Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterizing soil surface structure in a temperate tree-based intercropping system using X-ray computed tomography

  • Published:
Agroforestry Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objective of this work was to characterize differences in the soil surface (top 3.5 cm) microstructure, as influenced by four tree species, within a temperate tree based intercropping (TBI) system. Soils adjacent to walnut (Juglans nigra), poplar (Populus spp.), red oak (Quercus rubra), Norway spruce (Picea abies), as well as three types of ground cover [row crop, willow (Salix spp.), and perennial grass tree rows] were analyzed. X-ray computed micro –tomography (µCT) was employed to evaluate soil void phase characteristics, as well as heterogeneity of soil matrix radiodensity. X-ray µCT identified void phase parameters were not affected by tree species due to confounding effects caused by perennial vegetation and mixed leaf litter inputs.. A positive correlation was found between traditionally measured soil bulk density and bulk X-ray radiodensity (rs = 0.53, p < 0.01) and a negative correlation between mean intra-aggregate X-ray radiodensity and soil organic carbon (rs = −0.48, p = 0.03). It was determined, through the use of geostatistics, that there were no distinct or consistent anisotropic structures, in directional semivariograms, evident for the various species. However, the semivariograms revealed greater variability, correlated with less directional anisotropy within the tree row as compared to cropping alley soils. It was interpreted that processes within soils in the tree rows were leading to a homogenous type of structure, and that soils under row crops exhibited a greater tendency for destruction of surface structure, leading to more directional anisotropy (trends).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

TBI:

Tree-based intercropping

X-ray Μct:

X-ray computed micro-tomography

COV:

Coefficient of variation

References

  • Augusto L, Ranger J, Binkley D, Rothe A (2002) Impact of several common tree species of European temperate forests on soil fertility. Ann For Sci 59:233–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bainard LD, Koch AM, Gordon AM, Klironomos JN (2012) Temporal and compositional differences of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in conventional monocropping and tree-based Intercropping systems. Soil Biol Biochem 45:172–180

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beare MH, Parmelee RW, Hendrix PF, Cheng W, Coleman DC, Crossley DA Jr (1992) Microbial and faunal interactions and effects on litter nitrogen and decomposition in agroecosystems. Ecol Monogr 62(4):569–591

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D (1995) The influence of Tree Species on Forest Soils: Processes and Patterns. In: Agronomy Society of New Zealand Special Publication No. 10. Proceedings of the Trees and Soil Workshop, Lincoln University. 28 February-2 March 1994. Edited by Mead DJ, Conforth IS. Lincoln University Press, Canterbury. pp 1-33

  • Binkley D (1996) The influence of tree species on forest soils: Processes and patterns. In: Cannell MGR, Malcolm DC, Robertson PA (eds) The ecology of mixed-species stands of trees. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, pp 99–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronick CJ, Lal R (2005) Soil structure and management: a review. Geoderma 124:3–22

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bullock P, Fedoroff N, Jongerius A, Stoops G, Tursina T, Babe U (1985) Handbook for soil thin section description. Waine Research Publications, Wolverhampton

    Google Scholar 

  • Crestana S, Cesareo R, Mascarenhas S (1986) Using a computer assisted tomography miniscanner in soil science. Soil Sci 142(1):56–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Culman SW, DuPont ST, Glover JD, Buckley DH, Fick GW, Ferris H, Crews TE (2010) Long-term impacts of high-input annual cropping and unfertilized perennial grass production on soil properties and belowground food webs in Kansas, USA. Agric Ecosyst Env 137:13–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doube M, Klosowski MM, Arganda-Carreras I, Cordeliéres F, Dougherty RP, Jackson J, Schmid B, Hutchinson JR, Shefelbine SJ (2010) Bone-J: free and extensible bone image analysis in ImageJ. Bone 47:1076–1079

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott TR, Heck RJ (2007) A comparison of 2D vs 3D thresholding of X-ray CT imagery. Can J Soil Sci 87:405–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott AC, Hynan LS (2011) A SAS® macro implementation of a multiple comparison post hoc test for a Kruskal-Wallis analysis. Comput Meth Prog Bio 102(1):75–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari JB, Sugita S (1996) A spatially explicit model of leaf litter fall in hemlock-hardwood forests. Can J For Res 26:1905–1913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gee GW, Bauder JW (1986) Particle-size Analysis. In: Klute A (ed) Methods of soil analysis Part1-physical and mineralogical methods. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp 383–411

    Google Scholar 

  • GE Healthcare (2005) eXplore Locus User Guide, Technical Publication Direction 2394683 Revision 1a: 1–73

  • Heck RJ (2009) X-ray computed tomography of soil. Tópicos Ci. Solo 5:1–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Ketcham RA, Carlson WD (2001) Acquisition, optimization and interpretation of X-ray computed tomographic imagery: applications to the geosciences. Comput Geosci 27:381–400

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lelle MA, Gold MA (1994) Agroforestry systems for temperate climates: lessons from Roman Italy. For Conserv Hist 38(3):118–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nair PKR, Mohan Kumar B, Nair VD (2009) Agroforestry as a strategy for carbon sequestration. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 172:10–23

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nunan N, Ritz K, Rivers M, Feeney DS, Young IM (2006) Investigating microbial micro-habitat structure using X-ray computed tomography. Geoderma 133:398–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oades JM (1993) The role of biology in the formation, stabilization and degradation of soil structure. Geoderma 56:377–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paudel BR, Udawatta RP, Anderson SH (2011) Agroforestry and grass buffer effects on soil quality parameters for grazing pasture and row-crop systems. Appl Soil Ecol 48:125–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price GW, Gordon AM (1999) Spatial and temporal distribution of earthworms in a temperate intercropping system in southern Ontario, Canada. Agrofor Syst 44:141–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasband, WS (2007) ImageJ. 1997–2007. U.S.National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/ Accessed 01 April 2014

  • Rothe A, Binkley D (2001) Nutritional interactions in mixed species forests: a synthesis. Can J For Res 31:1855–1870

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute, Inc. (2013) SAS Language version 9.4. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary

  • Schlüter S, Weller U, Hans Jörg V (2010) Segmentation of X-ray microtomography images of soil using gradient masks. Comput Geosci 36:1246–1251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Šnajdr J, Dobiášová P, Urbanová M, Petránková M, Cajthaml T, Frouz J, Baldrian P (2013) Dominant trees affect microbial community composition and activity in post-mining afforested soils. Soil Biol Biochem 56:105–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soil Classification Working Group (SCWG) (1998) The Canadian System of Soil Classification, 3rd Edition. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Publ. 1646 (Revised). NRC Research Press, Ottawa, ON. pp 187

  • Stone EL (1975) Effects of species on nutrient cycles and soil change. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 271:149–162

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taina IA, Heck RJ, Elliot T (2008) Application of X-ray computed tomography to soil science: a literature review. Can J Soil Sci 88:1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taina IA, Heck RJ, Deen W, Ma ET (2013) Quantification of freeze-thaw related structure in cultivated topsoils using X-ray computer tomography. Can J Soil Sci 93:533–553

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thevathasan NV, Gordon AM, Voroney RP (1999) Juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4 napthoquinone) and soil nitrogen transformation interactions under a walnut plantation in Southern Ontario, Canada. Agrofor Syst 44:151–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thevathasan NV, Gordon AM, Simpson JA, Reynolds PE, Price GW, Zhang P (2004) Biophysical and ecological interactions in a temperate tree-based intercropping system. J Crop Improv 12(1–2):339–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Udawatta RP, Gantzer CJ, Anderson SH, Garret HE (2008) Agroforestry and grass buffer effects on pore characteristics measured by high resolution X-ray computed tomography. Soil Sci Soc Am J 72:295–299

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wotherspoon, A (2014) Quantification of carbon gains and losses for five tree species in a 25-year-old tree-based intercropping system in Southern Ontario, Canada. Dissertation, University of Guelph

  • Yang JJ, Mosby DE, Casteel SW, Blanchar RW (2001) Microscale pH variability for assessing efficacy of phosphoric acid treatment in lead-contaminated soil. Soil Sci 166(6):374–381

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Ms. Robyn Coleman, Ms. Barbara Rodrigues Junqueira, Ms. Larissa Maia, Ms. Mayra Flores Tavares, and Mr. Nathan Jenkins for the help that they provided during sampling and scanning of the soil samples. The authors thank Mr. Alexander Woodley for his valuable insights and suggestions. This work was partially supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Discovery Grant to RJH. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the funds that were provided to the first author by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) through the Highly Qualified Person Program. Further, this research is part of the University of Guelph Agroforestry Research Groups project, which is supported by funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through their Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Daniel A. Jefferies, Richard J. Heck, Naresh V. Thevathasan & Andrew M. Gordon

Authors
  1. Daniel A. Jefferies
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard J. Heck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Naresh V. Thevathasan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Andrew M. Gordon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel A. Jefferies.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jefferies, D.A., Heck, R.J., Thevathasan, N.V. et al. Characterizing soil surface structure in a temperate tree-based intercropping system using X-ray computed tomography. Agroforest Syst 88, 645–656 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9699-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9699-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation