Visual soil examination and evaluation in the sub-humid and semi-arid regions of Kenya

Mutuku, Eunice; Vanlauwe, Bernard; Roobroeck, Dries; Boeckx, Pascal; Cornelis, Wim

doi:10.1016/j.still.2021.105135

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…It has been concluded that the VSEE method is sensitive enough to detect changes in the structural quality of the soil as a result of differences in land use as indicated by the results of Mutuku et al (2021)…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…There are some shovel methods based on the evaluation of the surface horizon of the soil, such as the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS), proposed by Ball et al (2007) under the name Visual Soil Structure Quality Assessment (VSSQA), which was improved and renamed by Guimarães et al (2011), which has been widely used due to their simplicity (Guimarães et al, 2013;Franco et al, 2019). Soil structure is the main focus of the VESS method which interacts with physical, chemical, and biological properties; therefore, VESS scores should reflect the impact of crop management practices on soil quality and indicate the sustainability of crop management (Askari et al, 2013;Fernandes et al, 2022;Mutuku et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…provides the highest number of cases in this property (9) with a total of 90 soil samples; followed by the study byLin et al (2022b) with a case of 96 soil samples. For SOC, the study byLin et al (2022b) provides a case of 96 soil samples, followed byMutuku et al 2021 with two cases and a total of 62 soil samples. Regarding PR, the case ofLin et al (2022b) provides 96 soil samples, whileCherubin et al (2017) andAbdollahi et al (2017) each provide 3 cases with a total of 72 soil samples.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Relationships between the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) and soil properties in agriculture: A meta-analysis

et al. 2023

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The objective of this study was to analyze the relationships between the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) and soil properties that make its adoption widely used in agriculture. For this, 25 papers related to the VESS (2009-2022) were considered where the information of the authors, the soil property: bulk density (BD), total soil porosity (TP), soil penetration resistance (PR), macroporosity, microporosity, soil organic carbon (SOC), and mean weight diameter of stable aggregates (MWD). The sample size (n=120 cases), and the correlation coefficient were extracted. To measure this relationship, the correlation coefficient of all studies was contemplated. A meta-analysis was carried out to obtain a global measure of the correlation between the VESS and soil properties across the studies. In the first instance, a fixed effects model was fitted for the correlation (effect size, known as the response variable in the meta-analysis). Subsequently, a random effects model was fitted for the correlation, followed by a subgroup analysis according to soil properties, due to the presence of high heterogeneity between studies. The overall effect (average correlation coefficient) of the fitted random effects model was 0.31 with a confidence interval (CI) of [0.22;0.41]. The heterogeneity between studies was high ( =94.0%) and statistically significant p<0.001. Although it is moderate, the average correlation in practical terms may be sufficient. There were significant differences in some average correlations of some categories, such as BD, PR, TP, and microporosity. The weights reported for the BD, SOC, and PR were 29.7%, 16.4%, and 14.2%, respectively. This result evidenced that the greatest contribution to the global effect of correlation between VESS and soil properties is provided by BD.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Relationships between the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) and soil properties in agriculture: A meta-analysis

et al. 2023

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“…However, the compaction levels in this study did not affect the textural pores, though significantly changed the structural pores, which form the main functional environment for plant roots. Most of the soils within the Kenyan semi-arid areas are mainly formed on gravelly sand materials and some from weathered rock materials derived from limestones and many contain loess (Pye,1995 and2015;Wright, 2001;Mutuku et al, 2021). These may have resulted due to the slow rates of weathering, aggravated by lack of water and hence their clay contents are usually relatively low (Hewitt et al, 2021).…”

Section: Soil Physical Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Hydraulic Properties of a Chromic Luvisol in Katumani, Kenya

Mbayaki

Karuku

2022

Trop Subtrop Agroecosyst

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Background: Soil hydraulic parameters in non-saturated conditions are crucial for explaining soil water dynamics in the field. It is therefore necessary to understand the link between soil water potential and hydraulic conductivity in the soil in order to estimate plant available water and hence simulate its movement within the soils. However, measurement of such hydraulic properties in the field and laboratory is somehow difficult, laborious and costly. Objective: To determine soil hydraulic properties of Ferro-chromic Luvisols in Katumani using the RETC code based on pedo-transfer functions; % sand, silt, clay and soil bulk density. Methodology: Undisturbed soil samples were collected from a profile pit at 0-15, 16-30, 31-45 and 46-60 cm depths using core rings for bulk densities and texture determination. Soil water retention curves and saturated hydraulic conductivities (Ksat) were estimated for all the samples using standard suction apparatus and the constant head method, respectively. The air entry suction (α) and pore size distribution (n) were generated using the RETC code. Results: The permanent wilting point and field capacity were at 0.081, 0.102, 0.107 and 0.121 and 0.188, 0.225, 0.241, 0.262 m3m-3 H2O, whilst its soil water diffusivity ranged from a low of 6.39, 6.94, 9.03 to a high of 12.5 cm2min-1 in the 0-15, 16-30, 31-45 and 46-60 cm depth, respectively. Ksat values from RETC code ranged from 29 - 48 cm day-1, while the total and readily available water within the soil profile were 330.4 and 214.7 mm H2O, respectively. Implication: The air entry value (α) and pore size distribution (n) implied an almost even distribution from the top and subsequent horizons. The soils ‘field capacity was achieved at pF 2.0 whilst PWP was arbitrary indicated at pF 4.2 reducing the time it takes to calculate irrigation cycles based on the amount of water available to the crops. Conclusion: The data indicates that pedo-transfer functions; especially high bulk densities negatively impact on soil hydraulics conductivity.

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“…Soil structure can be evaluated through different approaches including visual methods. The visual evaluation of soil structure (VESS) method has been frequently used to assess soil structural quality (Pulido-Moncada et al, 2014;Tormena et al, 2016;Cherubin et al, 2017;Tuchtenhagen et al, 2018;Franco et al, 2019;Paiva et al, 2020;Çelik et al, 2020;Mutuku et al, 2021). The VESS method is applied globally, as it is an easy method that allows soil structure assessment directly on-farm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Structural Quality and Relationships With Root Properties in Single and Integrated Farming Systems

Cavalieri-Polizeli

Marcolino

Tormena

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Single farming systems (SFS) such as monocultures may negatively affect soil structural quality. This study tested the hypothesis that integrated farming systems (IFS), i.e., the combination of cropping and forestry and/or livestock farming, improves soil structural quality, root development and soil organic carbon. An experimental area was set up in 2012 at the Canguiri experimental farm belonging to the Federal University of Paraná, Southern Brazil. The soils are predominantly Ferralsols. The experimental treatments representing different farming systems, organized in a random block design with three replicates, were: Forestry (F), Conventional Crop Production (C), Livestock (L), and integrated Crop-Forestry (CF), Crop-Livestock (CL), Livestock-Forestry (LF), and Crop-Livestock-Forestry (CLF). In situ measurements and sampling were carried out in the 0–0.3 m layer during summer 2019/20, and included soil penetration resistance (PR), soil structural quality based on visual evaluation of soil structure (SqVESS scores), root length (RL), root volume (RV) and soil organic carbon content (SOC). Soil structural quality, penetration resistance, root length and volume, and SOC varied between farming systems, but no significant differences were found between single (C, L, F) and integrated farming systems (CF, CL, LF, CLF). The single system Forestry (F) and the integrated systems including forestry (LF, CF, CLF) tended to have higher SqVESS scores, i.e. poorer soil structural quality, and higher PR, which we associate with the generally drier soil conditions that are due to higher soil water uptake and higher interception and reduce the frequency of wetting-drying cycles. Roots were concentrated in the shallow soil layer (0–0.1 m depth), and this was especially pronounced in the Crop (C) single farming system. Based on the measured values, our results suggest an acceptable soil structural quality in all farming systems. Our data revealed strong, significant relationships between soil structural quality, penetration resistance, root growth and SOC, demonstrating that improvements in soil structure results in lower soil penetration resistance, higher root volumes and higher SOC, and vice versa. Soil PR was positively correlated with SqVESS (R2 = 0.84), indicating that better soil structural quality resulted in lower soil mechanical resistance. This, in turn, increased root length and volume, which increases carbon input to soil and therefore increases SOC in the long run.

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Visual soil examination and evaluation in the sub-humid and semi-arid regions of Kenya

Cited by 10 publications

References 49 publications

Relationships between the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) and soil properties in agriculture: A meta-analysis

Relationships between the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) and soil properties in agriculture: A meta-analysis

Soil Hydraulic Properties of a Chromic Luvisol in Katumani, Kenya

Soil Structural Quality and Relationships With Root Properties in Single and Integrated Farming Systems

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