The Impact of Different Cultivation Practices on Surface Runoff, Soil and Nutrient Losses in a Rotational System of Legume–Cereal and Sunflower
Soil erosion is among the biggest problems in the agricultural sector that can affect ecosystems and human societies. A field of 5° slope was selected to study the runoff, soil and nutrient loss as well as crop productivity in different treatments—conventional tillage (CT) vs. no-tillage (NT), plant...
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/24/3513 |
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| author | Aikaterini Molla Elpiniki Skoufogianni Alexios Lolas Konstantinos Skordas |
| author_facet | Aikaterini Molla Elpiniki Skoufogianni Alexios Lolas Konstantinos Skordas |
| author_sort | Aikaterini Molla |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil erosion is among the biggest problems in the agricultural sector that can affect ecosystems and human societies. A field of 5° slope was selected to study the runoff, soil and nutrient loss as well as crop productivity in different treatments—conventional tillage (CT) vs. no-tillage (NT), plant vs. no plant cover, contour cultivation (CC) vs. perpendicular to the contour cultivation, (PC) under natural rainfall. The experiment was conducted in central Greece in two cultivation periods. In autumn, the field was cultivated with intercropping <i>Triticosecale</i> and <i>Pisum sativum</i> and in spring with sunflower. The total rainfall was 141.4 mm in the 1st year and 311 mm in the 2nd. We found that runoff in the treatment of no tillage with contour cultivation was 85% lower in both years compared to the no tillage-no plant control. Therefore, the contour cultivation-no tillage treatment had a positive effect by decreasing phosphorus and potassium loss from soil: indeed, there was a decrease in P and K by 55% and 62%, respectively, in the NT compared to the CC treatments. We conclude that the NT-CC treatment with plant cover was the most effective in reducing water runoff and soil nutrient loss and increasing yield. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:56:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-564c5f08591242b6bf7484be00ec4cb6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:56:24Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-564c5f08591242b6bf7484be00ec4cb62023-11-24T17:28:34ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-12-011124351310.3390/plants11243513The Impact of Different Cultivation Practices on Surface Runoff, Soil and Nutrient Losses in a Rotational System of Legume–Cereal and SunflowerAikaterini Molla0Elpiniki Skoufogianni1Alexios Lolas2Konstantinos Skordas3Laboratory of Soil Science, Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, GreeceLaboratory of Agronomy and Applied Crop Physiology, Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, GreeceLaboratory of Marine Biology, Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, GreeceLaboratory of Marine Biology, Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, GreeceSoil erosion is among the biggest problems in the agricultural sector that can affect ecosystems and human societies. A field of 5° slope was selected to study the runoff, soil and nutrient loss as well as crop productivity in different treatments—conventional tillage (CT) vs. no-tillage (NT), plant vs. no plant cover, contour cultivation (CC) vs. perpendicular to the contour cultivation, (PC) under natural rainfall. The experiment was conducted in central Greece in two cultivation periods. In autumn, the field was cultivated with intercropping <i>Triticosecale</i> and <i>Pisum sativum</i> and in spring with sunflower. The total rainfall was 141.4 mm in the 1st year and 311 mm in the 2nd. We found that runoff in the treatment of no tillage with contour cultivation was 85% lower in both years compared to the no tillage-no plant control. Therefore, the contour cultivation-no tillage treatment had a positive effect by decreasing phosphorus and potassium loss from soil: indeed, there was a decrease in P and K by 55% and 62%, respectively, in the NT compared to the CC treatments. We conclude that the NT-CC treatment with plant cover was the most effective in reducing water runoff and soil nutrient loss and increasing yield.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/24/3513cropping systemrotationtillagephosphoruspotassiumnatural rainfall |
| spellingShingle | Aikaterini Molla Elpiniki Skoufogianni Alexios Lolas Konstantinos Skordas The Impact of Different Cultivation Practices on Surface Runoff, Soil and Nutrient Losses in a Rotational System of Legume–Cereal and Sunflower Plants cropping system rotation tillage phosphorus potassium natural rainfall |
| title | The Impact of Different Cultivation Practices on Surface Runoff, Soil and Nutrient Losses in a Rotational System of Legume–Cereal and Sunflower |
| title_full | The Impact of Different Cultivation Practices on Surface Runoff, Soil and Nutrient Losses in a Rotational System of Legume–Cereal and Sunflower |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Different Cultivation Practices on Surface Runoff, Soil and Nutrient Losses in a Rotational System of Legume–Cereal and Sunflower |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Different Cultivation Practices on Surface Runoff, Soil and Nutrient Losses in a Rotational System of Legume–Cereal and Sunflower |
| title_short | The Impact of Different Cultivation Practices on Surface Runoff, Soil and Nutrient Losses in a Rotational System of Legume–Cereal and Sunflower |
| title_sort | impact of different cultivation practices on surface runoff soil and nutrient losses in a rotational system of legume cereal and sunflower |
| topic | cropping system rotation tillage phosphorus potassium natural rainfall |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/24/3513 |
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