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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbus, Ohio » Soil Drainage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #75099
Title: LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE ON SOIL ORGANIC CARBON CONTENT IN THE SURFACE HORIZON OF A LAKEBED SOIL IN NORTHWEST OHIO

Author
item SULLIVAN, M - GRADUATE STUDENT, OSU
item Fausey, Norman
item LAL, R - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Proceedings of Carbon Sequestration in Soils Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil organic carbon (SOC) content is influenced by soil hydrological process, notably the soil moisture regime and its management through surface and subsurface drainage. The objectives of this study were to evaluate long-term effects of drainage on SOC content and infiltration characteristics of a clayey (Hoytville series, Mollic Ochraqualf) soil. Surface and subsurface drainage was installed in 1959. The site contains plots with (drained) and without (undrained) subsurface drainage within the same landscape unit. Soil samples were obtained from three depths, 0 to 8 cm, 8 to 16 cm and 16 to 24 cm in drained and undrained plots with two previous management histories. One previous study compared no-till with fall moldboard plowing, and the other study compared ridge tillage with fall moldboard plowing. All plots have a long history of corn-soybean rotation. The ratio of SOC for undrained:drained soils for this first study were 1.03 for 0 to 8 cm, 1.08 for 8 to 16 cm, and 1.03 for 16 to 24 cm. The similar ratio for the second study were 0.95 for 0 to 8 cm, 1.05 for 8 to 16 cm, and 1.03 for 16 to 24 cm. Infiltration rate in the drained soil was 83% higher than that in the undrained soil.