Compaction due to urbanization and farm operations disrupt natural soil profiles,increase impervious surface areas and decrease vegetative cover.These disruptions increase storm-water runoff at the expense of ground w...Compaction due to urbanization and farm operations disrupt natural soil profiles,increase impervious surface areas and decrease vegetative cover.These disruptions increase storm-water runoff at the expense of ground water recharge,degrading water quality and impairing aquatic habitats.A completely randomized experiment was conducted at the OSU/South Centers,Piketon,OH to assess the effect of Daikon radish(Raphanus sativus L.var.oleiferus)on alleviating compaction.Treatments included long-term tillage,long-term no-till(NT)and a fallow soil compacted with farm equipment with and without Daikon radish.Radish was sown in mid-August and plants were winter-killed at the onset of first frost when the temperature dropped to-2.22°C(28°F).To assess progress in compaction alleviation,a model was developed to extrapolate information on soil porosity as an indicator of hydrological properties of soils.Earthworm population dynamics were also considered as a bio-indicator of compaction alleviation.The adoption of radish used as bio-drilling,alleviated overall compaction by 40%with reductions ranging from 90%at 0-13 cm to 30%at 56-64 cm depth.The fallow compacted soil with radish had the highest population of earthworm with total body mass of 3.6 kg·m-3,followed by NT at 0.8 kg·m^-3,and till at 0.4 kg·m^-3(p<0.05).Mean values of soil porosity were increased by 44%with radish compared to the fields without radish.This increase ranged from 71%in the upper soil depths(0-13 cm depth)to 25%in the lower depths(56-64 cm depths).Use of bio-drilling has potential to synergistically alleviate the effect of compaction,minimize flash-flooding and improve water quality.展开更多
文摘Compaction due to urbanization and farm operations disrupt natural soil profiles,increase impervious surface areas and decrease vegetative cover.These disruptions increase storm-water runoff at the expense of ground water recharge,degrading water quality and impairing aquatic habitats.A completely randomized experiment was conducted at the OSU/South Centers,Piketon,OH to assess the effect of Daikon radish(Raphanus sativus L.var.oleiferus)on alleviating compaction.Treatments included long-term tillage,long-term no-till(NT)and a fallow soil compacted with farm equipment with and without Daikon radish.Radish was sown in mid-August and plants were winter-killed at the onset of first frost when the temperature dropped to-2.22°C(28°F).To assess progress in compaction alleviation,a model was developed to extrapolate information on soil porosity as an indicator of hydrological properties of soils.Earthworm population dynamics were also considered as a bio-indicator of compaction alleviation.The adoption of radish used as bio-drilling,alleviated overall compaction by 40%with reductions ranging from 90%at 0-13 cm to 30%at 56-64 cm depth.The fallow compacted soil with radish had the highest population of earthworm with total body mass of 3.6 kg·m-3,followed by NT at 0.8 kg·m^-3,and till at 0.4 kg·m^-3(p<0.05).Mean values of soil porosity were increased by 44%with radish compared to the fields without radish.This increase ranged from 71%in the upper soil depths(0-13 cm depth)to 25%in the lower depths(56-64 cm depths).Use of bio-drilling has potential to synergistically alleviate the effect of compaction,minimize flash-flooding and improve water quality.
