Impact of Ten Years Conservation Tillage in Organic Farming on Soil Physical Properties in a Loess Soil—Northern Hesse, Germany

Carolina Bilibio (), Daniel Uteau, Malte Horvat, Ulla Rosskopf, Stephan Martin Junge, Maria Renate Finckh and Stephan Peth
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Carolina Bilibio: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstraße 1a, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Daniel Uteau: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstraße 1a, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Malte Horvat: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstraße 1a, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Ulla Rosskopf: Institute for Soil Science, Leibniz University Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, 30419 Hannover, Germany
Stephan Martin Junge: Group Ecological Plant Protection, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstraße 1a, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Maria Renate Finckh: Group Ecological Plant Protection, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstraße 1a, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
Stephan Peth: Institute for Soil Science, Leibniz University Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, 30419 Hannover, Germany

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: In conservation agriculture, conservation tillage potentially influences the physical, chemical, and biological quality of the soil. Although the effects of conservation agriculture on the soil’s physical properties have been studied in conventional management systems, studies on organic farming systems, especially concerning long-term changes, are scarce. This study summarizes the results of physical and mechanical soil parameters obtained over the initial 10 years of different conservation management treatments (plowing versus reduced tillage with and without compost application) in an organic field trial conducted in central Germany. Moreover, as a research objective, the effects of soil conservation measures on soil’s physical quality were evaluated. Differences in the soil’s physical quality during treatments were mainly detected in the topsoil. At a depth of 0.10–0.24 m, the total porosity and air capacity were lower, and the bulk density was higher in the reduced-tillage systems, compared to those of the plowed treatments. Additionally, the soil’s mechanical stability (precompression stress) was higher at a depth of 0.10 m for reduced-tillage systems combined with compost application. In addition, the soil’s aggregate stability was enhanced in the reduced-tillage systems (higher mean weight diameter, as determined via wet sieving). Overall, the reduced-tillage treatments did not exceed the critical physical values of the soil, nor affect the functionality of the soil (saturated hydraulic conductivity), thereby demonstrating its feasibility as a sustainable technique for organic farming. Future studies should include measures to ameliorate compaction zones in reduced-tillage treatments, e.g., by applying subsoiling techniques in combination with deep-rooting crops to prevent limited rooting space resulting from the high mechanical impedance, especially under dry soil conditions.

Keywords: organic reduced tillage; long-term experiment; bulk density; water retention curve; saturated hydraulic conductivity; soil water content; aggregate stability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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