ABSTRACT:
The following five land management practices were evaluated on a Brownfield fine sand (loamy, mixed, thermo Arenic Aridic Paleustalf) to determine their effects on windblown sediment and plant nutrients: shiner oak (Quercus havardii) rangeland with 12, 400 kglha (11, 060 pounds/acre) surface residue, a burned rangeland site with 800 kg/ha (71.5 pounds/acre) residue, a cleaned-till abandoned field with 1, 600 kg/ha (1, 430 pounds/ acre) residue, a clean-tilled field with 500 kgh (446 pounds/acre) residue, and a herbicide-treated rangeland with 4, 400 kg/ha (3, 925 pounds/acre) residue. The clean-tilled practice produced the greatest amount of windblown sediment, followed by the burned, abandoned, herbicide, and undisturbed treatments, respectively. The selectivity of the erosion process for certain soil nutrients was evaluated by comparing the nutrient levels in the sediment to that of the original sugiace. Levels of sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), action exchange capacity, and organic matter for relatively bare treatments generally were lower than for treatments with greater amounts of seduce residue and increased with height above the soil surface. Comparisons of total nutrients or organic matter in the windblown sediment showed great differences among treatments and nutrients. Organic mutter collected on the burned treatment, for example, was 81 times that collected on the abandoned field. Cation exchange capacity of the burned site was 48 times that collected on the abandoned field. These results demonstrate the selective removal of plant nutrients in wind-eroded sediment and show the relative rate of removal to be dependent upon management practice.
Footnotes
T. M. Zobeck is a soil scientist and D. W Fryrear is an agricultural engineer with the Cropping Systems Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, US. Department of Agriculture, PO. Box 909, Big Spring, Texas 79721-0909. R. D. Pettit is an associate professor of range management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, 79409. This article is a contribution from ARS, USDA, in cooperation with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University. Mention of company or tmde names is for specific information only and does not imply approval or recommendation of a product by USDA to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. The authors thank Mary Ruth Thurman, Bob Emack, Jeanette Lackey, and Ralph Christensen for assistance during the research.
- Copyright 1989 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.