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Assessment of changes in slope topography and soil depth redistribution in relation to different soil tillage technologies
Ureš, Jan ; Kumhálová, Jitka (advisor) ; Novák, Petr (referee)
Water, wind, or tillage-induced soil erosion can significantly degrade soil quality and decrease crop yield from farm fields. Traditionally, the research in soil erosion is mostly focused on water or wind erosion. Recent studies over last two decades, however, point to the importance of tillage operations as a source of soil translocation on hilly agricultural land. Tillage disturbs the soil not only vertically but also horizontally by throwing soil in the tillage direction.
This study was designed to assess the soil translocation effect in topsoil before and after 5 tillage operations by using three different practices, namely mouldboard ploughing (A), chisel plough (B), and disc harrow (C) in the Chernozems region at the Sardice (South Moravia, the Czech Republic).
The influence of different tillage practices on the changes in depth of topsoil was assessed through description of 37 shallow pits - 10 pits was digged out before the tillage operations and then other 27 pits after five tillage operations. The results of the soil survey are based on the evaluation of the stratigraphy of the soil profile where the potential loss of topsoil was determined by a change in transition between the dark Ac horizon and yellow loess Ck horizon and by the type of the transition. Shift of topsoil after five performed operations is in the range of 9-15 cm at the top position of concave-convex slope and 4-14 cm at the top of concave slope. From the results of the experiment are also apparent significant shifts across to each tillage practice (C to A), which are, however, more or less caused by the shape of the slope.
By creating and comparing the DEM for the conducted experiment I managed to learn that the largest transport of soil particles was caused by mouldboard plough. Transport of soil particles was larger in the vertical direction than in the horizontal and moved in the range
of -5 to +13 cm. When undermining by a chisel plough was a significant horizontal shift of soil particles to the sides in the range of -5 to +5 cm. The method of shallow tillage with a disc harrow showed a change of the relief in the horizontal direction also in the range of -5 to +5 cm.
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