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| Titel |
Effects of changes in land use on soil properties in Estonia |
| VerfasserIn |
Kadri Krebstein, Endla Reintam |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2013
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 15 (2013) |
| Datensatznummer |
250084844
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| Zusammenfassung |
| One important factor influencing the soil properties is the human activity and especially the
agricultural activity. Effects of changes in land use and human activities on soil properties are
remarkable on the topsoil, the lower soil layers are less affected. During the last century the
land use in Estonia has considerably changed. In Estonia the area of abandoned agricultural
land has been rapidly increasing during the last decades. The purpose of our study was to
estimate the effects of changes in land use on soil properties in Estonia. The field experiment
has been established on the experimental station of Estonian University of Life Sciences in
Rõhu. The experimental area was used during the years 1960-2006 as an apple garden,
2006-2007 it was ploughed and since 2008 the experimental area has been used as
grassland. In our trial we compared the changes in soil properties before and after the
experimental area was used as grassland (2007 and 2008). The two grassland species
in the trial were Phalaris arundinacea L. and Dactylis glomerata L. The soil of
experimental area was a sandy loam Haplic Luvisol (siltic). Soil properties like the soil
bulk density, soil porosity and the water permeability were studied in 30 cm soil
column in every 5 cm soil layer. The results indicated changes in the soil properties.
Before the grassland management the soil bulk density was in the upper layer (0-5
cm) approximately 19 % and in deeper layer (15-20 cm) 10 % higher as under the
grassland. Changes of soil porosity were not so considerable before and after the
grassland management. The highest alteration occurred in the values of soil air
capacity were the change was from low to high in upper layer (0-5 cm) and from
medium to high in the deeper layer (15-20 cm). The water permeability before the
grassland management was medium and under Dactylis glomerata in the upper layer
(0-5 cm) low and in the deeper layer (15-20 cm) high. Our results showed that
the vegetation provided stability for the soil, the plant roots loosen the soil but at
the same time they are altering soil porosity and water permeability (decrease in
macropores). Comparing Dactylis glomerata with Phalaris arundinacea, the Dactylis
glomerata had more effects of changes on soil properties (i.e. smaller soil bulk
density, lower water permeability in the upper layer and higher in the deeper layer). |
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