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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pendleton, Oregon » Columbia Plateau Conservation Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #115465
Title: SOIL ERODIBILITY IN LONG TERM CROP SYSTEMS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOLLOWING TWO YEARS OF MONITORING

Author
item Williams, John
item Douglas Jr, Clyde

Submitted to: Soil Erosion for 21st Century Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/3/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: We have completed a second year of soil erosion evaluation of an ongoing crop management study begun in 1931. The long-term study was originally initiated to examine the influence of fertilizer and cereal residue management in a winter wheat/summer fallow system. To measure runoff and erosion, we instrumented the plots to evaluate five treatments that were combinations of fertilizer and cereal residue management (no burn, spring- burn, or fall-burn of residue). These treatments represent current and past farming practices common to the Columbia Plateau of Oregon and Washington. The treatments were replicated on two slopes. Primary tillage of all crop year treatments was with a moldboard plow and winter wheat sown in October. Twenty rainfall events resulting in erosion occurred during the October to March erosion season in 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 were analyzed for treatment differences. These results demonstrate the importance of maintaining high soil fertility for creating good soil structure to limit runoff and erosion.