Long-term tillage and cover crop experiment

This experiment has been added by the GLTEN Curators using existing published sources.
Objective
To evaluate the capacity of no-till cropping systems comprising different combinations of winter and summer cover crops with maize to improve the quality of a previously degraded soil.
Data Access Statement
Don't know
Data license
Don't know
Data policy
Don't know
Organizations
Agronomic Station of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
experimental research station
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
research organisation
People

Site: Experiment site

Type
research station field
Location
Eldorado do Sul
State of Rio Grande do Sul
Brazil
Geographic location
-30.092135, -51.671726
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Visits permitted?
No
History
The experiment site was converted from natural grassland to cropland in 1969 and then cultivated for 15 years under conventional tillage with plowing and disking operations for each of the two crops per year.
Soil type
acrisol
Soil properties
VariableDepthValue (range)UnitsRef yearEstimated?Baseline?
sand content0 – 20 Centimetres54 Percent1985
silt content0 – 20 Centimetres24 Percent1985
clay content0 – 20 Centimetres22 Percent1985
soil total carbon0 – 10 Centimetres14.47 g C kg-1
Climatic type
humid subtropical climate
Climate properties
VariableTime periodValue (range)Units
precipitation1440 millimeter
air temperature19.4 degree Celsius

Design period: (1983—)

Design Type
Split-plot
Design description
Main plots measure 5x16m and sub plots 5x8m. Design is Split-plot randomized complete block.
Number of plots
30
Number of subplots
60
Number of replicates
3
Number of harvests per year
2
Crops
CropYears grown
maize
cover crop
fallow
bare fallow
Crop Rotations
System 1
  • 1
    maize
    summer
  • 2
    cover crop
    winter, Subterraneum clover+Spergula
System 2
  • 1
    maize
    summer
    cover crop
    winter, oats
System 3
  • 1
    maize
    summer, with Vigna
  • 2
    cover crop
    winter, Oat+Vicia
System 4
  • 1
    maize
    summer, with Dolichos
    fallow
    winter
System 5
  • 1
    maize
    summer
    cover crop
    winter, Oat+subterraneum clover
System 6
  • 1
    maize
    summer
    maize
    winter, previously Macroptilium during 8 years
System 7
  • 1
    maize
    summer
    cover crop
    winter, Cajanus
System 8
  • 1
    maize
    summer
    fallow
    winter
System 9
  • 1
    maize
    summer
  • 2
    maize
    winter, previously Digitaria during 8 years
System 10
  • 1
    maize
    summer
    bare fallow
    winter
Factors
Factor name
Factor levels
green manure exposure
Main plot treatment, uses the above defined rotations.
nitrogen fertilizer exposure
Sub-plot treatment
control exposure  (0 )
with N  (180 kgN/ha)
Applied to crop: maize
Application frequency: annually
Chemical form: urea
Measurement
VariableMaterialUnitsFrequencyScaleComment
soil propertiesSoil

Related publications

  • Burle, M., Mielniczuk, J. & Focchi, S. Effect of cropping systems on soil chemical characteristics, with emphasis on soil acidification* . Plant and Soil 190, 309–316 (1997).
  • Lucas Antonio Telles Rodrigues, Sandro J. Giacomini, Jeferson Dieckow, Maurício R. Cherubin, Anaí Sangiovo Ottonelli, Cimélio Bayer, 2022. Carbon saturation deficit and litter quality drive the stabilization of litter-derived C in mineral-associated organic matter in long-term no-till soil, CATENA, Volume 219