A New Hand‐held Recording Penetrometer for Soil Studies

Anderson, G B; Pidgeon, J. D.; Spencer, Henry; Parks, R. Q.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2389.1980.tb02081.x

Cited by 149 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For agricultural soils, Anderson et al (1980) stated that the penetrometer is the most widely used instrument for assessing in situ soil strength. This is also true for studies conducted to assess impacts on the soil surface by recreational activities.…”

Section: Impacts On Soil Hydrophysical Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrophysical degradation associated with hiking‐trail use: a case study of Hawai'iloa Ridge Trail, O'ahu, Hawai'i

et al. 2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recreational activities can have signi®cant impacts on geomorphic and hydrologic processes in drainage basins, often out of proportion to their areal extent. With increased stress on hiking trails nationwide, there is a need to characterize the impacts of human trampling on soil properties. We examine an 810 m segment of Hawai`iloa Ridge Trail (O`ahu, Hawai`i, USA). Soil compaction and surface erosion on moderate to steeply sloping sites have degraded the trail environment. Bulk density, penetration resistance, and vane shear strength were signi®cantly higher on the trail than in adjacent undisturbed areas, with median differences ranging from 29 to 120 per cent. With compaction and exposure of subsoil on the trail, void ratio, air-®lled porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, effective and preferential porosity were signi®cantly lower, with relative change values ranging from 23±93 per cent. No signi®cant changes were noted in meso-or micro-porosity, but macropores with a radius of b 110 mm decreased signi®cantly by 58 per cent for on-trail locations. This comprehensive dataset indicates that hiking stress is deleterious to the soil±hydrologic system. Data point to a trail system that would be dominated by Hortonian overland¯ow and this was supported by ®eld evidence during a storm event. Increased runoff has incised rills on some trail segments and there is evidence that run-on to adjacent side slopes has lead to accelerated erosion. Management on most trails in Hawai`i, including the one studied, is limited, but from our data it is apparent that on-trail sites directly in¯uenced by an overhanging canopy of rapidly growing (aggressive) exotics were least impacted due to increased organic contributions to the surface and root network development. These data will allow land managers to more effectively address the potential geomorphic and hydrologic impacts of recreational land use.

show abstract

Section: Impacts On Soil Hydrophysical Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrophysical degradation associated with hiking‐trail use: a case study of Hawai'iloa Ridge Trail, O'ahu, Hawai'i

et al. 2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A recording cone penetrometer described by Anderson et al (1980) Pore size was divided into three categories: >3O pm, 0.2-30 pm, <0.2 pm. These equivalent pore diameters corresponding to the matric potentials of -10 kPa to -1500 kPa were calculated on the basis of the corresponding matric suctions and effective pore size drainage using the capillary rise formula (e.g.…”

Section: Soil Penetrometer Resistancementioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of soil compactness on the growth and quality of carrot

Pietola¹

1995

AFSci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Field experiments were performed in Southern Finland on three soil types: fine sand (1989-1991), clay (1989) and mull (1990-1991). The following soil mechanical treatments were applied to autumn ploughed land: soil loosening by ridge preparation (ridge distance 45 cm), rotary harrowing (to a depth of 20 cm, clay 15 cm), and soil compaction track by track by a tractor weighing 3 Mg (1 or 3 passes, wheel width 33 cm) before seed bed preparation. One plot was untreated. These treatments were set up in April (on clay in May) under moist soil conditions. Sprinkler irrigation (one application of 30 mm) was applied to clay and fine sand when soil moisture in top soil had decreased to around 50% of plant-available water capacity. PVC cylinders (r = 15 cm, h = 60 cm) were fixed in the experimental areas during the growing periods. At harvest, these cylinders were removed for specific analysis of tap and fibrous roots of carrot. Length and width of fibrous roots were quantified by image analysis in the USA. The impacts of soil loosening and partial compaction were determined by measuring soil physical parameters to a depth of 25 cm in mineral soils, and to greater depths in organic soil. Dry bulk densities of the plough layers increased with increasing tractor passes by 8%, 10% and 13% for fine sand, mull and clay soils, respectively. The lowest dry soil bulk density in the plough layer was obtained by rotary harrowing to a depth of 20 cm. Comparison of gamma ray transmission and gravimetric analysis indicated that dry soil bulk density was slightly lower when determined by gravimetric analysis. Increased soil bulk densities were reflected by increased water retention capacity (matric suction ≤ 10 kPa) and greater penetrometer resistance. Relatively similar increases in bulk density increased the penetrometer resistance much less in mull than in fine sand. In contrast, greater bulk densities in the mull soil affected soil air composition adversely by decreasing the O2 content to 10% when the subsoil had high wetness. In other soils, the lowest soil oxygen contents of 16-18% were recorded in early summer (compacted clay) and during periods of vigorous plant growth (fine sand) when soil water contents were high. Even though the highest degree of soil compactness (D) in a plough layer approached 93 (gravimetric) in all soils, only clay soil was compacted to a soil macro-porosity below 10% (pore diameter > 30 μm). Soil compaction promoted crop establishment and early growth as compared with loose soil beds. Optimum soil compactness for carrot yield (D = 82) was observed only in clay field where excess loosening or compaction affected yield quantity adversely at different stages of growth. During biomass accumulation, excessive penetrometer resistances limited tap root growth in compacted fine sand without irrigation. Water applications promoted shoot growth, but did not affect final shoot and tap root yield. Among the three soil types tested in this study, compaction of mull soil had the least effect on carrot growth and external quality. This paper presents evidence that the internal quality of carrots is only slightly affected by changes in soil physical properties, while the adverse effects of soil compaction on carrot external quality (short, deformed and conical tap roots with greater maximum diameters) are clear. Even though compacted clay soil greatly limited the biomass accumulations in the tap root, which had a high crude fibre content, the carotene (10 mg/100 g carrots) and sugar contents (5%) reached acceptable levels. The lowest carotene contents (4 mg/100 g carrots) were observed in loose mull, following a cool late summer in 1990. The effect of irrigation on carotene content varied from one year to another. High sugar and carotene contents appeared to respond to the high below-ground absorption surface. The fibrous root system of carrots, consisting of mostly very fine roots (diameter 0.15 mm), had total lengths of 150 m in loose fine sand at a soil depth of 0-50 cm (rotary harrowed), 200 m and 300 m in fine sand and mull soils subjected to 3 passes by a tractor wheel. The maximum dry weight (60 μg), length (1.2 cm) and surface area (0.05 cm2) of the fibrous root system per soil volume (cm3) were observed in compacted or irrigated soil to a depth of 30 cm, and also in relation to tap root dry weight. This suggests a capacity of carrot plant for high below-ground absorption potential and optimal biochemial maturation of tap root tissue even when surface soils are compacted. This is supported by higher leaf area, as the early shoot growth was promoted by partial soil compaction. Soil compaction affected the soil physical properties and carrot external quality in agreement with previous studies. Carotene and sugar contents appeared to be unaffected or were slightly increased in riper and firmer carrots of compacted soils. This is consistent with the earlier information about the internal quality of carrot which is shown to be highly dependent on genetic factors and developmental stage of carrot. The present study emphasizes the surface area of carrot fibrous root system as a beneficial factor for maintaining high levels of carotene and sugar contents in tap roots after partial soil compaction.

show abstract

“…Determinations of soil penetration resistances (PEN) at different soil depths were carried out in situ with an SP1000 Bush soil penetrometer (Findlay, Irvine, United Kingdom) with a cone diameter of 10.1 mm according to the method of Anderson et al (1) at 10 places at each sampling location within a 10-m radius. In situ soil surface water infiltration (cm h…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Resources Influence Spatial Patterns of Denitrifying Communities at Scales Compatible with Land Management

Enwall

Throbäck

Stenberg

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

211

146

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Knowing spatial patterns of functional microbial guilds can increase our understanding of the relationships between microbial community ecology and ecosystem functions. Using geostatistical modeling to map spatial patterns, we explored the distribution of the community structure, size, and activity of one functional group in N cycling, the denitrifiers, in relation to 23 soil parameters over a 44-ha farm divided into one organic and one integrated crop production system. The denitrifiers were targeted by the nirS and nirK genes that encode the two mutually exclusive types of nitrite reductases, the cd 1 heme-type and copper reductases, respectively. The spatial pattern of the denitrification activity genes was reflected by the maps of the abundances of nir genes. For the community structure, only the maps of the nirS community were related to the activity. The activity was correlated with nitrate and dissolved organic nitrogen and carbon, whereas the gene pools for denitrification, in terms of size and composition, were influenced by the soil structure. For the nirS community, pH and soil nutrients were also important in shaping the community. The only unique parameter related to the nirK community was the soil Cu content. However, the spatial pattern of the nirK denitrifiers corresponded to the division of the farm into the two cropping systems. The different community patterns, together with the spatial distribution of the nirS/nirK abundance ratio, suggest habitat selection on the nirS-and nirK-type denitrifiers. Our findings constitute a first step in identifying niches for denitrifiers at scales relevant to land management.

show abstract

A New Hand‐held Recording Penetrometer for Soil Studies

Cited by 149 publications

References 13 publications

Hydrophysical degradation associated with hiking‐trail use: a case study of Hawai'iloa Ridge Trail, O'ahu, Hawai'i

Hydrophysical degradation associated with hiking‐trail use: a case study of Hawai'iloa Ridge Trail, O'ahu, Hawai'i

Effect of soil compactness on the growth and quality of carrot

Soil Resources Influence Spatial Patterns of Denitrifying Communities at Scales Compatible with Land Management

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About