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Relationships Between the Hydraulic Conductance of Surface Crusts and Soil Management in a Typic Hapludalf¹

ABSTRACT

The effect of different soil management, in terms of soil till-age and crop rotation, on soil crusting was investigated by applying continuous artificial rain (8.5 cm/hr) to experimental plots until steady-state conditions were reached. Comparisons were made with bare plots subjected to natural rainfall for a period of 4 months. Significant differences in soil roughness between the plow only and the plow, disk, and harrow treatments resulted in higher infiltration and longer times to incipient runoff for the plow treatment. However, differences in surface roughness and infiltration and runoff rates were insignificant among treatments when steady-state conditions were reached after only 2 hours. Crust conductances, measured in situ, were significantly lower in the plow, disk, and harrow treatments for the sod as compared with the continuous corn rotation. Crusts had a significantly higher conductance when formed on top of clods as compared with crusts formed between clods in the plow treatment. Conductances of crusts formed under short-term high-energy experimental rainfall were not significantly different from those formed under natural conditions, the latter characterized by intermittent low-energy rainfall during a 4-month period. However, their morphology was significantly different.

¹ Contribution from the Soil Sci. Dept., College of Agricultural and Life Sci., Univ. of Wis., Madison 53706. Research supported by USAID/UW Contract afr 262.

² Graduate Student and Associate Professor of Soil Science, currently: Soil Survey Inst., Wageningen, The Netherlands, respectively.

Received for publication December 30, 1974. Accepted for publication May 12, 1975.