Tag Archives: soil quality

1769–1778 M. Stehlík, A. Czako, M. Mayerová and M. Madaras
Influence of organic and inorganic fertilization on soil properties and water infiltration
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Influence of organic and inorganic fertilization on soil properties and water infiltration

M. Stehlík¹²*, A. Czako¹, M. Mayerová¹ and M. Madaras¹

¹Division of Crop Management Systems, Crop Research Institute, Drnovská 507, CZ 16106 Prague, Czech Republic
²Department of Agricultural Machines, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 129, CZ 16521 Prague, Czech Republic
*Correspondence: martin.stehlik@vurv.cz

Abstract:

Soil aggregate stability (SAS) belongs to the most important parameters determining the quality of soil and fertilizer influence on soil aggregation. We evaluated the relationship between SAS, hydro–physical soil properties and infiltration rates in three long–term field experiments founded in 1956 on different soils. Soil properties under three fertilization regimes–no fertilization, farmyard manure, farmyard manure and mineral fertilization–were evaluated at silty loam Chernozem, silty loam Phaeozem and sandy loam–loam Cambisol. A significant impact of fertilization on SAS was found, even though the differences in SAS were rather low. The lowest SAS was recorded at plots with manure and mineral fertilization (25.1%) compared with plots without fertilization (28.7%) and plots with manure–only fertilization (28.2%). The highest SAS (36.5%) and the highest semi–capillary porosity (SP; 11%) were observed at sandy loam–loam soil. Hydro–physical soil properties were more favourable at fertilized plots (SP 9.6% and bulk density ρb 1.31 g cm-3) compared with unfertilized ones (SP 8.8% and ρb 1.35 g cm-3). The lowest SP (8.32%) and the highest ρb (1.37 g cm-3) were recorded at Phaeozem, which corresponded with the lowest SAS (19.4%). Chernozem had similar soil texture to Phaeozem, but SAS (24.7%), SP (9%) and ρb (1.27 g cm-3) were more favourable. Despite the low level of statistical significance due to the large variation of infiltration measurements, a higher infiltration rate was recorded at fertilized plots (45 mm hour-1) compared to unfertilized ones (35 mm hour-1).

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