
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Drewry, J. J. 
A1  - Littlejohn, R. P. 
A1  - Paton, R. J. 
A1  - Singleton, P. L. 
A1  - Monaghan, R. M. 
A1  - Smith, L. C. 
T1  - Dairy pasture responses to soil physical properties
JF  - Soil Research
JO  - Soil Res.
Y1  - 2004
VL  - 42
IS  - 1
SP  - 99
EP  - 105
KW  - compaction, pugging, treading, indicator, hydraulic conductivity.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/SR03055 
N2  - Relationships between relative seasonal pasture yields (total, spring, or summer/autumn) and soil physical properties were investigated. Dairy farm data were collected from trials over 7 years. There were few significant response relationships between total relative yield and each soil physical property at each soil depth, from 0 to 20 cm. Macroporosity (air-filled porosity; pores &#62;30 &#956;m), percentage of pores &#62;300 &#956;m, and total porosity at both 0&#8211;5 and 5&#8211;10 cm soil depths all had highly significant positive relationships with spring relative yield, with the best fit being for macroporosity. Summer/autumn relative yield had significant but negative relationships with macroporosity and the percentage of pores &#62;300 &#956;m at both 0&#8211;5 and 5&#8211;10 cm soil depths, and saturated hydraulic conductivity at 0&#8211;5 cm. Summation of yield data into seasonal totals gave more meaningful relationships with macroporosity, compared with summation over several individual yield harvests within a season. Macroporosity at 0&#8211;5 and 5&#8211;10 cm was the most useful indicator for predicting spring and summer/autumn pasture yields, but none of the physical measurements was a reliable indicator of total yield. 
ER  -

