The role of tillage and crops on a soil loss of an arable Stagnic Luvisol

Abstract

The poor physical, chemical and biological properties make Stagnic Luvisol highly susceptible to water erosion on sloping terrains. The objective of this paper is to estimate the effect of different tillage treatments and crops (maize, soybean, winter wheat, spring barley, oilseed rape) on water erosion. The highest erosion in investigation period (1995–2014) was recorded in the control treatment with fallow, followed by the treatment that involved ploughing and sowing up and down the slope. Significantly, lower soil losses were recorded in no-tillage and treatments with ploughing and sowing across the slope. Regarding the crops significantly higher soil losses were recorded in spring row crops (maize and soybean) compared to high-density winter crops (wheat and oilseed rape) and double crop (spring barley with soybean). In the studied period, an average loss of 46 mm of the plough layer was recorded in the control treatment, while in treatment with ploughing and sowing up and down the slope average annual soil loss was 10 mm. According to the results of this study no-tillage and tillage across the slope are recommended as tillage which preserves soil for the next generations in agro-ecological conditions of continental Croatia.