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Soil & Water Management & Conservation

Mechanical Properties and Organic Carbon of Soil Aggregates in the Northern Appalachians

^a Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, FAES/OARDC, School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH 43210-1085
^b USDA-ARS, North Appalachian Experimental Watersheds, P.O. Box 488, Coshocton, OH 43812
^c Environmental Sci. Div., Oak Ridge National Lab., Oak Ridge, TN 37831
^d Joint Global Change Research Institute, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740

^* Corresponding author (blanco.16{at}osu.edu)

Aggregate properties determine the macroscale structural condition of the soil. Understanding of impacts of no-till and traditional agricultural practices on the mechanical properties of aggregates is fundamental to soil management. This study assessed the tensile strength (TS), bulk density (_agg), soil moisture retention (SMR), and soil organic C (SOC) concentration of soil aggregates and determined the interrelationships among aggregate properties under long-term moldboard plow (MP), chisel plow (CP), disk with beef cattle manure (DM), no-till with beef cattle manure (NTM), no-till without beef cattle manure (NT), pasture, and forest systems in the North Appalachian region. Properties were determined on 1- to 8-mm aggregates from 0- to 30-cm soil depth. The TS and SMR (0 to –333 kPa) in NTM were higher than those in MP and CP (P < 0.01). The SOC concentration for NTM was higher than that for MP, CP, and NT (P < 0.01). The _agg was 1.35 Mg m^–3 in NTM and approximately 1.61 Mg m^–3 in MP and CP (P < 0.01). Manuring had a positive and excessive tillage negative impact on aggregate properties. Aggregates from forest had the lowest TS (63 kPa) and _agg (0.99 Mg m^–3) and the highest SOC concentration (70 g kg^–1), whereas the MP and CP had the highest TS (approximately 358 kPa) and the lowest SOC concentration (14 g kg^–1) in 0- to 10-cm depth (P < 0.01). Mean _agg was significantly higher than the density of bulk soil (_b). The log-transformed TS (LogTS) increased with increasing _agg and decreased with increasing aggregate size and SOC. Size, SOC concentration, and _agg explained 84% of the variability of LogTS. Long-term (>35 yr) no-till combined with manuring improved the aggregate properties contrasting with conventionally cultivated systems.

Abbreviations: CP, chisel plow • DM, disk with manure • LogTS, log-transformed tensile strength • MP, moldboard plow • NT, no-till without manure • NTM, no-till with manure • PTFs, pedotransfer functions • _b, soil bulk density • _agg, aggregate bulk density • SMR, soil moisture retention • SOC, soil organic carbon • TS, tensile strength

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Blanco-Canqui and R. Lal Regional Assessment of Soil Compaction and Structural Properties under No-tillage Farming Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., September 28, 2007; 71(6): 1770 - 1778. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Blanco-Canqui, R. Lal, and M. J. Shipitalo Aggregate Disintegration and Wettability for Long-Term Management Systems in the Northern Appalachians Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., April 5, 2007; 71(3): 759 - 765. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]