Cover crop effects on infiltration, aggregate stability, and water retention in the Lower Mississippi River Valley
Abstract Cover crops are widely considered to improve soil health in the form of erosion control, organic matter additions, and improving water‐holding capacity. Despite the generally well‐documented benefits, cover crops remain under‐studied in the Lower Mississippi River Valley (LMRV), an area his...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20341 |
| _version_ | 1827976530363416576 |
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| author | Shelby Lebeau Kristofor R. Brye Mike B. Daniels Lisa S. Wood |
| author_facet | Shelby Lebeau Kristofor R. Brye Mike B. Daniels Lisa S. Wood |
| author_sort | Shelby Lebeau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Cover crops are widely considered to improve soil health in the form of erosion control, organic matter additions, and improving water‐holding capacity. Despite the generally well‐documented benefits, cover crops remain under‐studied in the Lower Mississippi River Valley (LMRV), an area historically dominated by intensive cultivated agriculture, with soils prone to erosion, and where the need for irrigation has led to unsustainable aquifer withdrawals. The objective of this study was to evaluate cover crop (with cover crops [CC] and without cover crops [NCC]) effects on near‐surface soil physical, chemical, and hydraulic properties. Soil sample collection and in situ measurements were conducted, once per site, between May 2018 and May 2019 across four locations within the LMRV portion of eastern Arkansas. Overall and steady‐state infiltration rates were unaffected (p > .05) by cover‐crop treatment. Across all locations, extractable soil Na content in the top 10 cm was greater (p ≤ .05) with NCC (31.6 kg ha−1) compared with CC (21.6 kg ha−1). Averaged across treatment and soil depth (0 to 5 and 5 to 10 cm), water‐stable aggregate concentration in the 0.25‐ to 0.5‐ (0.101 g g−1) was 1.5 times greater (p ≤ .05) than that in the 1.0‐ to 2.0‐mm size class (0.068 g g−1). Though many soil properties did not significantly differ between CC treatments due to their collective variations, results of this study demonstrate the wide‐spread implications of CC use on physical, chemical, and hydraulic properties across a region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:38:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8a2b7a3473f54b9099b5b53371d4b834 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2639-6696 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:38:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment |
| spelling | doaj.art-8a2b7a3473f54b9099b5b53371d4b8342023-03-30T07:15:40ZengWileyAgrosystems, Geosciences & Environment2639-66962023-03-0161n/an/a10.1002/agg2.20341Cover crop effects on infiltration, aggregate stability, and water retention in the Lower Mississippi River ValleyShelby Lebeau0Kristofor R. Brye1Mike B. Daniels2Lisa S. Wood3Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Fayetteville AR USADepartment of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Fayetteville AR USAExtension Soil and Water Conservation, Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Little Rock AR USADepartment of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Fayetteville AR USAAbstract Cover crops are widely considered to improve soil health in the form of erosion control, organic matter additions, and improving water‐holding capacity. Despite the generally well‐documented benefits, cover crops remain under‐studied in the Lower Mississippi River Valley (LMRV), an area historically dominated by intensive cultivated agriculture, with soils prone to erosion, and where the need for irrigation has led to unsustainable aquifer withdrawals. The objective of this study was to evaluate cover crop (with cover crops [CC] and without cover crops [NCC]) effects on near‐surface soil physical, chemical, and hydraulic properties. Soil sample collection and in situ measurements were conducted, once per site, between May 2018 and May 2019 across four locations within the LMRV portion of eastern Arkansas. Overall and steady‐state infiltration rates were unaffected (p > .05) by cover‐crop treatment. Across all locations, extractable soil Na content in the top 10 cm was greater (p ≤ .05) with NCC (31.6 kg ha−1) compared with CC (21.6 kg ha−1). Averaged across treatment and soil depth (0 to 5 and 5 to 10 cm), water‐stable aggregate concentration in the 0.25‐ to 0.5‐ (0.101 g g−1) was 1.5 times greater (p ≤ .05) than that in the 1.0‐ to 2.0‐mm size class (0.068 g g−1). Though many soil properties did not significantly differ between CC treatments due to their collective variations, results of this study demonstrate the wide‐spread implications of CC use on physical, chemical, and hydraulic properties across a region.https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20341 |
| spellingShingle | Shelby Lebeau Kristofor R. Brye Mike B. Daniels Lisa S. Wood Cover crop effects on infiltration, aggregate stability, and water retention in the Lower Mississippi River Valley Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment |
| title | Cover crop effects on infiltration, aggregate stability, and water retention in the Lower Mississippi River Valley |
| title_full | Cover crop effects on infiltration, aggregate stability, and water retention in the Lower Mississippi River Valley |
| title_fullStr | Cover crop effects on infiltration, aggregate stability, and water retention in the Lower Mississippi River Valley |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cover crop effects on infiltration, aggregate stability, and water retention in the Lower Mississippi River Valley |
| title_short | Cover crop effects on infiltration, aggregate stability, and water retention in the Lower Mississippi River Valley |
| title_sort | cover crop effects on infiltration aggregate stability and water retention in the lower mississippi river valley |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20341 |
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