Hydraulic conductivity variation in chilean volcanic soils due to wheeling and management

• J Cuevas ^[1] ; R Horn ^[3] ; O Seguel ^[2] ; J Dorner ^[4]
  1. [1] Universidad de Concepción

     Universidad de Concepción

     Comuna de Concepción, Chile

     
  2. [2] Universidad de Chile

     Universidad de Chile

     Santiago, Chile

     
  3. [3] Christian Albrechts University Institute for Plant Nutrition and Soil Science
  4. [4] Universidad Austral Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias Instituto de Ingeniería Agraria

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• Localización: Journal of soil science and plant nutrition, ISSN-e 0718-9516, ISSN 0718-9508, Vol. 13, Nº. 3, 2013, págs. 756-766
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • To describe the effect of wheeling on saturated hydraulic conductivity (ks), undisturbed soil samples from an Andisol were collected at three depths In Chilean soil classification system Andisols are defined as Malihue at the 2 sites minor and mayor mechanical stresses were applied repeatedly and the hydraulic properties determined for all depths. The saturated hydraulic conductivity Ks was reduced due to wheeling but the magnitude depended on the speed and load during wheeling. In addition, also the pore size distribution was reduced both in total but also in size classes. Smaller values of Ks were observed in Site 2 where low speed and low tire inflation pressure were applied, while the traffic induces a reduction of the pore associated to a reduced functionality of the porous system. To assess these qualitative changes and soil behaviour, measurements like hydraulic conductivity (ks) are a good tool to describe the physical quality of a soil.