Alluvial Soil Quality Indicators As Affected By Different Land-Uses.

Abd El-Azeim, M. M.; Abd El-Azeim, M. M.; Menesi, A. M.; Abd El-Mageed, M. M.

doi:10.21608/jssae.2021.171527

Alluvial Soil Quality Indicators As Affected By Different Land-Uses.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Soil Science Department, Fac. of Agric., Minia University, Egypt.

² Soil Science Department- Faculty of Agriculture- Minia University- Egypt.

³ Crops department- Faculty of Agriculture- Minia University- Egypt.

10.21608/jssae.2021.171527

Abstract

Soil deterioration and yield decline are the main factors affecting the environmental sustainability of long-term irrigated sugarcane monoculture. This research was conducted to detect changes of soil physical, chemical and physicochemical quality parameters associated with intensive irrigated sugarcane monoculture with groundwater for long term. Sugarcane monoculture resulted in a severe impact on some soil physical indicators of soil quality as increased the soil bulk density and reduced soil clay content, decreased soil aggregate stability and the water content at the field capacity causing decreases in soil porosity and decline in soil fertility. Significant impacts on some soil chemical indicators of soil quality were also recorded as reduced soil organic matter content and increased soil pH and EC producing soil salinity. Fields under long-term irrigated sugarcane monoculture had low OM values ranged from 2.09 to 2.61% while areas under crop rotation had the highest OM values ranged from 2.62 to 3.39%. Fields under sugarcane monoculture system had higher pH, EC and SAR values ranged from 7.96 to 8.41, from 2.98 to 4.22 dS m^-1 and from 7.75 to 11%, while fields under crop rotation system had the lowest pH, EC and SAR values ranged from 7.64 to 7.92, 1.41 to 2.42 dS m^-1 and from 4.51 to 5.86%, respectively. From these results, it could be concluded that long term sugarcane monoculture has significantly deteriorated soil physical and chemical properties indicating the urgent demand for more sustainable management practices to preserve soil quality.

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