The influence of organic mulches on soil temperatures with the establishment of Smuts finger and white buffalo grasses on a vertic soil

Jordaan, F.P.; Rautenbach, George

doi:10.1080/10220119.1996.9647900

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The direct effect is a reduction in inputs of litter and root biomass. Indirectly, however, the effect of temperature (Du Preez & Snyman, 1993), wetting and drying cycles (Birch, 1958;Savage & Vermeulen, 1983;Du Preez & Snyman, 1993;Jordaan & Rautenbach, 1996;Moyo, Frost & Campbell, 1998), possible inhibitory effects of plant roots on microbial activity and the sometimes excessive removal of N relative to C (Theron, 1951) may all contribute to a decline in SOM when vegetation is removed. Theron (1951) showed that grass leys had a reduced rate of mineralisation relative to fallow soils, which he ascribed to the release of antibacterial exudates from grass roots.…”

Section: Understanding the Causes And Mechanisms Of Soil Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Declining soil quality in South Africa: effects of land use on soil organic matter and surface crusting

Mills

Fey

2004

South African Journal of Plant and Soil

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Soil conservation in South Africa has historically focussed on preventing soil erosion. Effective maintenance of the soil resource requires, in addition to erosion control, an understanding of how land use practices affect more subtle indicators of soil quality. This review outlines how land use in South Africa can rapidly result in a marked reduction in soil organic matter (SOM) content and a greater tendency of soils to crust. Removal of a cover of vegetation whether by ploughing, grazing or burning tends to reduce SOM due to reduced organic matter inputs and enhanced soil microbe activity. Loss of SOM, particularly from the top few centimetres•of soil (named here the pedoderm) has a disproportionately large effect on soil infiltrability and nutrient supply. The mineralogy of the clay fraction also has great bearing on the response of soil to land use effects. The unexpected role of quartz in soil dispersion and crusting in South Africa has only recently been unveiled. Apart from SOM effects, land use can lead to subtle changes in soil chemistry. Plantation forestry has resulted in an increase in soil nitrate in many areas, possibly due to greater mineralisation under forests than grasslands. Annual burning in the Kruger National Park bushveld has been shown to increase clay dispersibility and crusting of the pedoderm, which was ascribed to a reduction in electrical conductivity and SOM as well as an increase in the exchangeable sodium percentage. Soil quality is a multifaceted concept. One aspect stands out, however, as critical and that is the conservation and replenishment of nitrogen which is all important for retaining humus and maintaining soil quality.

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Section: Understanding the Causes And Mechanisms Of Soil Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Declining soil quality in South Africa: effects of land use on soil organic matter and surface crusting

Mills

Fey

2004

South African Journal of Plant and Soil

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“…This study indicated that mulch application had ameliorated the environmental conditions for better seed germination and establishment. Hopkins (1954), Rickert (1970), Lavin et al (1981), Jordaan and Rautenbach (1996) and van den Berg and Kellner (2005) reported the successful germination and establishment of seeds through the use of organic mulches by altering constraints associat-…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The mechanical approach included the use of farm implements to disturb the soil. Rickert (1970), Winkel et al (1991) and Jordaan and Rautenbach (1996) also emphasised the importance of organic mulches to improve establishment of oversown grass seeds in degraded rangelands.…”

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confidence: 97%

The effect of mulching and fertilising on growth of over-sown grass species in degraded rangeland in north-eastern Ethiopia

Gebremeskel¹,

Pieterse²

2008

African Journal of Range & Forage Science

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A study to investigate oversowing of grass species as a restoration strategy in severely degraded rangeland was carried out in the Allaidege rangeland in north-eastern Ethiopia. Locally collected seeds of three grass species (Enteropogon rupestris, Ischaemum afrum and Tragus berteronianus) and imported seeds of three additional species (Cenchrus ciliaris, Chloris gayana and Panicum coloratum) were oversown in a severely degraded area of the rangeland to improve cover and grazing capacity of the rangeland. The effect of combinations of inorganic fertiliser, manure and grass mulch on the dry matter production of the grass species sown at 4 kg ha -1 in strips in a 10 m X 10 m plot was determined. The experiment was a randomised complete block design with eight factorially combined treatment combinations randomly applied and replicated three times. All the sown species showed significant positive responses to the mulch treatment, but not to the other treatments or treatment combinations. Ischaemum afrum and T. berteronianus produced significantly more dry matter (900 kg ha -1 and 800 kg ha -1 , respectively) than the other species. The results emphasised the importance of mulching to restore degraded patches in arid and semi-arid environmental conditions.

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The influence of organic mulches on soil temperatures with the establishment of Smuts finger and white buffalo grasses on a vertic soil

Cited by 2 publications

References 3 publications

Declining soil quality in South Africa: effects of land use on soil organic matter and surface crusting

Declining soil quality in South Africa: effects of land use on soil organic matter and surface crusting

The effect of mulching and fertilising on growth of over-sown grass species in degraded rangeland in north-eastern Ethiopia

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