Effects of Crop Sequence and N Fertilizer Levels on Soil Bulk Density

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Abstract
The effect of intensive corn (Zea mays L.) production on soil properties and on the productive capacity of soils is a matter of continuing concern. A 20‐year comparison of continuous corn (CCCC) and a corn‐oats (Avena sativa L.)‐meadow‐meadow (COMM) rotation with various N rates on Webster silty clay loam, a Typic Haplaquoll, in north‐central Iowa, provided the opportunity to measure soil changes induced by these two widely differing cropping systems.It was found that, at the 15 cm depth, the soil bulk density in the CCCC and COMM rotations was 1.17 and 1.13 g/cm8, respectively. The difference was attributed to less machinery travel and greater organic matter production on the COMM rotation. When the N fertilizer treatments were compared at the 15 cm depth, the soil bulk density of the 134 kg N/ha treatment was 1.10 g/cm8, and the 0 kg N/ha treatment was 1.20 g/cm8. The difference here was attributed to greater production of organic matter in the higher N treatment.The organic matter content was 5.02 and 5.52% in the CCCC and COMM rotations, respectively. In the 0 kg N/ha treatment and the 134 kg N/ha treatment, the organic matter content was 5.21 and 5.33%, respectively. As the soil organic matter increased, the soil bulk density decreased.

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