ABSTRACT:
No-till and moldboard plow tillage systems were established on a former Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) site in southwest Iowa. Runoff rates from simulated rainfall events were significantly greater on sites returned to crop production than from adjoining, undisturbed CRP areas. Substantial soil loss was measured from the moldboard plow treatments, but no significant differences in erosion rates were found between the undisturbed CRP and no-till management systems. No-till management maintained levels of soil quality similar to those of CRP by preserving soil structural integrity and reducing losses of soil organic matter (SOM) associated with tillage. Conservation tillage systems which maintain residue materials on the soil surface may be well suited for former CRP areas which are used as cropland.
Footnotes
J.E. Gilley is an agricultural engineer and J. W. Doran is a soil scientist with USDA-ARS located at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 68583. D.L. Karlen is a soil scientist and T. C. Kaspar is a plant physiologist with USDA-ARS located at the National Soil Tilth Laboratory, Ames, IA 50011. This article is a contribution from USDA-ARS in cooperation with the Agricultural Research Division, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and is published as Journal Series No. 11143.
- Copyright 1997 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
