IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY PRACTICES ON THE DEGRADATION OF SOME CHARACTERISTICES OF CLAYEY SOILS | ||
| Journal of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Engineering | ||
| Article 4, Volume 25, Issue 6, June 2000, Pages 3721-3731 PDF (651.93 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/jssae.2000.259396 | ||
| Author | ||
| M. M. El-Badawi, | ||
| National Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Soil degradation resulted by agricultural machinery practices, was studies on some clayey soils (Typic Haplotorrerts) in the midwestern part of theNile Delta of Egypt. Measuring the compaction of soils was used as an indicator of soil degradation. Physical and micromorphological properties were characterized as parameters of soil compaction. Fissures, pores and matrices were measured as percentages of the projected images of thin sections. These were then used as indicators of soil compaction. Compaction tests were performed in both tilled and untilled soil. Data revealed that tilled soil was compacted more than the untilled at the same moisture content. However, the top 20 cm was found to be more susceptible to compaction for both tillage treatments. Soil compaction progressively increased as the number of wheel traffic passes increased. Maximum compaction was attained with seven passes which indicated the virtual collapse of soil structure. Micromorphological data showed no clear relation between porosity and the number of passes the soil was subjected to. This may be attributed to an insufficient numbers of tested samples. However, this soil which is a Typic Haplotorrerts has the capacity to recover rather quickly from such severe compaction because of its high content of smectitic clay, and the swelling and shrinking phenomenon that is characteristic of these soils. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Soil degradation; soil compaction; clayey soils and Nile Delta | ||
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