Preferential flow paths in two alluvial soils with long-term additions of pig slurry in the Mediterranean zone of Chile
Ignacio Fuentes A C , Manuel Casanova A , Oscar Seguel A , José Padarian B , Francisco Nájera A and Osvaldo Salazar A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Departamento de Ingeniería y Suelos, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 1004, Santiago, Chile.
B Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Sydney, Biomedical Building, 1 Central Avenue, Australian Technology Park, NSW 2015, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: ignacio.fuentes.sanroman@gmail.com
Soil Research 53(4) 433-447 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR14264
Submitted: 23 September 2014 Accepted: 11 December 2014 Published: 22 May 2015
Abstract
Spatial variability of soil hydraulic properties helps to understand the complexity and dynamic patterns of solute distributions in soils. This study assessed the effects of slurry additions and soil physical properties on preferential flow and nitrate concentrations in two Mediterranean soils of central Chile under conventional agriculture management with long-term slurry additions. Two alluvial basins continuously cropped with maize (Zea mays) were selected, Pichidegua (Mollic Xerofluvent) and San Pedro (Fluventic Humixerept). Soils that had been amended with pig slurry were compared with unamended controls. Soil texture, bulk density, particle density, organic matter, porosity and hydraulic conductivity (Ks) were measured. Soil nitrate concentrations at different depths were determined every 2 weeks during the study, and a dye tracer test using Brilliant Blue FCF was conducted on each soil. Digital picture analysis was then performed to classify flow types in the soil profiles through the distribution of stained path width.
Stained path width allowed classification of soil flow types. Preferential flow showed no evidence of being affected by pig slurry; the stained patterns were mainly explained by tillage and soil physical properties, such as texture and Ks. Matrix flow-types in the first horizon grading to macropore flow-types at depth characterised all profiles, except San Pedro amended soil, where homogeneous matrix flow dominated through the entire profile. Concentrations of nitrate showed temporal variation during the measurement season, mainly due to the mineralisation–immobilisation budget and leaching, both triggered by Mediterranean climate conditions. Physical properties helped to explain nitrate distribution in the studied soils.
Additional keywords: dye tracers, image analysis, nitrate leaching, Mediterranean climate, soil hydraulic properties.
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