Open Access BASE2007

Soil management effects on aggregate dynamics in semiarid Aragon (NE Spain)

Álvaro-Fuentes, Jorge; Arrúe Ugarte, José Luis; López Sánchez, María Victoria; Gracia Ballarín, Ricardo

Open Access

Abstract

The definitive version is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697 ; During decades, in semiarid rainfed Aragon, intensive soil tillage and low crop residue input have led to the loss of soil structure and soil degradation. Conservation tillage and cropping intensification can improve soil structure in these areas. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of three different tillage systems (traditional tillage, reduced tillage and no-tillage) under two cropping systems (fallow-barley rotation and barley monoculture) on soil aggregation dynamics during a cropping season. A decrease in tillage intensity resulted in a higher mean size of dry aggregates and a greater water aggregate stability in both cropping systems particularly under no-tillage. ; Financial support of the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain (Grants AGL2001-2238-CO2-01 y AGL 2004-07763-C02-02) and the European Union (FEDER funds) is gratefully acknowledged. The first author was awarded a FPI fellowship by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education. ; Peer reviewed

Report Issue

If you have problems with the access to a found title, you can use this form to contact us. You can also use this form to write to us if you have noticed any errors in the title display.