Soil penetrometer readings on flooded soils in west central Illinois

Excerpt

This study was prompted by concern about the effects of the 1993 midwest flood on soil physical characteristics. Questions on compaction were raised by many people (3) and the limited available research provided only hypothetical answers (4). To provide more data on soil compaction and flooding, field studies were initiated during the fall of 1993 in Adams, Pike, and Scott counties in west central Illinois.

Sites in Adams, Pike, and Scott counties were selected with the help of the Cooperative Extension Service Unit Leaders in those areas. Flood waters had ranged in depth from 8ft to 12ft over a period of six to 12 weeks in Adams and Pike counties. The site in Scott county was flooded for about seven months to a depth of almost 20 feet. All locations were a mile or more from levee breaks and were not subjected to swift water currents or sand deposition. Deposition of silt-sized particles was present at all sites, and ranged in depth from 1/2 to four inches. Corn or soybeans had been planted at all locations before flooding occurred and soil type were silty clay or silty clay loams.

Methodology

A Bush recording penetrometer with a half-inch