Land use and soil development in Southern chile

Effects on physical properties

authored by: H. Fleige, S. Beck-Broichsitter, J. Dörner, M. O. Goebel, J. Bachmann, R. Horn
Abstract: Different physical properties of volcanic ash soils were investigated along a transect of 120 km from the western slope of the Central Cordilleras (40°20’S, 72°06’W) to the eastern slope of the Costal Cordillera (39°39’S, 73°11’W) in southern Chile with respect to the degree of soil development (Arenosol versus Andosol stage; Arenosol: young volcanic ash soil, free of clay, tephric properties, Andosol: older volcanic soil, clayey). The Andosols show a higher total pore volume and a higher field capacity, especially due to an increase in fine pores, than the Arenosols. Furthermore, the precompression stress (Pc) as a parameter for the mechanical soil strength is higher for Andosols despite of a lower bulk density. A land use (cropland, meadow, forest) dependent variation of the investigated parameters was less distinct for Andosols. A reduction of macropores and saturated hydraulic conductivity (ks) due to agriculture could be determined in the field, but in general the values are still on a high level with ks-values >100 cm d-1. However, at higher stresses using an oedometer test the ks-values of the Andosols are highly negatively affected with values <10 cm d-1. Aggregation is of major importance for soil stability of Andosols, whereas a homogenization of soil structure will lead to a distinct decrease of Pc of approx. 50%.
Organisation(s): Section Soil Physics
Institute of Soil Science
External Organisation(s): Kiel University
Universidad Austral de Chile
Type: Article
Journal: Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
Volume: 16
Pages: 818-831
No. of pages: 14
ISSN: 0718-9516
Publication date: 09.2016
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Agronomy and Crop Science, Soil Science, Plant Science
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 15 - Life on Land
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-95162016005000058 (Access: Open)