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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Livestock Nutrient Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #71964
Title: MANAGEMENT-INDUCED ORGANIC MATTER - AGGREGATE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF A TORRERTIC PALEUSTOLL

Author
item Unger, Paul

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/26/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil organic matter contents (OMC) and dry aggregate (DA) and water-stable aggregate (WSA) sizes affect soil quality, which affects crop production sustainability. Relationships among DA, WSA, and OMC variables of a Torrertic Paleustoll were established using regression procedures. The relationships were based on data for areas cropped to wheat and grain sorghum for over 20 yr or grasslands recently converted to cropland. Of 110 relationships, 78 were significant, with those involving 0.84- to 2.0-mm DAs often related to other variables, including a positive relationship with bulk soil OMC. These DAs resist erosion by wind, and because they are related to WSAs, they also would affect infiltration, water erosion, and soil water storage. Use of reduced- or no-tillage retains crop residues on the soil surface and thereby maintains or enhances surface soil OMCs, which enhances development of DAs. By inference, using reduced- and no-tillage is important for sustaining crop production on Torrertic Paleustolls.