Bruce C. Ball

The role of crop rotations in determining soil structure and crop growth conditions

Increasing concern about the need to provide high-quality food with minimum environmental impact has led to a new interest in crop rotations as a tool to maintain sustainable crop production. We review the role of rotations in the development and preservation of soil structure. After first introducing the types of rotations in current practice and their impact on yield, we assess how soil and crop management in rotations determines soil structure, and in turn how soil structure influences crop growth and yield. We also briefly consider how soil structure might contribute to other beneficial effects of rotations, namely nutrient cycling and disease suppression. Emphasis is given to the influence of crop choice and, where relevant, interaction with tillage system and avoidance of compaction in the improvement and maintenance of soil structure. Crop rotations profoundly modify the soil environment. The sequence of crops in rotation not only influences the removal of nutrients from a soil, but also the return...

The influence of gas transport and porosity on methane oxidation in soils

Two porosity-dependent parameters that affect gas transport in soils, gas diffusivity and air permeability, were assessed as possible indicators of methane oxidation rates. Soil gas diffusivity was measured in intact cores in the laboratory and in situ, and air permeability was measured in intact cores. An in situ method of measuring gas diffusivity was specifically modified for this purpose to use Freon in a portable probe. A laboratory (core) method of measuring gas diffusivity, using krypton 85, was also employed. Measurements were made at the soil surface and at a range of depths within the topsoil, in conjunction with in situ measurements of CH4 oxidation, in forest, arable, and set-aside soils at a lowland site and in a forest soil at an upland site, in southeast Scotland. The surface layer of soil caused marked variations in diffusivity measurements, particularly with the in situ method. At the upland site, where a 50-mm-thick surface organic layer was present, the in situ technique revealed a sharp decrease in diffusivity with depth. Only where gas transport was low, in the set-aside soil, was methane oxidation rate influenced by gas transport changes associated with increasing soil water content. Differences in CH4 oxidation rates related better to core gas diffusivities than to in situ diffusivities. The relationship was best at 50–150 mm depth where diffusivities were lower than at the surface. Air permeability, which is affected more by soil structure than diffusivity, appeared to be as relevant as the latter parameter to CH4 oxidation rate, particularly for land use changes associated with agriculture. Thus CH4 oxidation rate appears to be influenced by gas transport properties and soil structure, either at the surface in the litter layer or below the surface where the oxidizing microorganisms are likely to occur.

The influence of soil gas transport properties on methane oxidation in a selection of northern European soils

The oxidation of atmospheric methane in soils was measured in situ at a selection of sites in northern Europe, mainly under forest but also under moorland and agricultural arable land and grassland. Our objective was to examine how land use, soil type, and location affected methane oxidation through their impact on gas diffusivity and air permeability. Gas diffusivity at the soil surface and, in some cases, after removal of any surface organic layer was measured in situ using Freon-22 tracer in a portable probe. For about half of the sites, gas diffusivity was also measured in intact topsoil core samples in the laboratory using krypton 85. Air permeability and porosity were also measured on these cores. Although the method of measurement of CH4 oxidation varied between sites, the same techniques were used to measure soil physical properties at all sites. CH4 oxidation rates ranged from 0 to 2.5 mg m−2 d−1. Diffusivity also covered a very wide range, being lowest in loam cores from wet grassland in Norway and highest in relatively dry, sandy soils in Denmark and Scotland. CH4 oxidation tended to increase with gas diffusivity measured in situ at the soil surface, though the relationship was poor at high diffusivities, presumably because CH4 oxidation was not limited by diffusion. Removal of the surface organic layer reduced in situ diffusivity at the surface and improved its relationship with CH4 oxidation rate. Sites where soils had well-developed structure and a loose and permeable organic layer at the surface tended to have the highest CH4 oxidation rates. Core measurements, particularly of air permeability, could not be obtained at some sites owing to the inability to take suitable samples. Diffusivity measured in cores generally decreased with increasing depth of sampling in the topsoil, with the 50-to 100-mm depth giving the best correlation with CH4 uptake; cores from within this layer also gave the highest CH4 oxidation during laboratory incubation. Effective comparisons between sites were hampered by the differing responses of CH4 oxidation and diffusivity to soil properties. However, multivariate cluster analysis that included the above transport variables plus others relevant to CH4 oxidation (namely, soil texture; bulk density; airfilled porosity; pH; carbon, nitrogen, and water contents; presence and depth of organic layers; and N deposition) confirmed the importance of soil water content, structure and texture in distinguishing different soil and site conditions.

Assessing the productivity function of soils. A review

The development and survival or disappearance of civilizations has been based on the performance of soils to provide food, fibre, and further essential goods for humans. Amongst soil functions, the capacity to produce plant biomass (productivity function) remains essential. This function is closely associated with the main global issues of the 21st century like food security, demands of energy and water, carbon balance and climate change. A standardised methodology for assessing the productivity function of the global soil resource consistently over different spatial scales will be demanded by a growing international community of land users and stakeholders for achieving high soil productivity in the context of sustainable multifunctional use of soils. We analysed available methods for assessing the soil productivity function. The aim was to find potentials, deficiencies and gaps in knowledge of current approaches towards a global reference framework. Our main findings were (i) that the soil moisture and thermal regime, which are climate-influenced, are the main constraints to the soil productivity potential on a global scale, and (ii) that most taxonomic soil classification systems including the World Reference Basis for Soil Resources provide little information on soil functionality in particular the productivity function. We found (iii) a multitude of approaches developed at the national and local scale in the last century for assessing mainly specific aspects of potential soil and land productivity. Their soil data inputs differ, evaluation ratings are not transferable and thus not applicable in international and global studies. At an international level or global scale, methods like agro-ecological zoning or ecosystem and crop modelling provide assessments of land productivity but contain little soil information. Those methods are not intended for field scale application to detect main soil constraints and thereby to derive soil management and conservation recommendations in situ. We found also, that (iv) soil structure is a crucial criterion of agricultural soil quality and methods of visual soil assessment like the Peerlkamp scheme, the French method “Le profil cultural” and the New Zealand Visual Soil Assessment are powerful tools for recognising dynamic agricultural soil quality and controlling soil management processes at field scale. We concluded that these approaches have potential to be integrated into an internationally applicable assessment framework of the soil’s productivity function, working from field scale to the global level. This framework needs to serve as a reference base for ranking soil productivity potentials on a global scale and as an operational tool for controlling further soil degradation and desertification. Methods like the multi-indicator-based Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating meet most criteria of such a framework. This method has potential to act as a global overall assessment method of the soil productivity function for cropping land and pastoral grassland but needs further evolution by testing and amending its indicator thresholds.

N2O, NO, and NH3 Emissions from Soil after the Application of Organic Fertilizers, Urea and Water

Agricultural soil is a major source of nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO) and ammonia (NH3). Little information is available on emissions of these gases from soils amended with organic fertilizers at different soil water contents. N2O, NO and NH3 emissions were measured in large-scale incubations of a fresh sandy loam soil and amended with four organic fertilizers, [poultry litter (PL), composted plant residues (CP), sewage sludge pellets (SP) and cattle farm yard manure (CM)], urea fertilizer (UA) or a zero-N control (ZR) for 38 days. Fertilizers were added to soil at 40, 60 or 80% water-filled pore space (WFPS). The results showed that urea and organic fertilizer were important sources of N2O and NO. Total N2O and NO emissions from UA ranged from 0.04 to 0.62%, and 0.23 to 1.55% of applied N, respectively. Total N2O and NO emissions from organic fertilizer treatments ranged from 0.01 to 1.65%, and <0.01 to 0.55% of applied N, respectively. The lower N2O and NO emissions from CP and CM suggested that applying N is these forms could be a useful mitigation option. Comparison of the NO-N/N2O-N ratio suggested that nitrification was more dominant in UA whereas denitrification was more dominant in the organic fertilizer treatments. Most N was lost from PL and UA as NH3, and this was not influenced significantly by WFPS. Emissions of NH3 from UA and PL ranged from 62.4 to 69.6%, and 3.17 to 6.11% of applied N, respectively.

Influence of soil physical properties, fertiliser type and moisture tension on N2O and NO emissions from nearly saturated Japanese upland soils

In Japan, upland soils are an important source of nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) gas emissions. This paper reports on an investigation of the effect of soil moisture near saturation on N2O and NO emission rates from four upland soils in Japan of contrasting texture. The aim was to relate these effects to soil physical properties. Intact cores of each soil type were incubated in the laboratory at different moisture tensions after fertilisation with NH4-N, NO3-N or zero N. Emissions of N2O and NO were measured regularly over a 16–20 day period. At the end of the incubation, soil cores were analysed for physical properties. Moisture and N fertiliser significantly affected rates of emissions of both N2O and NO with large differences between the soil types. Nitrous oxide emissions were greatest in the finer-textured soils, whereas NO emissions were greater in the coarser-textured soils. Emissions of N2O increased at higher moisture contents in all soils, but the magnitude of increase was much greater in finer-textured soils. Nitric oxide emissions were only significant in soils fertilised with NH4-N and were negatively correlated with soil moisture. Analysis of soil properties showed that there was a strong relationship between the magnitude of emissions and soil physical properties. The importance of soil wetness to gas emissions was mainly through its influence on soil air-filled porosity, which itself was related to gas diffusivity. From the results of this research, we can now estimate likely effects of soil texture on emissions through the influence of soil type on soil aeration and soil drainage. This is of particular value in modelling N2O and NO emissions from soil moisture status and land use inputs.

Spatial and temporal scaling of nitrous oxide emissions from the field to the regional scale in Scotland

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a powerful greenhouse gas. As the UK government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is important to know not only how much of these gases are released but also where and when. Targeted measurements of emissions in relation to crop growth cycles, soil wetness and fertiliser applications were used to derive annual emission rates for specific combinations of soil type, land management and fertiliser practices. These annual emission rates were then spatially scaled to derive regional figures through the development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) based model framework. Digital soil and land use maps at a scale of 1:25 000 for two test areas of approximately 200 000 ha each (Lothians and the Ayrshire Basin) were overlain with a climate map within the GIS, deriving unique combinations of soil wetness and land use. The calculated annual emission rates (kg N ha−1 yr−1) were then applied to these and multiplied by the total area of each soil/land use type to derive annual emission losses for each area. The annual emission of nitrous oxide from the Lothians was determined as approximately 381 000 kg N yr−1, while the emissions from the Ayrshire Basin were predicted to be 794 000 kg N yr−1. This indicates the increased emissions associated with both the wetter soils of Ayrshire and the greater extent of grazed pasture systems in this area. Due to the detailed scale of the input data, localised areas with large emissions were identified. Abatement strategies would be concentrated on areas of high emissions that include a change to crops with lower emission potential, reducing fertiliser and manure inputs, reducing grazing intensity and improving soil drainage.

Nitrous oxide mitigation in UK agriculture

Nitrous oxide (N2O) makes the single largest contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from UK and European Union agriculture. Ambitious government targets for GHG mitigation are leading to the implementation of changes in agricultural management in order to reduce these emissions (mitigation measures). We review the evidence for the contribution of those measures with the greatest mitigation potential which provide an estimated 4.3 t CO2e ha−1 y−1 GHG reduction in the UK. The mitigation options considered were: using biological fixation to provide nitrogen (N) inputs (clover, Trifolium), reducing N fertilizer, improving land drainage, avoiding N excess, fully accounting for manure/slurry N, species introduction (including legumes), improved timing of mineral fertilizer N application, nitrification inhibitors, improved timing of slurry and manure application, and adopting systems less reliant on inputs. These measures depend mostly on increasing the efficiency of N fertilizer use and improving soil conditions; however, they provide the added benefit of increasing the economic efficiency of farming systems, and can often be viewed as “win-win” solutions.

Assessing the Productivity Function of Soils

The development and survival or disappearance of civilizations has been based on the performance of soils to provide food, fibre, and further essential goods for humans. Amongst soil functions, the capacity to produce plant biomass (productivity function) remains essential. This function is closely associated with the main global issues of the 21st century like food security, demands of energy and water, carbon balance and climate change. A standardised methodology for assessing the productivity function of the global soil resource consistently over different spatial scales will be demanded by a growing international community of land users and stakeholders for achieving high soil productivity in the context of sustainable multifunctional use of soils. We analysed available methods for assessing the soil productivity function. The aim was to find potentials, deficiencies and gaps in knowledge of current approaches towards a global reference framework. Our main findings were (i) that the soil moisture and thermal regime, which are climate-influenced, are the main constraints to the soil productivity potential on a global scale, and (ii) that most taxonomic soil classification systems including the World Reference Basis for Soil Resources provide little information on soil functionality in particular the productivity function. We found (iii) a multitude of approaches developed at the national and local scale in the last century for assessing mainly specific aspects of potential soil and land productivity. Their soil data inputs differ, evaluation ratings are not transferable and thus not applicable in international and global studies. At an international level or global scale, methods like agro-ecological zoning or ecosystem and crop modelling provide assessments of land productivity but contain little soil information. Those methods are not intended for field scale application to detect main soil constraints and thereby to derive soil management and conservation recommendations in situ. We found also that (iv) soil structure is a crucial criterion of agricultural soil quality and methods of visual soil assessment like the Peerlkamp scheme, the French method “Le profil cultural” and the New Zealand Visual Soil Assessment are powerful tools for recognising dynamic agricultural soil quality and controlling soil management processes at field scale. We concluded that these approaches have potential to be integrated into an internationally applicable assessment framework of the soil’s productivity function, working from field scale to the global level. This framework needs to serve as a reference base for ranking soil productivity potentials on a global scale and as an operational tool for controlling further soil degradation and desertification. Methods like the multi-indicator-based Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating meet most criteria of such a framework. This method has potential to act as a global overall assessment method of the soil productivity function for cropping land and pastoral grassland but needs further evolution by testing and amending its indicator thresholds.

Visual soil structure quality assessment on Oxisols under no-tillage system

Methods for evaluation the soil structure quality based on field evaluations are useful to determine strategies for soil management, with the advantage of requirement the use of little equipment and the possibility of immediate interpretation. A new methodology was recently developed to temperate soils for this purpose, called Visual Soil Structure Assessment (Ball et al., 2007). It was tested the hypothesis that it is possible to apply and advance in the interpretation of the results from use of Visual Soils Structure Assessment in cultivated Oxisols. Therefore the goal of this study was to apply, evaluate and enhance the potential of the methodology developed by Ball et al. (2007) in two Oxisols under long-term, no-till in Parana State, Brazil, as well as in a soil under native forest, used as reference of soil structural quality. The proposed implementation and progress in terms of structural quality for the distinct layers provided an assessment of soil physical quality more practical and detailed. This is useful to support the selection of appropriate techniques for mechanical and biological management systems in order to achieve the physical quality of soil suitable for crop development. Visual scores of soil structure quality proposed by Ball et al. (2007) can be applied to Brazilian Oxisols cultivated under no-tillage system.