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A Comparison of the Differences in Soil Structure under Long-Term Conservation Agriculture Relative to a Secondary Forest

Author

Listed:
  • Luiz F. Pires

    (Department of Physics, State University of Ponta Grossa (UEPG), Av. Carlos Cavalcanti 4748, Ponta Grossa 84030-900, Brazil)

  • Talita R. Ferreira

    (Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), Campinas 13083-970, Brazil)

  • Fábio A. M. Cássaro

    (Department of Physics, State University of Ponta Grossa (UEPG), Av. Carlos Cavalcanti 4748, Ponta Grossa 84030-900, Brazil)

  • Hannah V. Cooper

    (Rothamsted Research, West Common AL5 2JQ, UK)

  • Sacha J. Mooney

    (Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Sutton Bonington LE12 5RD, UK)

Abstract

Conservation agriculture is increasingly preferred to conventional methods due to its benefits in promoting more sustainable soil management. Our study aims to compare physical and morphological properties, at the microscale, of soils under long-term no tillage (NT) and minimum-tillage (MT) to adjacent ‘natural’ soils under long-term secondary forest (SF). Soil aggregates of c. 2 cm length were imaged by X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT). The three-dimensional (3D) images were segmented and analyzed in order to assess properties such as porosity, number of pores, degree of anisotropy, pore shape, volume classifications, Euler number for pore connectivity, and pore tortuosity. The pore architecture of soils under NT and MT, for c. 40 years, was similar to that from the SF in terms of imaged porosity, pore size, and shape distributions, as hypothesized in our study. However, we observed some important differences; for instance, SF had larger, more connected, and more complex pores, likely due to the greater biological activity. In addition, SF had more isotropic pores than NT and MT, i.e., without preferential flow paths for water redistribution. Therefore, we concluded that long-term conservation agriculture was efficient at reversing structural damage typically associated with conventional, intensive agriculture, but some large differences remain, particularly concerning the pore network complexity and connectivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Luiz F. Pires & Talita R. Ferreira & Fábio A. M. Cássaro & Hannah V. Cooper & Sacha J. Mooney, 2022. "A Comparison of the Differences in Soil Structure under Long-Term Conservation Agriculture Relative to a Secondary Forest," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:11:p:1783-:d:954743
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Godwin Iloabuchi Nebo & Alen Manyevere & Tesfay Araya & Johan van Tol, 2020. "Short-Term Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Soil Strength and Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity in the South African Semiarid Areas," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-12, September.
    2. Linxian Gong & Lei Nie & Yan Xu, 2020. "Geometrical and Topological Analysis of Pore Space in Sandstones Based on X-ray Computed Tomography," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. José V. Gaspareto & Jocenei A. T. de Oliveira & Everton Andrade & Luiz F. Pires, 2023. "Representative Elementary Volume as a Function of Land Uses and Soil Processes Based on 3D Pore System Analysis," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Thaís Nascimento Pessoa & Talita Rosas Ferreira & Luiz Fernando Pires & Miguel Cooper & Daniel Uteau & Stephan Peth & Carlos Manoel Pedro Vaz & Paulo Leonel Libardi, 2022. "X-ray Microtomography for Investigating Pore Space and Its Relation to Water Retention and Conduction in Highly Weathered Soils," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.

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