Little is known of the effects of mechanized harvesting on ground conditions during the harvesting of short-rotation coppice. An investigation was therefore carried out in which different vehicles were used to simulate the effects of wheeling from heavy and light harvesters and crop removal equipment. The experiments were carried out on sites containing Bowles hybrid willow (Salix viminalis) and poplars (Populas rap) and on clay and sandy loam soils. The effect of different vehicles was assessed in terms of rut damage and direct measurements of soil stress using buried sensors. Maximum stresses measured 0.3 m below tractor wheels ranged from 50 to 200 kPa, but the greatest stresses, 350 kPa, were recorded under laden trailer wheels. Maximum stresses measured beneath crawler tracks were only 25 kPa. Similarly, substantial ruts were caused by vehicles simulating wheeled harvesters, the deepest ruts were caused by laden trailers but crawler tracks created least disturbance. Wheeling was carried out at soil water contents above the plastic limit and the deepest ruts were created on clay rather than sandy loam soil. The effects of the stresses generated in the soil could impede future root growth, and the deeper ruts formed could damage existing root systems of coppice. 相似文献
The level of compaction induced on cultivated fields through trafficking is strongly influenced by the prevailing soil-water status and, depending on the attendant soil degradation, vital soil hydraulic processes could be affected. Therefore, understanding the relationship between field soil-water status and the corresponding level of induced compaction for a given load is considered an imperative step toward a better control of the occurrence of traffic-induced field soil compaction. Pore size distribution, a fundamental and highly degradable soil property, was measured in a Rhodic Ferralsol, the most productive and extensively distributed soil in Western Cuba, to study the effects of three levels of soil compaction on soil water characteristic parameters. Soil bulk density and cone penetration index were used to measure compaction levels established by seven passes of a 10 Mg tractor at three soil-water statuses corresponding to the plastic (Fs), friable (Fc) and relatively dry soil (Ds) consistency states. Pore size distribution calculated from soil water characteristic curves was classified into three pore size categories on the basis of their hydraulic functioning: >50 μm (f>50 μm), 50–0.5 μm (f50–0.5 μm) and <0.5 μm (f<0.5 μm). The greatest compaction levels were attained in the Fs and Fc soil water treatments, and a significant contribution to compaction was attributed to the existing soil water states under which the soil compaction was accomplished. Average cone index (CI) values in the range of 2.93–3.70 MPa reflected the accumulation of f<0.5 μm pores, and incurred severe reductions in the volume of f>50 μm pores in the Fs and Fc treatments, while an average CI value of 1.69 MPa indicated increments in the volume of f50–0.5 μm in the Ds treatment. Despite the differential effects of soil compaction on the distribution of the different pore size categories, soil total porosity (fTotal) was not effective in reflecting treatment effects. Soil water desorption at the soil water potentials evaluated (0.0 to −15,000 cm H2O) was adversely affected in the f<0.5 μm dominated treatments; strong soil water retention was observed with the predominance of f<0.5 μm, as was confirmed by the high water content at plant wilting point. Based on these findings, the use of field capacity water content as the upper limit of plant available soil water was therefore considered inappropriate for compacted soils. 相似文献
Soil compaction affects hydraulic properties, and thus can lead to soil degradation and other adverse effects on environmental quality. This study evaluates the effects of three levels of compaction on the hydraulic properties of two silty loam soils from the Loess Plateau, China. Undisturbed soil cores were collected from the surface (0–5 cm) and subsurface (10–15 cm) layers at sites in Mizhi and Heyang in Shaanxi Province. The three levels of soil compaction were set by increasing soil bulk density by 0% (C0), 10% (C1) and 20% (C2) through compression and hammering in the laboratory. Soil water retention curves were then determined, and both saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity were estimated for all of the samples using standard suction apparatus, a constant head method and the hot-air method, respectively. The high level of compaction (C2) significantly changed the water retention curves of both the surface and subsurface layers of the Heyang soil, and both levels of compaction (C1 and C2) changed the curves of the two layers from the Mizhi site. However, the effects of compaction on the two soils were only pronounced below water tensions of 100 kPa. Saturated hydraulic conductivities (Ks) were significantly reduced by the highest compaction level for both sampled layers of the Heyang soil, but no difference was observed in this respect between the C0 and C1 treatments. Ks values decreased with increasing soil compaction for both layers of the Mizhi soil. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivities were not affected by soil compaction levels in the measured water volume ratio range, and the values obtained were two to five orders of magnitude higher for the Mizhi soil than for the Heyang soil. The results indicate that soil compaction could strongly influence, in different ways, the hydraulic properties of the two soils. 相似文献
The effects of wheel traffic on soil surface hydraulic properties, and consequent effects on erosion, following planting of vegetable crops in beds have not been widely studied. This paper describes two trials to quantify how wheel tracks influence infiltration and erosion rates, and assesses the value of cultivating wheel tracks for reducing erosion. The trials were carried out under natural rainfall, on Dystric Nitosols with clay loam texture and strong, stable structure. Net rates of erosion from onion (Allium cepa L.) beds with cultivated or uncultivated inter-bed wheel tracks were measured with erosion pins and repeat topographic surveys of sediment trapped in silt fences. Infiltration rates in onion beds, cultivated and uncultivated wheel tracks, and changes in infiltration rates through winter, spring, and summer, were measured using the double-ring, ponded-water method.
Differences in erosion rate were only measured in the second trial in which erosion rate from the uncultivated treatment was 21 Mg ha−1, compared to 1 Mg ha−1 for the cultivated treatment. Erosion occurred through mobilisation of soil along the edge and base of the wheel tracks, with no evidence of erosion of the onion beds. Most of the eroded soil comprised soil aggregates, with 75% between 0.25 and 4 mm in diameter, suggesting soil was transported in runoff along the wheel tracks as stable aggregates. Uncultivated wheel tracks had very low infiltration rates compared to onion beds and cultivated wheel tracks. The differences in infiltration rates between cultivated and uncultivated wheel tracks were consistent in both trials, with minor differences due to rainfall patterns and the implements used to cultivate wheel tracks. There were clear trends in infiltration rates through time, with rates in the uncultivated wheel tracks increasing during the growing season from 1.4×10−7 to 2.1×10−5 ms−1 and in onion beds from 1.1×10−4 to 2.5×10−4 ms−1, while rates in the cultivated wheel tracks decreased from 1.7×10−2 to 2.4×10−3 ms−1. The major increase of infiltration rate in uncultivated wheel tracks occurred after October when the soil surface began to dry out, and frequent wetting and drying cycles caused the compacted surface soil to crack. Most erosion occurred in the winter/early spring period when storm frequency and rainfall intensity was highest, and infiltration rates in the uncultivated wheel tracks lowest. Cultivating wheel tracks is a simple and effective practice to increase infiltration of rainfall and reduce erosion rates on clay-rich, strongly structured soils. 相似文献
A potentially significant cause of damage to grassland soils is compaction of unsaturated soil and poaching of saturated or nearly saturated soil by animal hooves. Damage is caused when an applied stress is in excess of the bearing strength of the soil and results in a loss of soil structure, macroporosity and air or water conductivity. Severely damaged soils can cause reduced grassland productivity and make grazing management very difficult for the farmer. The actual amount of soil damage that can occur during grazing is dependent on the grass cover which acts as a protecting layer, the soil water content and the characteristics of the grazing animal (weight and hoof size). Assuming that the farmer is knowledgeable about the characteristics of the grazing animal and grass cover, it would be very useful for short‐term operational farm planning to be able to predict when soil water contents were likely to be in a critical range with respect to potential hoof damage. In this study soil moisture deficits (SMDs) which can be derived from meteorological forecasts are evaluated for predicting when soil water conditions are likely to lead to hoof damage. Two contrasting Irish grassland soils were analysed using a Hounsfield servo‐mechanical vertical testing machine to simulate static (285.4 N) and dynamic (571 N) hoof loads on the soil over a range of estimated SMDs (0, 5, 10 and 20 mm). The deficits were analysed with respect to the soil volumetric water content, compression (displacement) and change in dry bulk density. The SMDs imposed in the laboratory were similar to those under field conditions and thus the methods used in this study are applicable elsewhere. The change in dry bulk density following loading (0.2–0.7 g/cm3) was linearly related to SMD (R2 ranged from 0.90 to 0.99), leading to the conclusion that a forecast of SMD can be used to predict when grassland soils are likely to be at risk of damage from grazing. 相似文献
A loamy sand Acrisol (Aquic Hapludult) that had been microirrigated for 6 years became so severely compacted that it had root limiting values of soil cone index in the Ap horizon and a genetic hardpan below it. Deep and surface tillage systems were evaluated for their ability to alleviate compaction. Deep tillage included subsoiling or none. Both deep tillage treatments were also surface tilled by disking, chiseling, or not tilling. Subsoiling was located in row or between rows to avoid microirrigation tubes (laterals) that were buried under every other mid row or every row. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) was planted in 0.96-m wide rows. Cotton yield was improved by irrigation from 485 to 1022 kg ha−1 because both 2001 and 2002 were dry years. Tillage loosened the soil by an average of 0.5–1.3 MPa; but compacted zones remained outside tilled areas. Subsoiling improved yield by 131 kg ha−1 when performed in row where laterals were placed in the mid rows; but subsoiling did not improve yield when it was performed in mid rows. For subsurface irrigation management in these soils, the treatment with laterals buried under every other mid row was able to accommodate in-row subsoiling which improved yield; and this treatment was just as productive as and had been shown to be less expensive to install than burying laterals under every row. 相似文献
Abstract. The effects of grazed, annual ryegrass pasture (annually tilled with a rotary cultivator) and permanent kikuyu pasture were compared with that of undisturbed native vegetation at four sites in the Tsitsikamma region, South Africa. Soil organic carbon content, aggregate stability, saturated hydraulic conductivity, air permeability, root length density and rooting depth were all less under ryegrass than kikuyu pasture. There was, however, no consistent effect of pasture-type on pore size distribution or penetrometer resistance. Differences in penetrometer resistance were most obvious in the 10–30 cm layer with subsurface compaction being evident at some sites under both types of pasture. This was attributed to the treading effects of grazing cattle plus formation of a compacted layer at the depth of tillage under ryegrass pastures. Subsoil tillage of a ryegrass pasture resulted in a substantial reduction in penetrometer resistance in the compacted 10–20 cm layer and increases in hydraulic conductivity, air permeability, root length density and rooting depth. We conclude that conversion from conventional to zero tillage is a potential way of improving the sustainability of annual pasture production and that the extent of subsoil compaction under both pasture types needs further investigation. 相似文献
In recent years, agricultural land in Switzerland has been increasingly used as temporary access ways for heavy machinery in road and pipeline construction operations. The Swiss soil protection law requires that measures are taken to prevent soil compaction in such operations, but gives no criteria to determine tolerable loads. We studied the compaction sensitivity of a loess soil (Haplic Luvisol) at different soil moisture conditions in a field traffic experiment and by a numerical model on the computer using finite element analysis. Two plots, one wetted by sprinkling and one left dry (no sprinkling), were traversed by heavy caterpillar vehicles during construction of a large overland gas pipeline. Compaction effects were determined by comparing precompression stresses of samples taken from trafficked and non-trafficked soil. A finite element model with a constitutive relation, based on the concept of critical state soil mechanics, was used to interpret the outcome of the field trials.
We found significantly higher precompression stresses in the trafficked (median 97 kPa) compared with the non-trafficked (median 41 kPa) topsoil of the wet plot. No effect was evident in the topsoil of the dry plot as well as in the subsoils of the wet and the dry plot. The observed compaction effects were in agreement with the model predictions if the soil was assumed to be partially drained, but disagreed for the wet subsoil if fully drained conditions were assumed. Agreement between model and experimental results also required that the moisture dependence of the precompression stress was taken into account. 相似文献