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Title: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL AGGREGATES IN THE NORTH APPALACHIAN REGION

Author
item BLANCO-CANQUI, H - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
item LAL, R - OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
item Owens, Lloyd
item POST, W - OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LAB
item IZAURRALDE, R - UNIV. OF MARYLAND

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/28/2004
Publication Date: 11/1/2004
Citation: Blanco-Canqui, H., Lal, R., Owens, L.B., Post, W.M., Izaurralde, R.C. 2004. Mechanical properties of soil aggregates in the north appalachian region [abstract]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts, CDROM Agronomy Abstracts 4575.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Management-induced changes in soil properties are often determined on the bulk soil rather than on individual aggregates, which are essential to the macro-scale behavior of the whole soil. This study assessed the impact of conventional till (CT), chisel, disk with manure, no-till with manure, no-till without manure, pasture, and forest on selected aggregate properties in the North Appalachian region in Ohio. Soil samples were collected from each treatment at 0-100, 100-200, and 200-300 mm depths to characterize tensile strength (TS), density, Atterberg limits, and organic carbon (OC) content in 8-6, 6-4, 4-2, and 2-1 mm aggregates. Management had a significant effect on TS particularly in the upper two depths. The TS was the highest in CT (443 kPa) and the lowest in forest (73 kPa) management. The TS values in no-till treatments were 1.7 times lower than those in other cultivated watersheds. The TS decreased exponentially with decreasing aggregate size in no-till, forest, and pasture, and quadratically in CT, chisel, and disk. The TS was highly sensitive to soil management and aggregate size. Additional results will be reported at the meeting.