<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

An application of different mulch materials may lead to changes in soil properties. Our previous study, focused on the impact of various mulches during the 4-year period, showed that the change in some properties can be very rapid (e.g., soil pH), but in other cases such as hydraulic properties, the changes can be gradual. To find out, whether the extension of the mulching period will further affect the studied soil properties, the experiment continued for another 2 years. Differences between values of organic carbon content (Cox), soil physical quality (<italic>S</italic>inf), gravitational water (GW) and readily available water (RAW) of soils not covered by any mulch and under various mulches (bark chips; wood chips; wheat straw; Agrotex EKO+ decomposable matting; polypropylene fabric covered bark chips; crushed stone) were much larger than those observed in our previous study. On the other hand, the opposite trend was observed for the water stable aggregates (WSA) index or soil pH. Differences between additionally measured hydraulic conductivities at the pressure head of −2 cm and repellency index (RI) were mostly insignificant. Results indicated that organic mulches can either positively (e.g., increase WSA index and Cox, and decrease GW) or negatively (e.g., decrease <italic>S</italic>inf and RAW, and increase RI) affect soil properties.
</abstract>

An application of different mulch materials may lead to changes in soil properties. Our previous study, focused on the impact of various mulches during the 4-year period, showed that the change in some properties can be very rapid (e.g., soil pH), but in other cases such as hydraulic properties, the changes can be gradual. To find out, whether the extension of the mulching period will further affect the studied soil properties, the experiment continued for another 2 years. Differences between values of organic carbon content (Cox), soil physical quality (Sinf), gravitational water (GW) and readily available water (RAW) of soils not covered by any mulch and under various mulches (bark chips; wood chips; wheat straw; Agrotex EKO+ decomposable matting; polypropylene fabric covered bark chips; crushed stone) were much larger than those observed in our previous study. On the other hand, the opposite trend was observed for the water stable aggregates (WSA) index or soil pH. Differences between additionally measured hydraulic conductivities at the pressure head of −2 cm and repellency index (RI) were mostly insignificant. Results indicated that organic mulches can either positively (e.g., increase WSA index and Cox, and decrease GW) or negatively (e.g., decrease Sinf and RAW, and increase RI) affect soil properties.

How various mulch materials can affect the soil hydro-physical properties

Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"How various mulch materials can affect the soil hydro-physical properties"}

An application of different mulch materials may lead to changes in soil properties. Our previous study, focused on the impact of various mulches during the...

How various mulch materials can affect the soil hydro-physical properties

Publié en ligne: 23 août 2022

Pages: 269 - 275

Reçu: 06 juin 2022

Accepté: 22 juin 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/johh-2022-0016

Mots clés
Mulch, Aggregate stability, Soil hydraulic properties, Soil physical quality, Repellency index, Readily available water

© 2022 Miroslav Fér et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

How various mulch materials can affect the soil hydro-physical properties

Publié en ligne: 23 août 2022

Pages: 269 - 275

Reçu: 06 juin 2022

Accepté: 22 juin 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/johh-2022-0016

Mots clésMulch, Aggregate stability, Soil hydraulic properties, Soil physical quality, Repellency index, Readily available water

© 2022 Miroslav Fér et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mots clés
Mulch, Aggregate stability, Soil hydraulic properties, Soil physical quality, Repellency index, Readily available water