Effects of perennial fodder crops on soil structure in agricultural headlands |
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Authors: | Timo Kautz Christoph Stumm Raimund Kösters Ulrich Köpke |
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Institution: | 1. University of Bonn, Institute for Organic Agriculture, Katzenburgweg 3, 53115 Bonn, Germany;2. University of Bonn, INRES‐Soil Science, Nussallee 13, 53115 Bonn, Germany |
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Abstract: | In agricultural headlands, rooting and yield of crops may be limited because of soil‐structure changes as a consequence of multiple passes of turning machinery. We hypothesized that perennial forage crops can substantially alter soil structure in agricultural headlands. On one experimental field and two commercial farms on Haplic Luvisols from respectively loess and sandy loess in the Lower Rhine Bay (Germany), we investigated how 4 y of continuously grown grass/clover or alfalfa affected soil structure and the performance of subsequent spring wheat. Compared with a crop rotation with annual plowing to 30 cm soil depth, perennial forage crops led to increased soil C content (+1.3% to +22.8%) and N content (+4.2% to +15.1%), higher densities of medium and coarse biopores at a depth of 35 cm, more large water‐stable soil macroaggregates, higher biomass and abundance of anecic earthworms, and higher grain yield and grain protein content of spring wheat grown as the following crop. Root‐length density of spring wheat in the subsoil was not affected by the preceding perennial fodder crops in two of the three field trials. We concluded that besides increasing N input to the soil, perennial cropping of grass/clover or alfalfa has effects on soil structure that may substantially reduce yield losses in agricultural headlands. |
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Keywords: | alfalfa grass clover biopores root‐length density water‐stable aggregates |
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