Evaluating the influence of surface soil moisture and soil surface roughness on optical directional reflectance factors

Fine‐scale information on soil surface roughness (SSR) is needed for calculating heat budgets, monitoring soil degradation and parameterizing surface runoff and sediment transfer models. Previous work has demonstrated the potential of using hyperspectral, hemispherical conical reflectance factors (HCRFs) to retrieve the SSR of different soil crusting states. However, this was achieved by using dry soil surfaces, generated in controlled laboratory conditions. The primary aim of this study was therefore to test the impact that in situ variations in surface soil moisture (SSM) content had on the ability of directional reflectance factors to characterize SSR conditions. Five soil plots (20 cm × 20 cm in area) representing different agricultural conditions were subjected to different durations of natural rainfall to produce a range of different levels of SSR. The values of SSM varied from 8.7 to 20.1% across all soil plots. Point laser data (4‐mm sample spacing) were geostatistically analysed to give a spatially‐distributed measure of SSR, giving sill variance values from 3.2 to 23.0. The HCRFs from each soil state were measured using a ground‐based hyperspectral spectroradiometer for a range of viewing zenith angles from extreme forward‐scatter (θ_r = ?60°) to extreme back‐scatter (θ_r = +60°) at a 10° sampling resolution in the solar principal plane. The results showed that despite a large range of SSM values, forward‐scattered reflectance factors exhibited a very strong relationship with SSR (R² = 0.84 at θ_r = ?60°). Our findings demonstrate the operational potential of HCRFs for providing spatially‐distributed SSR measurements, across spatial extents containing spatio‐temporal variations in SSM content.     

Temperature dependence of time domain reflectometry–measured soil dielectric permittivity

The purpose of this study is to determine the temperature influence on the soil bulk dielectric permittivity, ?_b, calculated from the measurement of the electromagnetic‐wave velocity of propagation along the parallel waveguide in a TDR probe, i.e., a probe working in time domain reflectometry technique. The experimental evidence shows that the existing models do not completely describe the temperature effect. However, it has been confirmed that the observed temperature effect is the result of two competing phenomena: ?_b increases with temperature following the release of bound water from soil solid particles, and ?_b decreases with temperature increase following the temperature effect of free water molecules. It has been found that there is a soil type–characteristic moisture value, θ_eq, named the equilibrium water content, at which both competing phenomena compensate each other. The equilibrium water content, θ_eq, is correlated with the soil specific surface area. Based on knowledge of θ_eq, a temperature‐correction formula is presented that adjusts the TDR soil‐moisture measurements at various temperatures to the corresponding value at 25°C. This decreases the absolute measurement error of soil moisture, θ_TDR, by the factor of 2 as compared to the uncorrected values.     

Impact of organic inputs on wettability characteristics and structural stability in silty vineyard topsoil

Organic inputs were used for 10 years on a French vineyard topsoil to improve structural stability and thus to protect against erosion. The three types of organic inputs (mulches) included: conifer compost, CC (100 m³ ha^?1 every 3 years); conifer bark, CB (300 m³ ha^?1 every 5 years); and cereal straw, S (10 t ha^?1 every 2 years). The other two types of organic inputs were cover crops of clover (C) and fescue (F). The impacts of these organic inputs on soil organic carbon (SOC) content, wettability (capillary rise and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)) and structural stability were studied. The SOC content was twice as large in the CC, C and F topsoils (SOC content of 2.56–3.24%) as in the reference (R) topsoil (SOC content of 1.39%). Both apparent contact angle (θ) and surface OH:C mass ratio indicated that the R and S topsoils were hydrophilic (θ of 27.4–33.4°, surface OH:C ratio of 3.20–4.41), whereas the CB, C and F topsoils were partially hydrophobic (θ of 69.1–79.8°, surface OH:C ratio of 1.36–2.86), and the CC topsoil had intermediate values (θ of 46.9°, surface OH:C ratio of 2.43–2.81). Moreover, the greater the θ value, the smaller the water sorptivity value and the greater the proportion of water‐stable aggregates, Ag_w. The increase in SOC content had beneficial effects on Ag_w, particularly for the partially hydrophobic C and F topsoils (Ag_w of 22.3–44.5%) against the hydrophilic R and S topsoils (Ag_w of 8.2–12.7%). Development of hydrophobicity, correlated with the decrease in the surface OH:C ratio and the increase in the C–O, C–N proportion on surface C, should be attributed to humified organic matter or/and to plant and microbial polysaccharides. As the XPS and aggregate stability data describe soil physical processes at small scales (nm to mm), we suggest an experimental and modelling framework for upscaling these results for practical improvement and management of vineyard soils.     

Determination of chemical transport properties for different textures of undisturbed soils

Agrichemicals usually contaminate groundwater via preferential flow, therefore determination of the preferential flow characteristics of soil is needed. One model that predicts solute transport due to preferential flow is the mobile–immobile (MIM) solute-transport model, which partitions total water content (θ; m³ m^?3) into mobile (θ_m) and immobile fractions (θ_im). In undisturbed soils, a method is proposed for determining the MIM model parameters, i.e. immobile water fraction (θ_im), mass transfer coefficient (α) and hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient (D _h). Breakthrough curves were obtained for five different soil textures in three replicates, by miscible displacement of Cl^? in undisturbed soil columns. Cl^? breakthrough curves were evaluated in terms of the MIM model. Analysis suggests that the values of D _h and α increased with lighter soil textures and θ_im increased with heavier soil textures. The values of θ_im ranged from 5.31 to 14.28% in different soil textures. Furthermore, values of θ_im were found to be related to soil clay content. Values of α ranged from 0.0257 to 0.32 h^?1 and values of D _h ranged from 0.36 to 11.2 cm² h^?1 in different soil textures. A significant linear correlation was obtained between α, θ_im, D _h and soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (K _s) and pore water velocity (v). A multivariate pedotransfer function was developed to estimate α, θ_im and D _h based on the geometric mean (d _g) and the standard deviation (σ_g) of the diameter of soil particles and soil organic matter content. The pedotransfer functions for D _h, θ_im and α were validated by independent data sets from other investigators.     

Nitrification Inhibition in Iowa Soils Treated with Stay‐N 2000 as Affected by Temperature and Matric Potential

The effects of temperature and water potential on nitrification were investigated in two Iowa soils treated with Stay‐N 2000. The soils were incubated at 10, 20, and 30 °C after soil water potentials of ?1, ?10, or ?60 kPa were applied to each soil. A first‐order equation was used to calculate the maximum nitrification rate (K _max), duration of lag period (t′), period of maximum nitrification (Δt), and termination period of nitrification (t _s). The highest K _max were 18 and 24 mg kg^?1 d^?1 nitrate (NO₃ ^?)–nitrogen (N), respectively, at 30 °C and ?10 kPa in both the Nicollet (fine‐loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aquic Hapludoll) and Canisteo (fine‐loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Typic Endoaquoll) soils and reduced to 4 and 16 mg kg^?1 d^?1 NO₃ ^?‐N when Stay‐N 2000 was added. The extension of t′ due to the addition of Stay‐N 2000 was as high as 7 d in the Nicollet soil at 10 °C and ?1 kPa and as little as 2 d in the Canisteo soil at 20 °C and ?10 kPa.     

Depth and Width of the Wetted Zone in a Sandy Soil after Leaching Drip‐Irrigation Events and Implications for Nitrate‐Load Calculation

Abstract

The quantitative assessment of nitrate‐nitrogen (NO₃‐N) leaching below the root zone of vegetable crops grown with plasticulture (called load) may be done using 150‐cm‐deep soil samples divided into five 30‐cm‐long subsamples. The load is then calculated by multiplying the NO₃‐N concentration in each subsample by the volume of soil (width×length×depth, W×L×D) wetted by the drip tape. Length (total L of mulched bed per unit surface) and D (length of the soil subsample) are well known, but W is not. To determine W at different depths, two dye tests were conducted on a 7‐m‐deep Lakeland fine sand using standard 71‐cm‐wide plasticulture beds. Dye tests consisted of irrigation lengths of up to 38 and 60 h, digging transverse sections of the raised beds at set times, and taking measurements of D and W in 30‐cm‐deep increments. Most dye patterns were elliptically elongated. Maximum average depths were similar (118 and 119 cm) for both tests despite differences in irrigation duration and physical proximity of both tests (100 m apart in the same field). Overall, D response (cm, both tests combined) to irrigation volume (V, L/100 m) was quadratic (D_comb.avg=?2×10^?7 V²+0.008 V+34), and W responses (using maximum and mean values at each 30‐cm increment depth, W_max and W_mean, respectively) to D (cm) were linear (W_max=?0.65D+114 and W_mean=?0.42D+79). Predicted W_max were 104, 84, 64, 44, and 25 cm in 30‐cm depth increments. Load calculations using NO₃‐N concentrations of 7.2, 5.0, 3.9, 3.0, and 2.9 µg/kg for the 15, 46, 77, 107, and 137 cm depths, respectively, were 21.2, 37.6, 28.2, and 39.1 kg/ha for W values of 40 cm, bed width (71 cm), W_mean, and W_max, respectively. These load calculations ranged from simple to double based on the choice of W estimate used, which illustrates the importance of knowing W accurately when load is calculated from field measurements. These W_max and W_mean values may be used for load calculations on sandy soils but are likely to overestimate load because they were determined without transpiring plants and may need to be adjusted for different soil types.     

How representatively can we sample soil mineral nitrogen?

Spatial distribution of soil mineral‐N content (N_min) is a scale‐variant process. Precision farming assumes knowledge about the spatial distribution of N_min. Moreover, sampling in management zones is based on the assumption of spatial dependence between sampling points. In the present study, variability structure of N_min and the sources of variability were investigated. Within an agricultural landscape, N_min was investigated across a field in a nested design over four consecutive years. Temporally unstable structure of individual nests require a sampling with several nests in the field. In the investigated field, 35%–49% of the total variability derived from small‐scale variability observed at spatial distances of <5 m and from sampling and analytical errors. Differences between 10 and 26 kg N ha^–1 for the soil depth increment 0–60 cm can be expected. Uncertainty due to analytical errors were in the order of 5–10 kg N ha^–1 for a 0–60 cm layer.     

Spatial variability of water retention parameters and saturated hydraulic conductivity in a calcareous Inceptisols (Khuzestan province of Iran) under sugarcane cropping

The objective of this study was to quantify inherent spatial variability and spatial cross-correlation of the van Genuchten retention parameters and saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) of surface and subsurface layers in a calcareous Inceptisols (Khuzestan province, Iran) under sugarcane cropping. Measurements were performed on 100-cm³ undisturbed soil cores collected at 94 locations along a 30-m-long transect with horizontal sampling distance intervals of 0.3 and 1 m at soil depths of 0–40 and 40–80 cm, respectively. Spatial variability was investigated using conventional statistics and geostatistical techniques. Coefficient of variation (CV) varied from 8.2% (for shape parameter, n at 40–80 cm depth) to 256.7% (for K_s at 0–40 cm depth). The n parameter and saturated water content, θ_s, showed a small-scale spatial heterogeneity with a maximum CV of 11.3% for the first depth and 9.2% for the second depth. Most of the hydraulic parameters at both depths showed a spatial structure and convex experimental semivariograms with dominant spherical models with the influence range of 3.2–41 m. In most cases, the extent of spatial correlation scales of cross-semivariograms for pairs of cross-correlated hydraulic variables was found to be different with reference to those relating to the direct semivariograms of correlated variables.     

Roughness of biopores and cracks in Bt‐horizons assessed by confocal laser scanning microscopy

In structured soils, water and reactive solutes can preferentially move through larger inter‐aggregate pores, cracks, and biopores. The surface roughness of such macropores is crucial for describing microbial habitats and the exchange of water and solutes between macropores and the soil matrix together with other properties. The objective of this study was to compare the roughness of intact structural surfaces from the Bt‐horizons of five Luvisols developed on loess and glacial till and to test the applicability of confocal laser scanning microscopy. Samples of 5 to 10 cm edge length with intact structural surfaces including cracks with and without clay‐organic coatings, earthworm burrow walls, and root channels were prepared manually. The surface roughness of these structures was determined with a confocal laser scanning microscope of the type Keyence VK‐X100K. The root‐mean‐squared roughness (R_q) the curvature (R_cu) and the ratio between surface area and base area (R_A) were calculated from selected surface regions of interest of 0.342 mm² with an elevation resolution of 0.02 µm. The roughness was smaller for coated as compared to uncoated cracks and earthworm burrows of the Bt‐horizons. This reduction of roughness by the illuviation of clayey material was similar for the structural surfaces of the coarser textured till‐Bt and the finer‐textured loess‐Bt. This similarity suggested a dominant effect of pedogenesis and a minor effect of the parent material on the roughness levels of structural surfaces in the Bt‐horizons. An expected “smoothing” effect of burrow wall surfaces by earthworm activity was not reflected in the roughness values compared to those of uncoated cracks at the chosen spatial scale. However, for root channel walls from one loess‐Bt, the roughness was reduced as compared to that of other structures. These results suggest that the surface roughness of the structural surface types should separately be considered when describing preferential flow and macropore‐matrix exchange or analysing root growth, microbial habitats, and colloidal transport in structured soils. The confocal laser scanning microscopy technique was found useful for characterizing the roughness of intact structural surfaces.     

Spatial Variability of Soil Organic C,Inorganic N and Extractable P in a Mediterranean Grazed Area

In this paper, we studied the spatial variability of soil organic C (SOC), inorganic N (SIN) and extractable P (P_extr) in a grazed Mediterranean‐type vegetation formation. Sampling was conducted from a gently sloping area in northern Greece.. The grazing pressure was evenly distributed over the experimental area with the exception of an overgrazed passage zone 200–300 m from steeper foothills. Soil samples, from the upper 10 cm, were collected every 10 m along four replicate lines (400 m length with a distance of 10 m between lines). Sampling took place twice (October and February). Data were analysed by geostatistical tools, and spherical models were significantly fitted to the semivariograms. SOC in both samplings and SIN in the first one displayed moderate spatial dependence which indicates the non‐random distribution of their concentration. On the contrary, P_extr and SIN in winter exhibited weak spatial dependence, whereas P_extr in autumn showed spatial independence. For the parameters exhibiting spatial pattern, two scales of dependence were revealed: a fine scale within distances shorter than 10 m and a coarse scale varying between 80 and 130 m. The coarse distribution of SOC, SIN and P_extr invoked interplay among more predictable (composition of vegetation) and unpredictable (leaching, runoff) extrinsic factors, occurring at the landscape level. Specifically, SOC as a storage agent exhibited uniform spatial pattern in both samplings. By contrast, SIN by being susceptible to leaching exhibited time‐specific dependence, whereas P_extr which was affected by surface runoff displayed limited or even spatial independence. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Atmung eines Bodens im Gemüsebau zu Beginn der Vegetationsperiode

Respiration of a soil used for vegetable crops at the beginning of the vegetation period Soil respiration was measured with a new portable soil respiration system (PP Systems, Hitchin, England) in vegetable plots in the greenhouse and field near Bonn from January to May 1996 with the following results:

• 1 The equipment proved suitable for the purpose over a wide range of temperatures.
• 2 Soil respiration ranged from less than 26 mg CO₂ in winter, 30–180 mg CO₂ in spring to 700 mg CO₂ m^?2 h^?1 in summer with large variations.
• 3 The largest soil respiration was recorded from peat-based commercial potting compost with small variations between measurements.
• 4 The Q₁₀ was 2,5 (±0,6) in the field for temperatures between 5–25°C.
• 5 The rate of soil respiration was affected by soil cultivation with the effect declining with temperature: Ploughing, which unveiled cold and produced a coarse soil surface, reduced soil respiration, whereas soil respiration was increased by fine soil cultivation.
• 6 In vegetable plots, soil respired 6–12 kg in cold (4°C), 40–50 kg CO₂ in cool (14°C) conditions in April and 170–210 kg CO₂/ha and 24 hours in warm (27°C) weather.

     

Estimation of CO2 diffusion coefficient at 0–10 cm depth in undisturbed and tilled soils

Diffusion coefficients (D) of CO₂ at 0–10 cm layers in undisturbed and tilled soil conditions were estimated using the Penman (Penman HL. 1940. Gas and vapor movement in soil, 1. The diffusion of vapours through porous solids. J Agric Sci. 30:437–463), Millington–Quirk (Millington RJ, Quirk JP. 1960. Transport in porous media. In: Van Baren FA, editor. Transactions of the 7th International Congress of Soil Science. Vol. 1. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 97–106), Ridgwell et al. (Ridgwell AJ, Marshall SJ, Gregson K. 1999. Consumption of atmospheric methane by soils: A process-based model. Global Biogeochem Cy. 13:59–70), Troeh et al. (Troeh FR, Jabro JD, Kirkham D. 1982. Gaseous diffusion equations for porous materials. Geoderma. 27:239–258) and Moldrup et al. (Moldrup P, Kruse CW, Rolston DE, Yamaguchi T. 1996. Modeling diffusion and reaction in soils: III. Predicting gas diffusivity from the Campbell soil–water retention model. Soil Sci. 161:366–375) models. Soil bulk density and volumetric soil water content (θ_v) at 0–10 cm were measured on 14 April, 2 June and 12 July 2005 at 0–10 cm depth in no-till (NT) and conventional till (CT) malt barley and undisturbed soil grass–alfalfa (UGA) systems. Air-filled porosity (ε) was calculated from total soil porosity and θ_v measurements. Both soil air porosity and estimated CO₂ diffusivity at the 0–10 cm depth were significantly affected by tillage. Results of CO₂ diffusion coefficients in the soil followed trends similar to those for soil ε data. The CT tended to have significantly greater estimated soil CO₂ diffusion coefficients than the NT and UGA treatments. The relationship between D/D ₀, and air-filled porosity was well described by a power (R ² = 0.985) function. The model is useful for predicting CO₂ gas-diffusion coefficients in undisturbed and tilled soils at various ranges of ε where actual gas D measurements are time-consuming, costly and infeasible.     

Modeling of the fine‐scale temperature response of arylsulfatase activity in soil

Fine‐scale (1.0–2.2 °C) temperature dependence of soil arylsulfatase activity (arylsulfate sulfohydrolase, EC 3.1.6.1) was measured at 0 to 75 °C in a Danish sandy, arable soil. Assays were done with field‐moist soil samples in the absence of toluene as plasmolytic agent – a procedure that primarily measures the extracellular enzymes. The aim was to evaluate the use of temperature models to describe the temperature response of soil arylsulfatase activity. In addition, we searched for increases in activity at high temperatures (e.g., 50–60 °C), which might be associated with unmasking (exposure) of intracellular enzymes. Arylsulfatase activities ranged from 1.1 to 60.3 μg p‐nitrophenol (g dry weight soil)^–1 h^–1, with an optimum temperature at 58.1 °C. The temperature response below 58.1 °C could be described by the Arrhenius equation (r² = 0.978, n = 83) and the simple Ratkowsky equation (r² = 0.977, n = 83). The expanded Ratkowsky equation, which covered the entire temperature range (0–75 °C), was less satisfactory (r² = 0.958, n = 90) because the model underestimated the reaction rates near the optimum temperature. The activation energy (E_a) calculated from the Arrhenius equation was 42.2 kJ mol^–1. This was higher than previously found for other soils (16.5–34.7 kJ mol^–1), possibly due to the use of toluene in these studies. Further analysis of the temperature response showed that no increase in activity occurred due to potential unmasking of intracellular enzymes by disintegration of bacterial cell membranes at high temperatures. Thus, the use of high incubation temperatures did not facilitate the differentiation between intra‐ and extracellular enzyme activity.     

The power-function model for the soil moisture characteristic

The minimum number of parameters required to model the unsaturated soil moisture characteristic, relating volumetric water content (θ) and matric suction (χ), is shown to be two. A third parameter, θ=θ_s at saturation, is required to define its saturation limit. The popular power-function χ/χ_e, = (θ/θ_s)^b is the most general three-parameter model, with χ normalized by a notional air-entry potential, χ_e. When log-transformed, e.g. as In χ= a + bln(θ/θ_s), it gives a good fit to observations over varying ranges of χ. We show, using US, Australian, UK and NZ data, that a,b and θ_s, in this formulation are uncorrelated across a wide range of textures, thus providing a ‘basis set’ of independent parameters. Gregson et al. (1987) used the alternative formulation In χ= a″+ bln(100θ), with χ rescaled to a percentage. Their reported correlation between a″ and b, which led to their ‘one-parameter model’ of the characteristic, is shown to be a mathematical artefact, arising from absorption of the term – b[ln(100)+ ln θ_s] into a″.     

On‐farm comparison of variable rates of nitrogen with uniform application to maize on canopy reflectance,soil nitrate,and grain yield

Recent development in canopy optical‐sensing technology provides the opportunity to apply fertilizer variably at the field scale according to spatial variation in plant growth. A field experiment was conducted in Ottawa, Canada, for two consecutive years to determine the effect of fertilizer nitrogen (N) input at variable‐ vs. uniform‐application strategies at the V6–V8 growth stage, on soil mineral N, canopy reflectance, and grain yield of maize (Zea mays L.). The variable N rates were calculated using an algorithm derived from readings of average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of about 0.8 m × 4.6 m, and N fertilizer was then applied to individual patches of the same size of NDVI readings (0.8 m × 4.6 m) within a plot (2184 m²). Canopy reflectance, expressed as NDVI, was monitored with a hand‐held spectrometer, twice weekly before tasseling and once a week thereafter until physiological maturity. Soil mineral N (0–30 cm depth) was analyzed at the V6 and VT growth stages. Our data show that both variable and uniform‐application strategies for N side‐dressings based on canopy‐reflectance mapping data required less amount of N fertilizer (with an average rate of 80 kg N ha^–1 as side‐dressing in addition to 30 kg N ha^–1 applied at planting), and produced grain yields similar to and higher nitrogen‐use efficiency (NUE) than the preplant fully fertilized (180 kg N ha^–1) treatment. No difference was observed in either grain yield or NUE between the variable‐ and uniform‐application strategies. Compared to unfertilized or fully fertilized treatments, the enhancements in grain yield and NUE of the variable‐rate strategy originated from the later N input as side‐dressing rather than the variation in N rates. The variable‐rate strategy resulted in less spatial variations in soil mineral N at the VT growth stage and greater spatial variations in grain yield at harvest than the uniform‐rate strategy. Both variable‐ and uniform‐application strategies reduced spatial variations in soil mineral N at the VT stage and grain yield compared to the unfertilized treatment. The variable‐rate strategy resulted in more sampling points with high soil mineral N than the uniform‐rate strategy at the VT stage.     

Prediction of hydraulic conductivity and sorptivity in soils at steady-state infiltration

The purpose of this study was (1) to find a matching factor (u) between infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity during steady-state infiltration, and (2) to propose equations based on infiltration and soil moisture-retention functions for prediction of the hydraulic conductivity K(θ) within the rapidly (non-capillary) drainable pores (RDP) and capillary-matrix pores of soils. The K(θ) of capillary pores was divided into K(θ)_SDP, K(θ)_WHP and K(θ)_FCP within slowly drainable pores (SDP), water-holding pores (WHP) and fine capillary pores (FCP), respectively. Five soil profiles of calcareous sandy loam, alluvial saline and non-saline clay, located at the Nile Delta, were used to apply the proposed equations. The highest and the lowest values of K(θ)_RDP were observed in calcareous and saline clay soil profiles, respectively. Values of K(θ)_RDP remained higher than those for capillary pores in the studied soils. The predicted values of K(θ) in capillary and non-capillary pores classes were in the expected range for unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Water sorptivity (S) was determined at initial unsaturated soil water conditions and calculated at steady-state infiltration (S _w) using a derived equation. There was a decrease in S with an increase in soil water content; i.e. at steady-state infiltration, S decreased by 35–40% in calcareous soils and by 45–60% in alluvial clay soils. The parameter values of u and S _w tended to be uniform in calcareous soils, but nonuniform in saline and non-saline clay soils.     

The effects of temperature, water-filled pore space and land use on N2O emissions from an imperfectly drained gleysol

To investigate the effect of soil physical conditions and land use on emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O) to the atmosphere, soil cores of an imperfectly drained gleysol were taken from adjacent fields under perennial ryegrass and winter wheat. The cores were fertilized with ammonium nitrate and incubated at three different temperatures and water‐filled pore space (WFPS) values, and N₂O emissions were measured by gas chromatography. Emissions showed a very large response to temperature. Apparent values of Q₁₀ (emission rate at (T + 10)°C/emission rate at T°C) for the arable soil were about 50 for the 5–12°C interval and 8.9 for 12–18°C; the corresponding Q₁₀s for the grassland soil were 3.7 and 2.3. Emissions from the grassland soil were always greater than those from the arable soil, although the ratio narrowed with increasing temperature. Changes in soil WFPS also had a profound effect on emissions. Those from the arable soil increased about 30‐fold as the WFPS increased from 60 to 80%, while that from the grassland soil increased 12‐fold. This latter response was similar to earlier field measurements. The N₂O emissions were considered to be produced primarily by denitrification. We concluded that the impacts of temperature and WFPS on emissions could both be explained on the basis of existing models relating increasing respiration or decreased oxygen diffusivity, or both, to the development of anaerobic zones within the soil.     

World's Oldest Cotton Experiment: Relationships between Soil Chemical and Physical Properties and Apparent Electrical Conductivity

Abstract

Measuring and mapping apparent soil electrical conductivity (EC_a) is a potentially useful tool for delineating soil variability. The “Old Rotation,” the world's oldest continuous cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) experiment (ca. 1896), provides a valuable resource for evaluating soil spatial variability. The objectives of this study were to determine the relationship between soil chemical and physical properties and EC_a in the Old Rotation, to determine spatial differences in these properties, and to relate differences in these properties to long‐term management effects. Soils at the site classified as fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults. Soil EC_a was measured at 0–30‐ and 0–90‐cm depths (EC_a‐30 and EC_a‐90) using a Veris^® 3100 direct contact sensor with georeferencing. Soils were grid sampled (288 points) at close intervals (1.5×3.0 m) for chemical properties and grid sampled (65 cells, 7.5×6.9 m) for soil texture. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N), extractable phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), pH, buffer pH, and estimated cation exchange capacity (CEC_est) were measured at two depths (0–5‐ and 5–15‐cm). Soil EC_a was highly spatially correlated. The EC_a‐30 was more highly correlated with clay content (r=0.58, P≤0.01) and P(r=0.43, P≤0.01) than other soil properties. Total nitrogen and SOC had little or no relationship with EC_a‐30. Cropping systems affected chemical properties in the Old Rotation, indicating crop rotation and cover crops are beneficial for soil productivity. The relatively poor relationship between soil chemical parameters and EC_a suggest that mapping plant nutrients and SOC using EC_a is problematic because of strong dependence on clay content.     

Changes in the Soil Phosphorus Content of a Long‐Term Fertilization Field Trial Studied in Laboratory Incubations

Abstract

The importance of different soil phosphorus (P) compounds and their transformation influenced by several soil and other factors is well established. However, the dynamics of short‐term processes taking part in the long‐term changes of soil P including immobilization and mobilization is still not completely documented. Laboratory incubation experiments were carried out at 10°C and 40°C for studying the influence of incubation on the availability of residual and freshly applied P in samples of a long‐term fertilization field trial conducted on a brown forest soil (U.S. taxonomy: Orthic Eutrochrept; FAO taxonomy: Eutric Cambisol). Samples showing three levels of P resulting from 10 years of intensive P fertilization (referred as P0, P1 and P2, respectively), were collected 30 years after fertilization ceased. Available P contents of soil samples were determined using three approaches: in water (modified Murphy–Riley method), sodium bicarbonate (Olsen, pH=8.5), and ammonium lactate (AL, pH=3.7) extract. Changes in the amounts of P were determined after 2 and 60 days of incubation in four freshly applied new treatments with increasing additions of P: 0, 100, 500, and 1000 mg of P₂O₅ per kg of soil, representing agronomic and extreme P rates. From the results of our experiments, it was suggested that after 2 days of incubation, at 10°C, both agronomic and extreme P rates resulted in significant increases in P content in each extract. On the other hand, after 60 days, even higher values were obtained. Decreases found in water‐P values after 60 days of incubation were considerable compared to either the Olsen‐P or the AL‐P values, indicating the decline of water‐soluble P forms and further evidence of immobilization with increasing incubation time and temperature. Correlation between water‐P, Olsen‐P, and AL‐P values were significant at both temperatures.