The Influence of Crop Management on Runoff, Erosion, and Soil Properties of a Marshall Silty Clay Loam

Abstract

A series of field plots at Clarinda, Iowa, were operated from 1932 through 1963 to study effects of crop and soil management on infiltration, erosion, and crop yield. Major treatment changes were made in 1943 and 1953. Before 1953, soil‐erosion rates were high, especially when corn (Zea mays L.) followed several years of corn, and were inversely related to organic carbon content and aggregate stability of the soil.After the 1953 revision of the study, erosion loss from continuous corn that received annual applications of 179 kg of N per ha (160 lb/acre) were relatively low and were not closely correlated with soil carbon content or with aggregate stability. However, erosion was inversely related to high nitrogen fertility, which, in turn, was accompanied by a trend toward increased soil carbon and high carbohydrate content of the soil. The erosion‐reducing effect of the nitrogen additions were most evident under intense July and August thunderstorms. Soil loss from corn following good meadow was, however, substantially less than from the nitrogen‐treated continuous corn, particularly when erosive rains occurred during the corn seedling stage of the crop year. Crop yield was directly related to N fertility and not to aggregate stability or to organic‐matter content of the soil.

Effects of Increasing Amounts of Organic Residues on Continuous Corn: II. Organic Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur1

“….From preliminary experiments in Illinois, Melsted (1954) concluded that in soils cropped to continuous corn with an ample supply of N the level of organic matter decreased under clean cultivation. Similar results on a Marshall silty clay loam were obtained by Moldenhauer, Wischmeier, and Parker (1967) when the initial C content was 1.84%. When the soill had been severely depleted of organic matter (1.35% C) by continuous cropping of corn without fertilization, however, high N applications for 12 years resulted in an increase of organic C. Short-term studies by Sutherland, Shrader, and Pesek ( 1961) also indicatEd increases in soil organic matter.…”

Erosão hídrica em cambissolo húmico alumínico submetido a diferentes sistemas de preparo e cultivo do solo: I. perdas de solo e água

“…(2) 01/01/93 a 08/06/93; (3) 09/06/93 a 17/11/93; (4) 18/11/93 a 12/07/94; (5) 13/07/94 a 18/11/94; (6) 19/11/94 a 30/07/94; (7) 01/08/95 a 30/11/95; (8) direta, respectivamente, em relação à sucessão de culturas, na média do período de estudo (Quadro 4), concordando com dados obtidos por Lombardi Neto (1994). Este comportamento pode ser explicado pela alternância das culturas e práticas culturais na rotação, com conseqüente manutenção de cobertura vegetal variada e uniforme e elevado conteúdo de matéria orgânica, refletindo-se nas propriedades físicas do solo e, geralmente, na erosão (Uhland, 1949;Moldenhauer et al, 1967;.…”

“…A rotação de culturas, caracterizada por um sistema de cultivo baseado na alternância de espécies vegetais, planejada e recorrente no tempo e no espaço, melhora, em geral, as condições físicas e químicas do solo, as quais concorrem para a redução da erosão hídrica (Uhland, 1949;Moldenhauer et al, 1967;.…”

A decision support system for soil conservation planning

“…Green manure crops are forages that get plowed into the soil at the end of the growing season to improve lts structure and stability against erosion. In a ten year study, Moldenhauer et al (1967) obtained reductions in soil loss and runoff of 30% and 37% respectively for a 3 year rotation of oats, corn and alfalfa-brome hayon a silty clay loam soil.…”