Land use and soil development in southern Chile: Effects on physical properties

• H Fleige ^[2] ; S Beck-Broichsitter ^[2] ; J Dörner ^[1] ; M.-O Goebel ^[3] ; J Bachmann ^[3] ; R Horn ^[2]
  1. [1] Universidad Austral de Chile

     Universidad Austral de Chile

     Valdivia, Chile

     
  2. [2] Christian Albrechts University zu Kiel Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science
  3. [3] Leibniz University Hannover Institute of Soil Science

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• Localización: Journal of soil science and plant nutrition, ISSN-e 0718-9516, ISSN 0718-9508, Vol. 16, Nº. 3, 2016, págs. 818-831
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Different physical properties of volcanic ash soils were investigated along a transect of 120 km from the western slope of the Central Cordilleras (40°20'S, 72°06'W) to the eastern slope of the Costal Cordillera (39°39'S, 73°11'W) in southern Chile with respect to the degree of soil development (Arenosol versus Andosol stage; Arenosol: young volcanic ash soil, free of clay, tephric properties, Andosol: older volcanic soil, clayey). The Andosols show a higher total pore volume and a higher field capacity, especially due to an increase in fine pores, than the Arenosols. Furthermore, the precompression stress (Pc) as a parameter for the mechanical soil strength is higher for Andosols despite of a lower bulk density. A land use (cropland, meadow, forest) dependent variation of the investigated parameters was less distinct for Andosols. A reduction of macropores and saturated hydraulic conductivity (ks) due to agriculture could be determined in the field, but in general the values are still on a high level with ks-values >100 cm d-1. However, at higher stresses using an oedometer test the ks-values of the Andosols are highly negatively affected with values <10 cm d-1. Aggregation is of major importance for soil stability of Andosols, whereas a homogenization of soil structure will lead to a distinct decrease of Pc of approx. 50%.