Erosion-preventive crop rotations and water erosion rates on undulating slopes in Lithuania

Abstract

Jankauskas, B., Jankauskiene, G. and Fullen, M. A. 2004. Erosion-preventive crop rotations and water erosion rates on undulating slopes in Lithuania. Can. J. Soil Sci. 84: 177-186. A combination of perennial grass species and selected crop rotations can help prevent soil erosion in upland regions and minimize the risk of soil erosion and associated water pollution (to both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems). Research data were obtained on sandy loam Eutric Albeluvisols at the Kaltinenai Research Station of the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture on the undulating hilly topography of the Zemaiciai Uplands of Western Lithuania. The aim was to identify crops and crop rotations that would minimize soil erosion. Measured water erosion rates over 18 yr of field experiments were: 3.2-8.6 m 3 ha -1 yr -1 under winter rye, 9.0-27.1 m 3 ha -1 yr -1 under spring barley and 24.2-87.1 m 3 ha -1 yr -1 under potatoes. Perennial grasses completely prevented water erosion, while the erosion-preventive grass-grain crop rotations (>50% grass) decreased soil losses on arable slopes of 2-5°, 5-10°and 10-14°by 75-80%. The grain-grass crop rotation (<50% grass) decreased rates by 23-24% compared to the field crop rotation. The main attributes of the proposed soil conservation systems were the careful selection of optimum erosion-preventive ecosystems (sod-forming perennial grasses or erosion-preventive crop rotations) with high erosion-resisting capabilities. These selected systems varied in response to slope gradient and thus assist erosion control and ecological stability of the undulating topography of Lithuania. These results may have wider applicability on the undulating landscapes of the temperate agricultural zone.

A comparative study of analytical methodologies to determine the soil organic matter content of Lithuanian Eutric Albeluvisols

“…Soil samples were taken from three (trials 1, 2, 3) monitoring sites (each containing 10 plots), representative of six land management systems, on slopes of 7-9, 7-8 and 9-11°w ith a southerly aspect (duration 8 years). Samples were also taken from two (trial 4, 5) monitoring sites (each containing 8 plots, duration 20 years), representative of four land management systems, on slopes of 10-14°with a northerly aspect (trial 4) (Jankauskas and Jankauskiene, 2003;Jankauskas et al, 2004) and slopes of 12-16°with a southerly aspect (trial 5). For SOM/SOC determination, each sample was sub-sampled and analysed by five separate techniques as described below.…”

Delineation Lithuanian agricultural land for agro-ecological suitability for farming using soil and terrain criteria

“…Soils under hilly topography status are not suitable for successful growing of crops by reason of steep slopes relating to intensive water erosion, which cause potential reduction of crop yield and land degradation processes (Kinderienė et al, 2013). On the 2−7° slopes, applying grain-grass crop rotation are recommended, whilst on steeper than 7° slopes, grass-grain crop rotation are recommended (Jankauskas et al, 2004;Kinderienė et al, 2013). Most of these measures proved effective in preventing erosion and increasing soil fertility and land productivity on the hilly terrain.…”

Sustainable Agriculture

“…At the long-term monitoring sites, soil losses were 3.2-8.6 Mg ha -1 under winter rye, 9.0-27.1 Mg ha -1 under spring barley and 24.2-87.1 Mg ha -1 under potatoes, on slopes of 2-5 o (3.5-8.3%), 5-10 o (8.3-17.7%) and 10-14 o (17.7-24.5%), respectively, increasing with slope steepness. Perennial grasses completely stabilised soil erosion (Jankauskas et al, 2004). The extent of water ero- Soil erosion has led to significant deterioration in the physical and chemical properties of loamy sand and clay loam Albeluvisols.…”