Márta Birkás

Soil condition and plant interrelations in dry years

Our objectives were to assess and rank 3 soil condition variants - root zone improving (RI), mulch leaving (NIL) and minimum disturbing (MD) - suitability to soil quality improvement and demonstrate the plant responses to different soil state and rind a possible relation between soil condition and plant growth under extreme climate. To rank the soil-plant interrelations twelve soil and plant factors were assessed; quality and depth of loosening state, surface protection by plants and stubble residues, soil aggregation, earthworm number, water supply in the root zone, tillage-induced C-flux, rooting depth of plants, yield, dry biomass and biomass recycling. Finally, seven fundamental requirements were selected to mitigate climate-stress and to improve plant resistance to the heat damage. A climate damage mitigation soil tillage strategy can establish a harmony between soil conservation and the demands of crop production.The results of a small-pot experiment of cadmium-loading (5 mgkg) with the addition of zinc (5 mgkg) carried out are introduced in this paper. For this, soil samples were taken from 4 sites of plough-land, grassland and forest land-use types. Accumulation characteristics of the two metals as well as their interaction with the soil properties were analysed. The results show that land-use has significant effect on zinc uptake. There is close correlation between the zinc and cadmium uptake of plants as well as that cadmium concentration of soils plays an important role in it. Zinc shows positive correlation while cadmium shows negative correlation with organic matter. Beside organic colloids, inorganic colloids i.e. clay fraction also showed close correlation.The effects of soil and climatic properties was studied on the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) concerning on the heavy metal content of the plants. During this study the distribution of cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, and zinc was studied within a plant. Sampling was carried out in the same period of subsequent three years between 1995 and 1997. Our hypothesis was that the individuals of the same species has similar physiological answer for the same environmental properties. In this study we found no significant differences among the different plant’s parts and years. Our results can reveal that the ecological indication of plants could be major driver of agro-environmental studies to recognize unusual patterns of soil attributes.

Seasonal changes of hydraulic properties of a Chromic Luvisol under different soil management

In the present work the effect of five tillage methods on the hydraulic properties and water regime of a brown forest soil was studied. In each treatment, measurements of bulk density and soil water retention characteristics were carried out 3 times (March, June and August) within the vegetation period. Near-saturated hydraulic conductivity and soil water content measurements were performed five and eight times, respectively. Statistically valuable differences were obtained between the soil properties, measured in different tillage treatments. The effect of the tillage treatments on the water retention curves was significant in the low suction range (pF < 2.0) only. Differences between the soil water retention curves, measured at the end of the vegetation period reflected the indirect effect of different tillage systems on soil hydraulic properties. The seasonal variability of both the soil hydraulic functions was proofed. Saturated hydraulic conductivity values, evaluated in the ploughing treatment at the beginning and end of the vegetation period differed up to 4-times. The near-saturated hydraulic conductivity values measured in March were nearly two times higher in all the treatments, except no till, than those, measured in August. The applied tillage systems did not influence the potential amount of water available for the plant; still, valuable differences between the soil water contents were measured. According to the soil hydraulic properties and measured soil water regime, ploughing and deep loosening created the most favourable soil conditions for the plants. The biological activity, however, was the highest in the no till treatment. Further studies on the application of the soil conserving tillage systems under Hungarian conditions are recommended.

Soil tillage systems to reduce the harmful effect of extreme weather and hydrological situations

Soil as the largest potential natural water reservoir in the Carpathian Basin has increasing importance under conditions of predicted climate change resulting in increase of probability of extreme hydrological events. Soil management changes soil structure and has a major effect on soil water, heat and nutrition regimes. In this study the effect of four tillage treatments in combination with catch crop management was studied on soil hydraulic properties and water regime under semi-arid conditions. Investigations were carried out in a long-term soil tillage experiment established on Calcic Chernozem soil in Hungary. Tillage variants comprised mouldboard ploughing, disking, loosening combined with disking and direct drilling. The crop sequence between September 2003 and September 2004 comprised maize (main crop), rye (catch crop) and pea (forage). In May 2004, disturbed samples and undisturbed soil cores were collected from each tillage treatment/catch crop combination. The main soil physical and hydrophysical properties were determined in laboratory. In each treatment, capacitive soil moisture probes were installed up to 80 cm depth to ensure continuous measurement of soil water content. Total soil water amounts of chosen soil layers and soil water content dynamics as a function of depth were evaluated for selected periods in order to quantify the effect of the studied management systems on soil water regime. The main conclusion from the experiment is that under such (or similar) ecological conditions, the uniform, „over-standardized“ adaptation of tillage methods for soil moisture conservation is rather risky, their application needs special care and the future is for site-specific precision technologies. These are, in combination with catch crop application can be efficient measures of environmental protection and soil structure and water conservation.

Effect of Soil Physical State on the Earthworms in Hungary

Hungarian authors have long been discussing the role of earthworms in improving soil productivity. Earthworm counts in our higher quality soils are similar to those found in soils where more attention is paid to earthworm activity. Negative impacts that are independent of farming—such as sustained dry spells in the summer—also affect earthworm counts. Negative impacts that definitely depend on farming include land use causing soil moisture loss, deep stubble treatment leaving the soil without cover, and ploughing in the summer without subsequent pressing. The climate change is having both positive and negative impacts. Weather patterns are causing losses but adopting climate mitigating tillage are generating benefits. In the trials results so far show that tillage focusing on preserving soil moisture, structure, and organic materials, covering the surface in the critical months as well as adequate soil loosening are fundamental pre-requisites for making the soil a favourable habitat for earthworms.

Soil tillage as influenced by climate change

Oil rape is a valuable fodder because in early spring and late autumn it produces green forage used for the nutrition of domestic animals. It has been replacing sunflower and soy in colder and wetter regions. It is additionally advantageous because it leaves behind more nitrogen in soil, which is beneficial to other plants in plant rotation. There are some possible ways for the fixation of nitrogen in soil and they are as follows: by the means of oil rape straw ; by relatively long roots ; by the action of nitrogen bacteria, which perform the nitrogen synthesis within their root system, which is the case in some leguminous plants. Oil seed rape is expected to be wider used in crop rotation of West and Middle Europe, Croatia included. Due to this various sorts have been introduced and potential positive impacts have been studied in order to boost the process. This paper presents information on barley and wheat yield in case when they were sown after oil seed rape and corn. The aim of the research is to determine the presence of positive impacts upon the soil with special attention paid to a potential increase of nitrogen content after oil seed rape was grown. The preceding crops had statistically significant effect. Rape yield was significantly higher compared to the one with corn as preceding crops. Very similar results were obtained in 2007.The maize hybrids seed from three different FAO groups (FAO 400, FAO 500 and FAO 600) in four fractions (KO, KP, SO and SP) produced in two climatically different years (extremely dry 2000 and extremely wet 2001) had been different in quality and chemical composition. The effects of year, genetic specifity and seed fraction at the kernel mass, chemical composition (starch, proteins, cellulose, oil and moisture content) and seed vigour have been evaluated. The influence of agroecological conditions during two production years have been exposed at seed chemical composition and vigour indicators (cold test – CT and bulk seed electrical conductivity - EC). The genetic specificity and seed fraction had significant influence at all tested indices, with the exception of the influence of the fraction at the starch content

The role of tillage and crops on a soil loss of an arable Stagnic Luvisol

ABSTRACT The poor physical, chemical and biological properties make Stagnic Luvisol highly susceptible to water erosion on sloping terrains. The objective of this paper is to estimate the effect of different tillage treatments and crops (maize, soybean, winter wheat, spring barley, oilseed rape) on water erosion. The highest erosion in investigation period (1995–2014) was recorded in the control treatment with fallow, followed by the treatment that involved ploughing and sowing up and down the slope. Significantly, lower soil losses were recorded in no-tillage and treatments with ploughing and sowing across the slope. Regarding the crops significantly higher soil losses were recorded in spring row crops (maize and soybean) compared to high-density winter crops (wheat and oilseed rape) and double crop (spring barley with soybean). In the studied period, an average loss of 46 mm of the plough layer was recorded in the control treatment, while in treatment with ploughing and sowing up and down the slope average annual soil loss was 10 mm. According to the results of this study no-tillage and tillage across the slope are recommended as tillage which preserves soil for the next generations in agro-ecological conditions of continental Croatia.

Soil condition threats in two seasons of extreme weather conditions

This research started from the observation that soil state defects that occur in a season may result in even more serious after-effects in the following year. The objective of this study was to investigate the striking forms of dete rioration in a Chernozem soil that occurred both in the surface and in the deeper layer. In one respect, dust formation, crumb reduction, surface silting, and surface crusting were studied, and an attempt to investigate additional consequences of the dust sedimentation to the nearest compacted layer was made. The degree of the soil deteriora tion was compared under treatments of bare and covered surfaces and in degraded and preserved soil conditions setting in the selected parts of a long-term trial. Surface cover significantly influenced soil vulnerability resulting in different responses of soil attributes. The surface crust reducing effects of a higher (≥ 55%) surface cover ratio and a lower proportion of dust could statistically be proven (P < 0.001). A favourable rate of surface cover reliably reduced the ratio of clods produced by primary tillage in dry (0.138–0.158 g/g) soil. The results indicate that it is possible to complete methods adaptable to the climate threats mitigation.

Soil Carbon Variability in Some Hungarian and Croatian Soils

Loss of soil carbon and carbon storage were studied in different soil types in the agroecological conditions of the Pannonian plain and in the Mediterranean region. Total carbon concentration, pH and C:N ratio under pastures, meadows, forests, vineyards, gardens and crop fields were determined. Soil samples were taken in 2010 at depths from 0–3, 3–10, 0–30, 30–60 and 60–90 cm depending on the location, region, soil type and type of ecosystem. Soil pH varied between strongly acid 4.3 measured in crop field on distric Stagnosols (0–30 cm) to weakly alkaline 7.6 in a crop field on Chernozems; C:N ratio varied from 8 measured on distric Stagnosols to 39 on Cambisol calcaric; Soil carbon concentration observed in this study varied from 3.3 g C/kg at Szentgal on an agricultural crop field on Eutric Cambisol, in the deep layer (60–90 cm; L4) to 107.2 g C/kg on Regosol on karst measured in the surface layer of a Mediterranean grassland (0–3 cm; L10).

Realities and beliefs in sustainable soil tillage systems — A research approach

Results of the investigations: 1. The soil condition demand of the plants can be fulfilled in harmony with the soil quality improvement and conservation. 2. For decreasing climatic harms classical beliefs are to be supervised, e.g. fine-aggregated seedbed, surface preparation by disk on ploughed soils, summer ploughing, durability of shade/frost mellowing. 3. Some fashionable technologies are to be revised before adoption to our soils.

Soil CO2 Emissions in a Long-Term Tillage Treatment Experiment

Abstract The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of plowing (P) and no-tillage (NT) management on soil CO2 emissions from an arable field (i.e., winter wheat) in a 13-year-old experiment. In 2015, CO2 measurements were taken weekly in P and NT during the growing season and biweekly during the dormant season using the static chamber technique. Measurements were more frequent in a 7-day campaign scheduled right before and immediately after a soil disturbance caused by plowing to detect the short-term effects of soil management on CO2 emissions. We investigated the relationship among soil CO2 emissions, soil temperature, and soil water content. Soil CO2 emissions increased during the vegetation period and were higher in NT than P, although they were only significant from jointing to maturity stages. In contrast, CO2 emissions were higher in P compared to NT at a relatively short but well-monitored measurement interval just after plowing. Long-term systematic plowing resulted in lower CO2 emissions than that in NT during vegetation season, but a sudden pulse in CO2 emissions were detected in P directly after soil disturbance caused by plowing. These observations indicate that plowing can temporarily have a major effect on soil CO2 emissions.