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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Morris, Minnesota » Soil Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #67125
Title: SOIL QUALITY: POST-CRP CHANGES WITH TILLAGE AND CROPPING

Author
item Lindstrom, Michael
item SCHUMACHER, T - SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV
item Reicosky, Donald
item BECK, D - SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Soil Conservation and Water Quality Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Research was initiated in 1994 on CRP sites with the objective to determine tillage induced changes in soil quality parameters that occur as CRP lands are returned to crop production, with emphasis on water infiltration and percolation. Sites were established in Minnesota and South Dakota representing cropping systems in the northern Corn Belt (corn-soybean rotation) and the northern Great Plains (wheat-fallow rotation). Post-CRP management variables at both locations include an undisturbed CRP sod, a tillage intense system, a conservation compliance tillage system, and no- till. Soil quality parameters measured included: aggregate size distribution and stability, soil organic matter content versus depth, and effective water transmitting pores, as well as above- and below-ground biomass. A portable rainfall infiltrometer was used to apply water at a rate of 63.5 mm hr**-1 after crop establishment. An initial infiltration run was made for one hour on antecedent soil moisture conditions and then followed by a second wet run for one hour the next day. Time domain reflectometry probes were installed at 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm depths to obtain water contents starting with the initial run and continuing 24 hours after conclusion of the wet run to provide information on infiltration capacity and effectiveness of macropores in transmitting water. Tension infiltration measurements were also made to determine effective pore size distribution. Results from these trials showed little difference in soil properties the first year of crop production. Changes in infiltration were identifiable during the second cropping season and were associated with changes in effective water transmitting pores.