Advances in Soil Science

232 Pages·1987·7.307 MB·English

by  Eshel Bresler (auth.), B. A. Stewart (eds.)

Advances in Soil Science
Advances in Soil Science
B.A. Stewart, Editor
Editorial Board
R. Lal
C.W. Rose
U. Schwertmann
B.A. Stewart
P.B. Tinker
R.J. Wagenet
B. Yaron
Advances in Soil Science
Volume 7
Edited by B.A. Stewart
With Contributions by
D.W. Anderson, E. Bresler, W.W. Frye, L. Metzger, M.S. Smith, J.J. Varco,
J. Venkateswarlu, B. Varon
With 39 Illustrations
Springer-Verlag
New York Berlin Heidelberg
London Paris Tokyo
B.A. Stewart
USDA Conservation & Production Research Laboratory
Bushland, Texas 79012, U.S.A.
ISSN: 0176-9340
© 1987 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1987
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Typeset by Asco Trade Typesetting Ltd., Hong Kong.
Printed and bound by R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Harrisonburg, VA.
9 8 7 654 321
ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-9157-2 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-4790-6
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4612-4790-6
Preface
The world population in 1950 was 2.5 billion and is more than 5 billion
today. The agriculture community, however, has responded remarkably well
to meeting the increased need for food and fiber. While the population
growth during this period averaged almost 2% annually, the production of
grain increased at an even faster rate. From 1950 to 1973, grain production
increased 3.1% annually, but slowed to about 2% from 1973 to 1984. There
fore, as a whole, the world has more grain per capita available today than
ever before. Several countries that were food importers just a few years ago
are food exporters today. The world carry-over stocks today are the highest
in years. While the major concern just a few years ago was whether the world
could produce adequate food, the problem for many countries today is how
to export their surpluses.
Although the world as a whole has surplus food supplies, there are millions
of people without adequate food to exist, and there are additional millions
who have a bare subsistence diet at best. The average daily calorie supply for
the developed countries is more than 3,300 per person, while the average for
the developing countries is only about 2,200. The major global food produc
tion problems have shifted from Asia to Africa, where malnutrition, poverty,
and starvation are attracting world attention. Since 1967, per capita grain
production in Africa has been declining, and even then, the grain production
averaged only 180 k per person, which is considered the subsistence level.
The average now is about 150 k, and in the drought years of 1983 and 1984,
production dropped to less than 120 k per person. The challenge that Africa
presents is enormous, because the resources available are limited, particularly
in the Sahel region.
The tremendous growth rate in food production has been accompanied by
an even greater growth rate of energy use by agriculture. While grain produc
tion increased from 624 million metric tons in 1950 to 1,661 million metric
tons in 1985, energy use in terms of oil equivalent increased from 276 million
barrels in 1950 to 1,903 million barrels in 1985. The use of energy for fertilizer
and irrigation fuel increased nearly lO-fold during this period. Since the share
VI Preface
of total oil used by agriculture is relatively small, there is no immediate
concern of an insufficient supply. However, relative energy costs are expected
to rise in future years, and this will make food costs higher if agriculture con
tinues its dependence on oil. Although world agriculture production continues
to increase as energy use increases, the amount of food produced for each
additional unit of energy used declines steadily. Therefore, there is a growing
realization that agriculture production systems must be developed that are
less energy dependent.
An equal concern is developing about the effect that agriculture production
systems are having on the soil resource base. Deforestation is a major problem
in many developing countries. The primary cause of deforestation in these
countries is the critical need of firewood to supply a rapidly growing popu
lation. The soil resource base is also being seriously damaged in many regions
by wind and water erosion, salinization, compaction, increased acidity, and
depletion of nutrients.
These concerns are resulting in a shift in research objectives. Future efforts
will be focused more on the development of cropping systems that are more
resource efficient. The relationships between input costs and yield will be
carefully scrutinized. The need to optimize crop production while conserving
the resource base has never been greater.
This series, Advances in Soil Science, was established to provide a forum for
leading scientists to analyze and summarize the available scientific information
on a subject, assessing its importance and identifying additional needs. But
most importantly, the contributors are asked to develop and identify princi
ples that have practical applications to both developing and developed agri
cultures. It is not the purpose of the series to report new research results,
because there are many excellent scientific journals for that need. Communi
cations in scientific journals, however, are generally restricted to short and
technical presentations. Therefore, Advances in Soil Science fills a gap between
the scientific journals and the comprehensive reference books in which scien
tists can delve in depth on a particular subject. The quick acceptance of the
series by both authors and readers confirms our perception that a need did
exist for a medium to publish reviews relating to soil science. I wish to
acknowledge the authors for their excellent contributions and cooperation. I
should also like to thank the members of the Editorial Board for their
assistance in selecting such competent and pleasant authors with whom I had
the pleasure of working. Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank the
readers for their acceptance and use of Advances in Soil Science.
B.A. Stewart
Contents
Preface................................................................... v
Contributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IX
Modeling of Flow, Transport, and Crop Yield in Spatially Variable
Fields ................................................................... .
Eshel Bresler
I. Introduction........................................................ 1
II. Infiltration and Redistribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
III. Solute Transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
IV. Crop Yield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
V. Economic Optimization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
List of Symbols. . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . . . ..... . . .. ... . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Pedogenesis in the Grassland and Adjacent Forests of the Great
Plains. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. .... . .. .. . . ... ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
D. W Anderson
I. Introduction........................................................ 53
II. Grassland Soils as a System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
III. Classification of Grassland Soils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
IV. Soil Climates in Grasslands. . . .. .. .. ... . ... . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 59
V. Pedogenic Processes. . . . . . . . . . ... . . ...... . . . . .. ... .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 61
VI. Organic Matter Formation and Transformation....................... 61
VII. Carbonate Weathering and pH. . . . . ..... . . .. ... . ..... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 65
VIII. Clay Formation and Translocation. . . . . ... . .. . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
IX. Pedogenesis and Major Nutrients....... .... .. . ... ... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
X. Processes in Clayey Grassland Soils ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
XI. Solonetzic Soils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
XII. Soils of the Grassland Forest Ecotone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
XIII. Effects of Man and Other Organisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
viii Contents
XIV. Trends in Pedological Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
XV. Summary........................................................... 86
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
References .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Legume Winter Cover Crops............................................. 95
M. Scott Smith, Wilbur W Frye, and Jac J. Varco
I. Introduction........................................................ 96
II. Production of Legume Winter Cover Crops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
III. Yield Responses of Summer Crops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . ......... . .. 105
IV. Nitrogen from Legume Cover Crops.................................. 107
V. Effects on Soil Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 116
VI. Erosion Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
VII. Economics.......................................................... 127
VIII. Perennial Legume Covers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
IX. Conclusions......................................................... 131
References. .. . ... . . . .... . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . .. . ........... .. . 132
Influence of Sludge Organic Matter on Soil Physical Properties. . ... . ... 141
L. Metzger and B. Yaron
I. Introduction........................................................ 141
II. Sludge Organic Matter Interactions with Soils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
III. Effect of Sludge Organic Matter on Soil Physical Properties............ 149
IV. Conclusions......................................................... 160
Acknowledgments.... . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ . . . . . 161
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Efficient Resource Management Systems for Drylands of India.... . . . . . 165
J. Venkateswarlu
I. Introduction........................................................ 166
II. Soils of Drylands in India. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
III. Untapped Yield Potential in Drylands of India. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
IV. Cropping Systems. . ..... . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. .. .. ..... . ... .. . . . 176
V. Tillage.............................................................. 182
VI. Mulching........................................................... 184
VII. Fertilizer Use. . . . .. . .. . . .. ... . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. .. ... . . . ... .. . . . 187
VIII. On-Farm Rainwater Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
IX. Runoff Collection and Recycling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
X. Stability in Crop Production in Drylands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
XI. Agro-Technology Transfer........................................... 214
Acknowledgment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
References .................. , . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ........ . .. . . . 216
Index..................................................................... 223
Contributors
D.W. ANDERSON, Saskatchewan Institute of Pedology, University of Sas
katchewan, Saskatoon S7N OWO, Canada
E. BRESLER, Institute of Soils and Water, The Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan
50-250, Israel
W.W. FRYE, Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
Kentucky 40546, U.S.A.
L. METZGER, Institute of Soils and Water, The Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan
50-250, Israel
M.S. SMITH, Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
Kentucky 40546, U.S.A.
J.J. VARCO, Department of Agronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
Kentucky 40546, U.S.A.
J. VENKATESWARLU, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of
Agriculture, New Delhi 110001, India
B. YARON, Institute of Soils and Water, The Volcani Center, Bet-Dagan
50-250, Israel
Modeling of Flow, Transport, and Crop Yield
in Spatially Variable Fields
Eshel Bresler*
I. Introduction .............................................. .
II. Infiltration and Redistribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A. Mathematical Statement of Flow Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
B. Outline of Methodology of Stochastic Flow Problem. . . . . . . . . . 5
C. Approximate Water Flow Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
D. Computations of Statistical Moments of Flow Variables . . . . . . . 11
E. Model's Results: Example for a Highly Variable Soil. . . . . . . . . . . 13
III. Solute Transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
A. Mathematical Statement of Transport Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
B. Stochastic Transport in Steady Gravitational Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . 16
C. Stochastic Transport in Nonsteady Vertical Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
IV. Crop Yield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
A. General Approach. . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . ...... . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
B. Illustrative Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
V. Economic Optimization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
A. General Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
B. Approximate Solution for Optimization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
List of Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
I. Introduction
The traditional approach of modeling processes occurring in crop and soil
systems is to apply macroscopic laws derived from laboratory scale, or small
field scale, to large-scale fields. Applications of such models to actual field
conditions were supported by the assumption that the field can be regarded
* Institute of Soils and Water, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
© 1987 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Advances in Soil Science, Volume 7