Abstract
Soil compaction is a widespread cause of reduced plant productivity. If the effects of soil compaction on plant growth are to be reproduced in simulation models, then the processes through which compaction reduces root elongation must be expressed mathematically and then tested against experimental data. The mathematical theory by which these processes may be represented is given in the accompanying article. In this article, the behavior of a simulation model based on this theory is tested against data for root growth and soil gas concentration recorded from soil columns of which the middle layers were compacted to different bulk densities. The model was able to reproduce the failure of the root system to penetrate the compacted middle layer within the period of the experiment when bulk density exceeded 1.55 Mg m-3. The model also reproduced decreases in O2 concentrations, and increases in CO2 concentrations, in the atmospheres of the compacted layer and of the uncompacted layer below it as bulk density of the compacted layer increased. The simulated time course of O2 and nutrient uptake and of O2 concentrations in the compacted layer at different depths is presented and its consistency with experimental findings is examined. As part of a larger ecosystem model, this model will be useful in estimating site-specific effects of soil compaction on carbon cycling in agroecosystems.
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Grant, R.F. Simulation model of soil compaction and root growth. Plant Soil 150, 15–24 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00779171
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00779171