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Tillage Intensity Effects on Soil Structure Indicators—A US Meta-Analysis

Author

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  • Márcio R. Nunes

    (USDA-Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, 1015 N. University Boulevard., Ames, IA 50011-3611, USA)

  • Douglas L. Karlen

    (USDA-Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, 1015 N. University Boulevard., Ames, IA 50011-3611, USA)

  • Thomas B. Moorman

    (USDA-Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, 1015 N. University Boulevard., Ames, IA 50011-3611, USA)

Abstract

Tillage intensity affects soil structure in many ways but the magnitude and type (+/−) of change depends on site-specific (e.g., soil type) and experimental details (crop rotation, study length, sampling depth, etc.). This meta-analysis examines published effects of chisel plowing (CP), no-tillage (NT) and perennial cropping systems (PER) relative to moldboard plowing (MP) on three soil structure indicators: wet aggregate stability (AS), bulk density (BD) and soil penetration resistance (PR). The data represents four depth increments (from 0 to >40-cm) in 295 studies from throughout the continental U.S. Overall, converting from MP to CP did not affect those soil structure indicators but reducing tillage intensity from MP to NT increased AS in the surface (<15-cm) and slightly decreased BD and PR below 25-cm. The largest positive effect of NT on AS was observed within Inceptisols and Entisols after a minimum of three years. Compared to MP, NT had a minimal effect on soil compaction indicators (BD and PR) but as expected, converting from MP to PER systems improved soil structure at all soil depths (0 to >40-cm). Among those three soil structure indicators, AS was the most sensitive to management practices; thus, it should be used as a physical indicator for overall soil health assessment. In addition, based on this national meta-analysis, we conclude that reducing tillage intensity improves soil structure, thus offering producers assurance those practices are feasible for crop production and that they will also help sustain soil resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Márcio R. Nunes & Douglas L. Karlen & Thomas B. Moorman, 2020. "Tillage Intensity Effects on Soil Structure Indicators—A US Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:2071-:d:329884
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Viechtbauer, Wolfgang, 2010. "Conducting Meta-Analyses in R with the metafor Package," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 36(i03).
    2. Douglas L. Karlen & Charles W. Rice, 2015. "Soil Degradation: Will Humankind Ever Learn?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Jessica Gurevitch & Julia Koricheva & Shinichi Nakagawa & Gavin Stewart, 2018. "Meta-analysis and the science of research synthesis," Nature, Nature, vol. 555(7695), pages 175-182, March.
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    2. Barbara Futa & Joanna Gmitrowicz-Iwan & Aida Skersienė & Alvyra Šlepetienė & Irmantas Parašotas, 2024. "Innovative Soil Management Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-30, October.
    3. Rui Zhao & Kening Wu & Xiaoliang Li & Nan Gao & Mingming Yu, 2021. "Discussion on the Unified Survey and Evaluation of Cultivated Land Quality at County Scale for China’s 3rd National Land Survey: A Case Study of Wen County, Henan Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-26, February.
    4. Muhammad Shaukat & Ashfaq Ahmad & Tasneem Khaliq & Aaron Kinyu Hoshide & Daniel C. de Abreu, 2023. "Organic Amendments and Reduced Tillage Accelerate Harvestable C Biomass and Soil C Sequestration in Rice–Wheat Rotation in a Semi-Arid Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, April.

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