern China.…”

Bio‐tillage improves soil physical properties and maize growth in a compacted Vertisol by cover crops

“…In a previous study, the compacted treatment decreased the root volume of alfalfa by 64% at a soil layer depth of 0–70 cm in 2018 relative to that of the noncompacted treatment (Yan et al., 2020). The lower root volume was less effective in improving the soil pore structure and consequently the K s and K a60 (Kochiieru et al., 2020). Another explanation was that crop roots prefer to use existing macropores rather than penetrate the soil matrix when growing in compacted soil with high strength (Atkinson et al., 2020; Gao, Hodgkinson, et al., 2016), resulting in a smaller number of new biopores in the compacted soil.…”