Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

12-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Agricultural, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences

First Advisor

Dr. Alexis Racelis

Second Advisor

Dr. James Jihoon Kang

Third Advisor

Dr. Engil Pereira

Abstract

Dynamic Soil Properties (DSPs) are soil properties that change in response to both natural and human-caused interruptions and pressures such as agro-based and wildland management. These soil properties can transform for months or even years in response to the farm use and management procedures. This research project investigates the relationship between different dynamic soil physical properties and tillage practices in the Texas Hidalgo sandy clay loam benchmark soil series. Data analyses was done to compare the effect of tillage to these soil physical properties and build a discussion about relationships between on-farm practices to other aspects of farm viability. We hypothesized that infiltration rates, bulk density, and aggregate stability will be the highest in the ecological reference sites; while conventional tilled sites have the lowest, intermittent and strip tilled fields will have similar readings as conventional fields, soil physical properties in Hidalgo sandy clay loam are all intercorrelated.

Finally, other factors affecting soil dynamic properties such as intrinsic characteristics of the soil; the deeper the sample after the 10cm bandwidth, the less the variation on dynamic soil properties results. Overall, results show the soil's physical properties were not significantly impacted by management practices and not substantially impacted by depth.

Comments

Copyright 2022 Temiloluwa Faith Awotoye. All Rights Reserved.

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