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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Soil, Water & Air Resources Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #324334
Title: Visual soil structure effects of tillage and corn stover harvest in Iowa, U.S.A.

Author
item TORMENA, CASSIO - University Of Maringa
item Karlen, Douglas
item Logsdon, Sally
item CHERUBIN, MAURICIO - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)

Submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/26/2016
Publication Date: 6/27/2016
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/6472233
Citation: Tormena, C.A., Karlen, D.L., Logsdon, S.D., Cherubin, M. 2016. Visual soil structure effects of tillage and corn stover harvest in Iowa, U.S.A. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 80:720-26. doi: 10.2136/sssaj2015.12.0425.

Interpretive Summary: The demand for sustainablae supplies of cellulosic feedstock such as corn stover, switchgrass, or other crop residues for bioenergy or bio-products is going to increase with time. This study documented that the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) was a simple approach that could be used for on-farm studies to ensure soil structure was not being degraded by crop residue harvest or other soil management practices. This information will be useful to farmers, land managers, conservationists, and soil scientists, because it can be used to justify VESS for on-farm soil quality/health assessments in areas being harvested for cellulosic feedstock.

Technical Abstract: Excessive harvest of corn (Zea mays L.) stover for ethanol production has raised concerns regarding negative consequences on soil structure and physical quality. Visual soil structure assessment methods have the potential to help address these concerns through simple, straightforward on-farm evaluations. Our objective was to determine if the semi-quantitative Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) approach could detect soil structural quality differences associated with different levels of corn stover harvest and tillage practices. We evaluated no harvest, moderate and high stover harvest levels within no-tillage (NT) and chisel plow (CP) plots following seven years of continuous corn. Undisturbed 10 x 20 x 25 cm soil samples were taken using a spade in April 2015. The thickness and structural quality (Sq) scores for 0 to 5- (top) and 5 to 20-cm (bottom) soil layers were determined and an overall Sq (weighted average) was computed. The Sq values showed a significant interaction between corn stover harvest and tillage practice. Soil structural quality showed no significant differences between NT and CP systems for either the no- or moderate harvest treatments, but with a high stover harvest rate, CP structural quality was worse than with NT. With NT, both moderate and high rates of stover harvest significantly increased Sq compared to no harvest, but with CP there was no significant difference between no- and moderate-harvest. Only the high level of stover harvest had an adverse effect on the Sq rating. The VESS approach was sensitive for detecting effects of corn stover harvest and tillage systems on soil structural quality and should be further evaluated as an integrative, on-farm soil quality/health indicator.