Seasonal variation in penetration resistance and shear strength of three rainforest soils from northeastern Queensland

Spain, AV; Prove, B. G.; Hodgen, M. J.; Lee, K.E.

doi:10.1016/0016-7061(90)90048-e

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Experiments in other geographical regions different from the savannah ecosystem revealed different results (Chaney and Swift, 1984;Davies, 1985;Lynch and Bragg, 1985;Spain et al, 1990), indicating that the various parameters affecting the erodibility of the soil is somehow site-specific as earlier research on erosion parameters has indicated (Folly, 1992;Manrique, 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Estimation of erodibility in the savanna ecosystem, northern Ghana

Folly

1995

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis

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This paper discusses the concept of erodibility being one of the main parameters needed for erosion risk assessments as well as presents some measurements of erodibility in the savanna ecosystem, northern Ghana, based on three different indices: aggregate stability, shear strength, and the Consistency Index. The study revealed that the overall erodibility of these soils is high and that the factors affecting erodibility within the savanna ecosystem seems to be different from what is determining erodibility in other environments. It further indicates that no simple erodibility ranking can be defined which is valid for all erosional processes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Estimation of erodibility in the savanna ecosystem, northern Ghana

Folly

1995

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Greater soil compaction in the dry season was also expected, as penetration resistance is known to increase with decreasing soil water content (Cass 1999, Spain et al 1990, Vanags et al 2004). However, compacted soils can then have negative effects on other dynamics, such as reducing levels of biological activity (Spain et al 1990), restricting root growth and impeding seedling emergence (Bengough et al 2001, Cass 1999. Russell-Smith and Setterfield (2006) found that the mortality of rainforest seedlings increased in the dry season due to declining soil moisture, and that seedling densities were greater at perennially moist than seasonally dry sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Feral Pigs on Rainforest Dynamics in North-Eastern Australia

Elledge¹,

McAlpine²,

Murray³

et al. 2010

vertebrate_pest_conference

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Feral pigs threaten biodiversity worldwide by altering ecosystem structure and function. The most noticeable effect of pigs on ecosystems is disturbed soil caused by their rooting foraging behaviour, which can impact upon invertebrate populations, nutrient cycles, and plant regeneration. In this study, we assessed the impact of feral pigs on rainforest dynamics in north-eastern Australia by comparing plots where fencing had been used to exclude pigs for 2 and 14 years with unfenced plots at continual risk to pig damage in both the wet and dry seasons. Rainforest dynamics were quantified using a range of earthworm, soil, litter, and plant characteristics, and we used mixed linear models to explain the response of these variables to both plot type and season. Our results show that feral pigs do not have a strong impact on rainforest dynamics. The only significant result was greater litter moisture in the fenced compared to unfenced long-term plots. In contrast, the majority of response variables exhibited significant seasonal differences. For the plot type and season interaction effect, the only significant result was litter biomass in the long-term plots. There was no significant difference between means for the fenced and unfenced plots within the wet and dry seasons; however, litter biomass was greater in the unfenced plots during the wet season and, conversely, greater in the fenced plots during the dry season. Overall, our results show that season has a greater impact on rainforest dynamics than feral pigs.

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“…Soil disturbance, soil compaction and alteration of habitat due to use of the moldboard plow have been shown to decrease the biomass and diversity of soil invertebrate populations [10][11][12][13][14]20,33,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41] . These factors could all play a role in the absence of invertebrate populations on the conventional farm, as the invertebrate-rich decomposition biotrope, dependent on the presence of plant litter on soil, is nearly eliminated in conventionally tilled fields 33 .…”

Section: Soil Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing agroecosystems: Effects of cropping and tillage patterns on soil, water, energy use and productivity

Gregory

Shea

Bakko

2005

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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We compared soil characteristics, runoff water quantity and nutrient fluxes, energy use and productivity of three farm types in an unusually dry farming season: conventional (continuous corn and deep tillage), rotation (5-year corn–soybean–oats/alfalfa–alfalfa–alfalfa rotation with tillage 2/5 years) and no-till (corn–soybean with no cultivation). Soil organic matter content was highest on the rotation farm, followed by the no-till farm, and lowest on the conventional farm. Nitrate content of the soil did not differ significantly among the three farms, although the conventional farm had a much higher input of fertilizer nitrogen. Soil penetrometer resistance was lower and percent soil moisture was higher in the no-till and rotation systems compared to the conventional farm. Soil macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity were highest on the no-till farm, followed by the rotation farm. No invertebrates were found in the soil of the conventional farm. The conventional farm had the highest runoff volume per cm rain and higher nitrogen (N) loss in runoff when compared to the rotation and no-till farms, as well as a higher phosphorus (P) flux in comparison to the no-till farm. These results indicate that perennial close-seeded crops (such as alfalfa) used in crop rotations, as well as plant residue left on the surface of no-till fields, can enhance soil organic content and decrease runoff. The lower soil penetrometer resistance and higher soil moisture on the rotation and no-till farms show that conservation tillage can increase soil aggregation and water infiltration, both of which prevent erosion. Furthermore, crop rotation, and particularly no-till, promote diverse invertebrate populations, which play an important role in maintaining nutrient cycling and soil structure. Crop rotation and no-till agriculture are less fossil-fuel intensive than conventional agriculture, due to decreased use of fertilizers, pesticides and fuel. In this unusually dry year they provided superior corn and soybean yields, most likely due to higher soil moisture as a result of greater water infiltration and retention associated with cover crops (rotation farm) and crop residue (no-till farm).

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Seasonal variation in penetration resistance and shear strength of three rainforest soils from northeastern Queensland

Cited by 12 publications

References 14 publications

Estimation of erodibility in the savanna ecosystem, northern Ghana

Estimation of erodibility in the savanna ecosystem, northern Ghana

The Impact of Feral Pigs on Rainforest Dynamics in North-Eastern Australia

Comparing agroecosystems: Effects of cropping and tillage patterns on soil, water, energy use and productivity

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