ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Effects of Tillage-Induced Soil Disturbance
on Soil Quality
1 1 | Institute of Crop Production, Szent István University, Gödöllő, Hungary |
2 | Department of General Agronomy, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia |
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Submission date: 2018-07-09
Final revision date: 2018-09-19
Acceptance date: 2018-10-07
Online publication date: 2019-05-17
Publication date: 2019-07-08
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2019;28(5):3665–3673
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
OthersOthersClimate changesOthersEnvironmental managementOthersFlood and drought riskWater monitoringSustainable development
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper was to investigate the tillage-induced changes in soils in 2010-2017, and rank
tillage management in the present climate situation. The study was carried out on Chernozems, where
five ploughless tillage treatments – loosening (L), tine tillage (a deeper T, and a shallower, ST), disk
tillage (D) and direct drilling (DD) – were compared with ploughing (P). Soil condition was evaluated
in accordance with the crumb ratio, the soil moisture range for workability, the extension of compacted
tillage pan, the crust formation and number of earthworms. The higher ratio of crumbs was found at the
treatments where cover ratio reached at least 20% after sowing (at T, ST, and DD). Significant differences
were found between soil moisture ranges for the workability of different tillage operations (p<0.05). The
T treatment proved to be an adaptable solution to the extreme soil moisture contents. Extension of the
compacted pan was moderated under ST, T and L. The crust occurrence was lower under ST, T and DD
with residue cover. DD, ST and T had a significantly higher number of earthworms compared to other
treatments. Soil condition ranking revealed the suitability of the tillage managements for alleviating the
farming and the climate hazards.