Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop operationally important soil quality indicators to evaluate long-term sustainability, at the farm scale, for no-tillage systems in Argiudolls of rolling pampa (Argentina). The soil was classified as series Arroyo Dulce (Typic Argiudoll), a fertile dark, deep and well-drained soil of the hills. Three situations were considered: pristine soil with grass vegetation, grassland soil (also considered as a reference situation); and 15 years no-tillage soils from four production plots. Physical, physico-chemical, chemical and biochemical indicators were considered. Data were analyzed by principal components analysis (PCA) with canonical discriminant analysis (CDA). The first three components explained 90% of the overall variation. For pristine undisturbed soil, the main variables selected by PCA were particulate C, pH, respiration and total organic C, and in the case of grassland they were C stock (mass of C in the 0–10 cm soil horizon), water-soluble C, and % silt. The no-tillage area was separated in different plots according to the degree of erosion with different depths of the A horizon. Clay content and bulk density were the main variables in the less degraded no tillage plots. Cluster analysis was applied to construct an average linkage distance dendrogram.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bending GD, Turner MK, Rayns F, Marx MC, Wood M (2004) Microbial and biochemical soil quality indicators and their potential for differentiating areas under contrasting agricultural management regimes. Soil Biol Biochem 36:1785–1792
Bouyoucus GJ (1927) The hydrometer as a new method for the mechanical analysis of soils. Soil Sci 23:343–353
Buchanan M, King LD (1992) Seasonal fluctuations in soil microbial biomass carbon, phosphorus, and activity in no-till and reduced-chemical-input maize agroecosystems. Biol Fertil Soils 13:211–217
Bray RH, Kurtz LT (1945) Determination of total, organic and available forms of phosphorus in soils. Soil Sci 59:39–45
Cambardella CA, Elliott ET (1992) Particulate soil organic-matter across a grassland cultivation sequence. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56:777–783
De Leenheer L, De Boodt M (1958) Determination of aggregate stability by the change in mean weight diameter. Proc Int Symp Soil Structure Ghent, Belgium
Doyle G, Rice CM, Peterson DA, Steichen J (2004) Biologically defined soil organic matter pools as affected by rotation and tillage. Environ Manag 33:S528–S538
Ellert BH, Bettany JR (1995) Calculation of organic matter and nutrients stored in soils under contrasting management regimes. Can J Soil Sci 75:529–538
Feng Y, Motta AC, Reeves DW, Burmester CH, van Santen E, Osborne JA (2003) Soil microbial communities under conventional-till and no-till continuous cotton systems. 35:1693–1703
Gonzalez MG, Conti ME, Palma RM, Arrigo NM (2003) Dynamics of humic fractions and microbial activity under no-tillage or reduced tillage, as compared with native pasture (Pampa Argentina). Biol Fertil Soils 39:135–138
Gregorich EG, Carter MR, Angers DA, Monreal CM, Ellen BH (1994) Towards a minimum data set to asses soil organic matter quality in agricultural soils. Can J Soil Sci 74:367–385
Jenkinson DS, Powlson DS (1976) The effects of biocidal treatments on metabolism in soil. A method for measuring soil biomass. Soil Biol Biochem 8:209–213
Lahlou S (1999) La qualite physique du sol sous differents systemes de travail du sol et de management des cultures en zones semi-arides Marocaines. J Soil Sci 33:141–164
Mazzarino MJ, Szott L, Jimenez M (1993) Dynamics of soil total C and N, microbial biomass, and water-soluble C in tropical agroecosystems. Soil Biol Biochem 25:205–214
Nelson DW, Sommers LE (1982) Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter. Agronomy 9:539–579
Palma RM, Arrigo NM, Saubidet MI, Conti ME (2000) Chemical and biochemical properties as potential indicators of disturbances. Biol Fertil Soils 32:381–384
Rhoades JD (1996) Salinity: electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids. In: Sparks DL et al (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 3. Chemical methods. SSSA and ASA, Madison, WI, pp 417–435
Schipper LA, Sparling GP (2000) Performance of soil condition indicators across taxonomic groups and land uses. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:300–311
Six J, Elliott ET, Paustian K (2000) Soil macroaggregate turnover and microaggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage agriculture. 32:2099–2103
Spedding TA, Hamel C, Mehuys GR, Madramootoo CA (2004) Soil microbial dynamics in maize growing soil under different tillage and residue management systems. Soil Biol Biochem 36:499–512
Sperow M, Eve M, Paustian K (2003) Potential soil C sequestration on U.S. agricultural soils. Clim Change 57:319–339
Thomas GW (1996). Soil pH and soil acidity. In: Sparks DL et al (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 3. Chemical methods. SSSA and ASA, Madison, WI, pp 475–490
Trasar-Cepeda C, Leirós C, Gil-Sotres F, Seoane S (1998) Towards a biochemical quality index for soils: an expression relating several biological and biochemical properties. Biol Fertil Soils 26:100–106
Wander MM, Bollero GA (1999) Soil quality assessment of tillage impacts in Illinois. Soil Sci Soc Am J 63:961–971
Wardle DA, Ghani A (1995) A critic of the microbial metabolic quotient as a bioindicator of disturbance and ecosystem development. Soil Biol Biochem 27:1601–1610
Yang XM, Kay BD (2001) Impact of tillage practices on total, loose- and occluded-particulate, and humified organic carbon fractions in soils within a field in southern Ontario. Can J Soil Sci 81:149–156
Zubillaga MS, Giuffré L (1999) Soil phosphorus mobilization in different taxonomic orders. Plant Nutr Soil Sci 162:201–205
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Giuffré, L., Romaniuk, R., Conti, M.E. et al. Multivariate evaluation by quality indicators of no-tillage system in Argiudolls of rolling pampa (Argentina). Biol Fertil Soils 42, 556–560 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0051-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0051-8