Effect of management practice on properties of a Victorian red-brown earth .1. Soil physical-properties

Abstract

The effects of five management practices (native forest, native pasture, Phalaris pasture, crop-pasture rotation, continuous cropping), that had been in place for 18 years, on some soil physical properties of a red-brown earth near Bendigo, Victoria, were studied. Particle size distribution, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity of soil in the A and B horizons at different, management sites were measured. Where cultivation had occurred, soil in the A horizon contained less silt and clay, and more fine sand and coarse sand. The bulk density of the A horizon of soil that had produced at least six wheat crops since 1969 was greater than that of soil used for pasture or forest, while the hydraulic conductivity of soil cropped every year since 1969 was much less than that of soil under native forest. Particle size distributions for soil from the B horizons at the five management sites were found to be similar. Where pastures and crops had been established, the hydraulic conductivity of the upper B horizon was lower, and the bulk density was higher, than that of soil in the native forest (Eucalyptus spp).