INFLUENCE OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER ON ITS WATER STABILITY OF SOIL AGGREGATES

References: 17th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2017, www.sgem.org, SGEM2017 Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-619-7408-05-8 / ISSN 1314-2704, 29 June - 5 July, 2017, Vol. 17, Issue 32, 323-330 pp, DOI: 10.5593/sgem2017/32/S13.043

ABSTRACT

During the four years 2013 – 2016 structural changes in top-soil in silage maize monoculture were evaluated. Soil condition was evaluated according to the structure coefficient (SC) and the stability of soil aggregate, i.e. its ability to resist degradation. The experiment was established in sugar beet growing region of Czech Republic on Carbonate Chernozem, clay loamy textured. Monitoring was carried out in three variants with different dose of applied compost: Variant 1 – Control, without compost; Variant 2 – Compost (20 t.ha-1) applied in autumn; Variant 3 – Compost (40 t.ha-1) applied in autumn. Soil samples were collected from two depths of the plough layer (0-0.15 m, 0.15-0.30 m). Experimental results were statistically processed using the multiple factor analysis of variance and the Tukey’s tests of simple contrasts. It was found out that applied organic matter i.e. compost positively influenced SC and water stability of soil aggregates (WSA). The highest WSA and SC values were recorded in variants with applied compost. There were also differences in values recorded in different depths of sampling.

Keywords: water stability of soil aggregates, Chernozem, maize monoculture, compost