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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Measurements and simulations of compaction effects on the least limiting water range of a no-till Oxisol

Renato P. de Lima https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0524-439X A G , Thomas Keller B C , Neyde B. F. Giarola D , Cassio A. Tormena E , Anderson R. da Silva F and Mario M. Rolim A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CEP 52171-900, Recife, PE, Brazil.

B Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7014, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden.

C Department of Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Reckenholzstrasse 191, CH-8046, Zürich, Switzerland.

D Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, State University of Ponta Grossa (UEPG) Av. Gal. Carlos Cavalcanti, 4748, CEP 84030-900, Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil.

E Department of Agronomy, State University of Maringá. Av. Colombo, 5790–Campus, 87020-900 Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.

F Agronomy Department, Goiano Federal Institute, Geraldo Silva Nascimento Road, km 2.5, CEP 75790-000, Urutai, GO, Brazil.

G Corresponding author. Email: renato_agro_@hotmail.com

Soil Research 58(1) 62-72 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR19074
Submitted: 2 April 2019  Accepted: 16 September 2019   Published: 29 October 2019

Abstract

No-till has many environmental advantages, but concerns are growing about vehicle-induced topsoil compaction limiting crop growth. We performed a wheeling experiment in a long-term no-till field on an Oxisol with sandy loam texture. The objectives were to measure changes in soil bulk density and corresponding impacts on the least limiting water range (LLWR) due to passage of a maize harvester, and to compare bulk density and LLWR measurements with values simulated using the SoilFlex-LLWR soil compaction model. Soil cores were sampled before and after wheeling, for bulk density measurements and to determine LLWR. Simulated increase in bulk density due to vehicle wheeling agreed well with measurements. However, simulated LLWR and its decrease with compaction were inaccurate. This was ascribed to the pedo-transfer function used in SoilFlex-LLWR to estimate LLWR parameters, which was developed based on data from conventionally tilled sugarcane fields, whereas our site was a long-term no-till soil under a wheat/soybean–maize/black oats rotation. Our measurements showed that LLWR was strongly restricted by soil penetration resistance, which was not captured by the pedo-transfer function incorporated in SoilFlex-LLWR. For better prediction of LLWR, we recommend development of specific pedo-transfer functions or of mechanistic models that can be incorporated in SoilFlex-LLWR.

Additional keywords: field traffic, plant-available water, soil stress, SoilFlex-LLWR.


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