Abstract
Soil compaction through intensive stocking with cattle has been found to cause a reduction in herbage production which could be ameliorated by soil aeration. Depression in yield was evident under wet soil conditions suggesting that problems were created by poor aeration. The objectives were to identify and quantify the reduction processes in waterlogged pasture soil and to establish the sensitivity of herbage species to some potentially toxic products. Topsoil passed through a 5 mm mesh sieve and intact soil cores with surface vegetation were incubated anaerobically with or without added mineral-N. Also perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens) were grown hydroponically to examine their sensitivity to high concentrations of Mn. Nitrate-N at the rate of 200 mg kg−1 acted as a redox buffer in soil until it was denitrified. It delayed an increase in exchangeable Mn for around one day and exchangeable Re for at least 3 days. Almost all the water extractable Mn was cationic but most of the Fe was non-cationic. Ethylene reached a maximum concentration of around 5 µL L−1 in 3 days and then decreased. Only very small concentrations of acetic acid were produced. Net mineralization of NH4-N occurred during anaerobic incubation at about one eighth of the rate of denitrification and the process was not affected by added NO3-N. Ryegrass was more tolerant than clover of high concentrations of Mn. Depletion of available nitrate through denitrification appeared to be the main reason for a decrease in growth of grass on waterlogged intact cores, but in field conditions where anaerobiosis is probably more severe there may be an additional effect of Mn toxicity to clover although ethylene is unlikely to cause physiological damage.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Afzal M and Adams W A 1992 Heterogeneity of soil mineral nitrogen in pasture grazed by cattle. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56, 1160–1166.
Andrew C S and Hegarty M P 1968 Comparative response to manganese excess of eight tropical and four temperate pasture legume species. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 20, 687–696.
Barber D A and Hayes J C 1977 Effect of straw on the growth of wheat seedlings in relation to the immobilization of nitrogen in the soil. Agric. Res. Council Letcombe Laboratory Annu. Rep. pp 61–63.
Brown J C and Jones W E 1977 Manganese and iron toxicities dependent on soyabean variety. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal 8, 1–15.
Buresh R J and Patrick W H Jr. 1978 Nitrate reduction to ammonium in anaerobic soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 42, 913–918.
Caskey W H and Tiedje J M 1979 Evidence for clostridia as agents of dissimilatory reduction of nitrate to ammonium in soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 43, 931–936.
Davies A, Adams W A and Wilman D 1989 Soil compaction in permanent pasture and its amelioration by slitting. J. Agric. Sci. Camb. 113, 189–197.
Delfino J J and Lee G F 1968 Chemistry of Mn in lake Mendota, Wisconsin. Environ. Sci. Tech. 2, 1094–1100.
Driscoll C T 1984 A procedure for the determination of aqueous aluminium in dilute acidic waters. Intern. J. Environ. Anal. Chem. 16, 267–283.
Eavis B W 1972 Soil physical conditions affecting root growth. 1. Mechanical impedance, aeration and moisture availability as influenced by bulk density and moisture levels in a sandy loam. Plant and Soil 36, 613–622.
Edwards D G and Asher C J 1982 Tolerance of crop and pasture species to manganese toxicity. Proc. of the Inter. Plant Nutrn. Colloq. Commonwealth Agric. Bureau. pp 145–150.
Foy D C, Scott B J and Fisher J A 1988 Genetics and breeding of plant tolerance of manganese toxicity.In Manganese In Soils and Plants. Eds. R D Graham, R J Hannam and N C Uren, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Gambrell R P and Patrick W H 1987 Chemical and microbiological properties of anaerobic soils and sediments.In Plant Life in Anaerobic Environment, Eds. D D Hook and R M M Crawford, pp 375–423. Ann. Arbor.
Goss M J, Carvalho G P R, Cosimini V and Fearnhead M L 1992 An approach to the identification of potentially toxic concentrations of manganese in soils. Soil Use Manage. 8, 40–44.
Hayes C R 1978 Factors affecting the release of iron, manganese and some nutrients from flooded soils & reservoir sediments. M.Sc Thesis, UCW, Aberystwyth.
Heenan D P and Campbell L C 1983 Manganese and iron interaction on their uptake and distribution in soyabean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). Plant and Soil 70, 317–326.
Hewitt E J 1966 Sand and Water Culture Method used in the Study of Plant Nutrition. Tech. Communication No. 22. London, Commonwealth Agric. Bureau.
Hunt P G, Campbell R B and Moreau R A 1980 Factors affecting ethylene accumulation in a Norfolk: sand loam soil. Soil Sci. 129, 22–27.
Jones R 1972 Comparative studies of plant growth and distribution in relation to waterlogging. V. The takeup of iron and manganese by dune and slack: plants. J. Ecol. 60, 131–140.
Kabata-Pendias A and Pendias H 1992 Manganese.In Trace Elements in Soils and Plants. Eds xxx pp 258–267. CRC, Press, Inc. Boca Raton, FL.
Keeney D R and Nelson DW 1982. Nitrogen.In Methods of Soil Analysis. Chemical and Microbiologicial Properties. Eds. A R Page, R H Miller and D R Keeney. Agron. Monogr 9 Part 2. Am. Soc. of Agron. Madison. pp 595–624.
Lindau C W, Patrick W K Jr, Delaune R D and Reddy K R 1990 Rate of accumulation and emmission of N2, N2O and CH4 from flooded paddy soil. Plant and Soil 129, 269–276.
Lindsay W L 1990 Inorganic of equilibria of micronutrients in soils.In Micronutrients in Agriculture, 2nd edition. Eds. J Mortvedt, P M Giordano and W L Lindsay. Chap. 4: Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Madison, WI.
Lynch J M and Gunn K B 1978 Use of a chemostate to study decomposition of wheat straw in soil slurries. J. Soil Sci. 29, 551–556.
Mandal L N and Mitra R R 1982 Transformation of iron and manganese in rice soils under different moisture regimes and organic matter application. Plant and Soil 69, 45–56.
National Academy of Science (NAS) 1973 Manganese. NAS, Washington, DC. p 191.
Ottenstein D M and Bartley D A 1971 Improved gas chromatography separation of free acids C2–C5 in dilute solution. Anal. Chem. 43, 952–955.
Patrick W H Jr 1981 The role of inorganic redox systems in controlling reduction in paddy soils.In Proceedings of Symposium on Paddy Soils. (Institute of Soil Sci. Academia Sinica, eds.) pp 107–117. Sci. Press, Beijing, China.
Patrick W H Jr 1982 Nitrogen Transformation in Submerged Soils.In Nitrogen in Agriculture Soil. Ed. F. J. Stevenson andnames Agron. 22, 449–465, Am. Soc. Agron. Madison, WI
Patrick W H Jr and Delaune R D 1977 Chemical and biological redox system affecting nutrient availability in the control wetlands. GeoSci. Man 18, 131–137.
Patrick W H Jr and Reddy C N 1978 Chemical changes in rice soils.In Soil and Rice. pp 361–379. IRRI, Los Banos Philippines.
Patrick W H Jr and Wyatt R 1964 Soil nitrogen loss as a result of alternate submergence and drying. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 28, 647–653.
Ponnamperuma F N 1972 The chemistry of submerged soils. Adv. Agron. 24, 29–96.
Ponnamperuma F N 1977 Physiochemical properties of submerged soils in relation to fertility. IRRI Res. Paper Ser. No. 5.
Ponnamperuma F N 1984 Effects of floooding on soils.In Flooding and Plant Growth. Ed. T T Kozlowski pp 9–45.
Ponnamperuma F M and Castro R V 1964 Redox system in submerged soils and the growth of rice.In Soil and Rice, IRRI, Los Banos Philipines.
Rao D N and Mikkelsen D S 1977 Effect of acetic, propionic and butyric acids on rice seedling growth and nutrition. Plant and Soil 47, 323–334.
Reddy K R, Patrick W H and Phillips R E 1980. Evolution of selected processes controlling nitrogen loss in flooded soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 1241–1246.
Sharma P K and DeDatta S K 1985 Puddling influence on soil, rice development and yield. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 49, 1451–1457.
Simpson K 1985 Soil. Longman London 238 p.
Smith F W 1979 Tolerance of seven tropical pasture grasses to excess manganese. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Analysis 10, 853–867.
Smith F W 1986 Interpretation of plant analysis: Concepts and principles.In Plant Analysis. An Interpretation Manual. Eds. D J Reuter and J B Robinson, pp. 1–12, Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Smith A M and Cook R J 1974 Implication of ethylene production by bacteria for biological balance of soil. Nature (London), 252, 703–705.
Smith K A and Robertson P D 1971 Effect of ethylene on root extension of cereals. Nature (London) 234, 148–149.
Tiedje J M, Sexstone A J, Parkin T B, Revsbech N P and Shelton D R 1984 Anaerobic Process in soil. Plant and Soil 76, 197–212.
Tusneem M E and Patrick W H Jr 1971 Nitrogen transformation in waterlogged soil. Bul. No. 657, Louisana State University, Dept. of Agron. and Agric. Exptl. Station, p. 75.
Voorhees W B, Farrell D A and Larson W E 1975 Soil strength and aeration effects on root elongation. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 39, 948–953.
Waring S R and Bremner J M 1964 Ammonium production in soil under waterlogged condition as a index of nitrogen availability. Nature (London) 201, 951–952.
Wijler J and Delwiche C C 1954 Investigations on the denitrification process in soil. Plant and Soil 5, 155–169.
Yulun Z 1987 Some aspect of nitrogen transformation in soils. M. Sc Thesis, UCE, Aberystwyth.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Adams, W.A., Akhtar, N. The possible consequences for herbage growth of waterlogging compacted pasture soils. Plant Soil 162, 1–17 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01416085
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01416085