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Stability of soil aggregates under different vegetation covers in a vertisol of central India

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Title Stability of soil aggregates under different vegetation covers in a vertisol of central India
Not Available
 
Creator M Mohanty, NISHANT K Sinha, KM Hati, DK Painuli, RS Chaudhary
 
Subject Aggregate fractions, MWD, Vegetation cover, Vertisols, Organic carbon
 
Description Not Available
Stability of aggregate is the measure of the structural stability of soils. Any reduction in soil aggregate
stability is a powerful early indicator of the onset of land degradation. The factors that influence
aggregate stability of soils depend on the soil environment, the type, amount and dominance of the
stabilizing substances and land uses. Variability in soil organic carbon (SOC) inputs and disturbances
together determine soil aggregate stability at a particular point in the landmass. SOC promotes
aggregation through the linkage of clay, polyvalent cations and organic matter. It is not the increase in
clay content that indicate the stability of soils but the type and amount of clay present in the soils. The
stability of clay soils depend on the physical and chemical properties of the clay present in them. The
present investigation was carried out by collecting surface soil samples (0-15 cm) under different
vegetation covers and from a cultivated soil in a Vertisol of central India. The vegetation covers include
Leucaena, Gliricidia, Eucalyptus, grassy waterways and cultivated soils of a long-term tillage experiment.
Results from the study revealed that among the different vegetation covers compared, the amount of
aggregates of ≥ 2mm size was the greatest in Eucalyptus and the lowest in Leucaena treatments.
Amongst all the treatments, the distribution of such aggregates followed the order:
Eucalyptus>grasswaterways>Gliricidia>Leucaena>cultivated soil. Maximum amount of aggregates of
sizes ≤ 0.25 mm were present in cultivated soil and minimum in soils under Eucalyptus vegetation
cover. The soil organic C under different vegetation covers was significantly higher than in the cultivated
soil. The stability of aggregates as expressed by mean weight diameter (MWD) was higher in Eucalyptus
plant cover compared to cultivated soils. The greater MWD of soil aggregates under different vegetation
covers was due to lower degree of disturbance and higher soil organic C content. Significant and
positive correlations were observed (R2
= 0.61, P ≤ 0.05) between MWD of aggregates and soil organic
C content under different vegetation covers, and cultivation practice in the studied Vertisol. The present
study provides an insight on stability of aggregates and their formation under different vegetation
covers in vertisols as aggregate stability affects the root physical environment, the water and nutrient
cycles
Not Available
 
Date 2019-11-27T09:40:08Z
2019-11-27T09:40:08Z
2012-01-01
 
Type Research Paper
 
Identifier Not Available
0973-032X
http://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/handle/123456789/25646
 
Language English
 
Relation Not Available;
 
Publisher Journal of Agricultural Physics