Effects of Controlled Traffic on Infiltration under Simulate Rainfall
Wheel traffic can lead to compaction and degradation of soil physical properties. This study, as part of a study of controlled traffic farming, assessed the impact of compaction from wheel traffic on filtration properties of the soil that had not been trafficked for 5 years. Soil compaction induced by different rear axle weight was conduced on a clay soil to simulate effects of traffic typical of grain production operations in the northern Australian grain belt. A portable rainfall simulator was used to determine infiltration characteristics. Crop performance was also monitored during this study. Time to ponding, steady infiltration rates and total infiltration were reduced significantly with axle load, although the soil surface was covered by 80％ crop residue. Poor crop establishment occurred on the wheeled plots, where plants were generally unhealthy compared with those under non-wheeled plots. Roots of plants on the wheeled plots were not able to penetrate the soil, while those from non-wheeled plots were longer and denser. Mean dry matter production of sweet corn decreased with axle loads, but none of these differences were significant. These results demonstrated that soft compaction induced by wheel traffic has significant effects on infiltration properties and crop performance. The exclusion of wheel traffic under a controlled traffic farming system, combined with residue cover under conservation tillage practices, provides a way to enhance the sustainability of cropping this soil for improved infiltration, increased stored soil water and reduced runoff and environmental damage.
Controlled traffic Soil compaction Infiltration Runoff Rainfall simulator Wheel traffic Conservation tillage Residue cover
Y.X. Li J.N. Tullberg D.M. Freebairn H.W. Li
School of Agriculture and Horticulture, the University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia Queensland Department of Natural Resources, PO Box 318, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia China Agricultural University, Conservation Tillage Research Centre, 46＃, Qinghua Donglu, Beijing, C
国际会议
郑州
英文
35-45
2007-10-01（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）