Effects of long-term (42 years) tillage sequence on soil chemical characteristics in a dryland farming system

Flackson Tshuma; Francis Rayns; Johan  Labuschagne; James Bennett; Pieter Andreas Swanepoel

doi:10.1016/j.still.2021.105064

Effects of long-term (42 years) tillage sequence on soil chemical characteristics in a dryland farming system

Flackson Tshuma, Francis Rayns, Johan Labuschagne, James Bennett, Pieter Andreas Swanepoel

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Abstract

No-tillage can improve soil quality but can also increase the stratification of soil chemical parameters. Nutrient uptake by crops might be limited when nutrients are stratified, especially in semi-arid or Mediterranean regions. To reduce stratification, infrequent tillage could be considered. However, there is a paucity of information on the effects of long-term infrequent tillage on the stratification of soil chemical parameters. This study aimed to assess the effects of long-term infrequent tillage on the stratification of selected soil chemical parameters to a depth of 300 mm. The research was conducted on a long-term (42 years) research site at Langgewens Research Farm in South Africa. Seven tillage treatments were investigated: continuous mouldboard ploughing to a depth of 200 mm, tine-tillage to 150 mm, shallow tine-tillage to 75 mm, no-tillage, shallow tine-tillage every second year in rotation with no-tillage, shallow tine-tillage every third year in rotation with no-tillage and shallow tine-tillage every fourth year in rotation with no-tillage. Tillage treatments had differential effects on the distribution of soil chemical parameters. The mouldboard plough prevented stratification of most soil chemical parameters, such as soil acidity, soil organic carbon (SOC), extractable P, exchangeable Ca and Mg and cation exchange capacity (CEC). However, mouldboard ploughing also led to significantly lower SOC stocks and extractable P stocks. The SOC stocks and extractable P stocks of the no-tillage treatment were not significantly different from those of the infrequent tillage treatments. Overall, the infrequent tillage treatments were no better (P > 0.05) than the no-tillage treatment as infrequent tillage could not effectively ameliorate the stratification of most soil chemical parameters and did not increase the stocks and stratification ratios of SOC and extractable P.

Original language	English
Article number	105064
Number of pages	9
Journal	Soil and Tillage Research
Volume	212
Early online date	14 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2021.105064
Publication status	Published - Aug 2021

Bibliographical note

© 2021, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

This document is the author’s post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it.

Keywords

Infrequent tillage
No-tillage
Nutrient stratification
Tillage sequence

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Agronomy and Crop Science
Soil Science
Earth-Surface Processes

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Cite this

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title = "Effects of long-term (42 years) tillage sequence on soil chemical characteristics in a dryland farming system",

abstract = "No-tillage can improve soil quality but can also increase the stratification of soil chemical parameters. Nutrient uptake by crops might be limited when nutrients are stratified, especially in semi-arid or Mediterranean regions. To reduce stratification, infrequent tillage could be considered. However, there is a paucity of information on the effects of long-term infrequent tillage on the stratification of soil chemical parameters. This study aimed to assess the effects of long-term infrequent tillage on the stratification of selected soil chemical parameters to a depth of 300 mm. The research was conducted on a long-term (42 years) research site at Langgewens Research Farm in South Africa. Seven tillage treatments were investigated: continuous mouldboard ploughing to a depth of 200 mm, tine-tillage to 150 mm, shallow tine-tillage to 75 mm, no-tillage, shallow tine-tillage every second year in rotation with no-tillage, shallow tine-tillage every third year in rotation with no-tillage and shallow tine-tillage every fourth year in rotation with no-tillage. Tillage treatments had differential effects on the distribution of soil chemical parameters. The mouldboard plough prevented stratification of most soil chemical parameters, such as soil acidity, soil organic carbon (SOC), extractable P, exchangeable Ca and Mg and cation exchange capacity (CEC). However, mouldboard ploughing also led to significantly lower SOC stocks and extractable P stocks. The SOC stocks and extractable P stocks of the no-tillage treatment were not significantly different from those of the infrequent tillage treatments. Overall, the infrequent tillage treatments were no better (P > 0.05) than the no-tillage treatment as infrequent tillage could not effectively ameliorate the stratification of most soil chemical parameters and did not increase the stocks and stratification ratios of SOC and extractable P.",

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AU - Swanepoel, Pieter Andreas

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Effects of long-term (42 years) tillage sequence on soil chemical characteristics in a dryland farming system

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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