ABSTRACT:
The effects of soil erosion on soil fertility and yield have been documented with data as early as the 1900s, but there is limited literature relating soil erosion and soil physical properties. A regional research project (NC-174) was established in 1984 to elucidate the effects of erosion on soil productivity, with respect to changes in soil physical properties, and to determine the potential for using computer models to simulate this effect. Data are presented from 15 soils (sites) located in eight states in the North Central United States. Based on the thickness of topsoil, two to three levels of prior erosion were identified at each location. Soil samples were collected and analysed for bulk density, water retention, particle size analysis, and hydraulic conductivity at saturation. Rooting depth for each soil was also determined from field observations. Soil erosion primarily affected the physical properties of the Ap horizon. Clay content of the Ap horizon increased with increasing erosion. In most cases, bulk density increased slightly and hydraulic conductivity of saturated soil decreased. Changes in water content at given tensions were mixed with increases in some cases and decreases in others with erosion.
Footnotes
Birl Lowery is a professor in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53706–1299. James Swan is a professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University, Ames, 50011. Tom Schumacher is an associate professor in the Plant Science Department at South Dakota State University, Brookings, 57007. Alice Jones is an associate professor in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 68583. Authors are all members of the NC-174 Committee.
- Copyright 1995 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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