The impact of wheat stubble on evaporation from a sandy soil
P. R. Ward A B , K. Whisson A , S. F. Micin A , D. Zeelenberg A and S. P. Milroy AA CSIRO Plant Industry, Private Bag No. 5, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: Phil.Ward@csiro.au
Crop and Pasture Science 60(8) 730-737 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP08448
Submitted: 16 December 2008 Accepted: 3 June 2009 Published: 5 August 2009
Abstract
In Mediterranean-type climates, dryland soil water storage and evaporation during the hot and dry summer are poorly understood, particularly for sandy-textured soils. Continued evaporation during summer, and any effects of crop stubble management, could have a significant impact on annual components of the water balance and crop yield. In this research, the effect of wheat stubble management on summer evaporation and soil water storage was investigated for a sandy soil in south-western Australia, during the summers of 2005–06 and 2006–07. Treatments comprised: retained standing stubble; retained flattened stubble; removed stubble; and removed stubble followed by burying the crowns with topsoil from an adjacent area. Under ‘dry’ conditions, evaporation continued at ~0.2 mm/day. In contrast to previous results for finer textured soil types, stubble retention did not decrease the rate of evaporation, but marginally (10–30%) increased evaporation on 7 out of 14 days when measurements were taken. Significant differences due to stubble management were observed in two successive summers, but only for relatively dry soil conditions. There were no significant differences observed for several days after irrigation or rainfall. Under dry conditions in the absence of rainfall, total decrease in water storage during a 90-day summer period could be ~20 mm, but differences attributable to stubble management are likely to be a few mm.
Additional keywords: water balance, evapotranspiration, soil water storage, summer fallow.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Richard Silberstein, of CSIRO Land and Water, for access to the dome. Comments by Ian Fillery, Dirk Richards, and Walter Kelman on an early draft of the manuscript were invaluable. Thanks also to The Australian Pastoral Research Trust for funding Dave Zeelenberg during the 2005–06 summer. This research was also supported by grain growers through the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
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