The Application of Digital Monitoring in Studying Soil Water Holding Capacity and Implications for Conservation Agriculture in the South-Western Siberia

Abstract

The Kulunda Steppe is an example of soil degradation resulting from the intensive agricultural land use in the South Siberia. In this region, water is a limiting factor for crop production. Soil cultivation affects the soil’s physical properties, thus its water retention capacity. The study presents and discusses the results of measurements of the volume and availability of soil moisture at depths of 30cm, 60cm, and 120cm of loamy, low humus southern chernozems in the south of Western Siberia in the dry Kulunda Steppe during the 2013 and 2016 vegetation periods. We revealed some advantages of soil moisture conservation in the No-Tillage [NT] system compared with the system of deep tillage [DT]. At depths of up to 30 cm, there was a lower volume moisture level. Nevertheless, at depths of 60 cm, there was a higher moisture level in the NT system that could be considered a potential stock for individual crops during drought. Further measurements are needed to identify additional features of the NT soil conservation system.