Soil & Tillage Research 178 (2018) 55–64

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Soil & Tillage Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/still

Effect of pasture improvement managements on physical properties and T

water content dynamics of a volcanic ash soil in southern Chile
Iván Ordóñeza,b,c, Ignacio F. Lópezb, Peter D. Kempb, Constanza A. Descalzic,d, Rainer Horne,
⁎
Felipe Zúñigac,d, Dorota Decc,f, José Dörnerc,f,
a
Magister en Ciencias Mención Producción Animal, Escuela de Graduados, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
b
Institute of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
c
Centro de Investigación en Suelos Volcánicos, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
d
Doctorado en Ciencias Agrarias, Escuela de Graduados, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
e
Institute for Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Christian Albrechts University zu Kiel, Hermann Rodewaldstr. 2, 24118, Kiel, Germany
f
Instituto de Ingeniería Agraria y Suelos, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The pastures in Chile are sustained on volcanic ash soils covering an area of 1,340,000 ha. Since 44% of these
Andisol pastures are degraded, different strategies to improve these prairies have been implemented. This study ex-
Pasture management amined the impact of the different pasture improvement managements (PIMs) on soil physical properties, water
Soil physical quality content dynamics and pasture productivity of a volcanic ash soil under sheep grazing. The experiment was
Degraded grasslands
established on a Duric Hapludand and considered four types of PIMs (fertilised-naturalised pasture, cultivated
pasture, direct-drilled pasture, diverse-direct drilled pasture) including the initial situation (non-fertilised nat-
uralised pasture). The effect of PIMs and grazing events on bulk density (BD), plant available water (PAW), air
permeability (ka), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and pre-compression stress (Pc) in the topsoil (0–10 cm)
was determined taking undisturbed soil samples, whereas the penetration resistance (PR), field air permeability
(kl field) and herbage mass production were measured in the field. The volumetric water content, matrix po-
tential and soil temperature were continuously registered at different depths. The fertilisation of degraded
naturalised pastures, without soil structure disturbance, improved the pasture yield (140%), reaching values
comparable to those improved with conventional systems. In the short term, the volume of macropores does not
change significantly as a function PIMs. However, tilled soils presented less connected pores compared to the
non-cultivated PIMs. The conservation of soil structure plays an important role in water accessibility by plants,
so that fertilised-naturalised pastures were able to absorb water to depths of up to 60 cm. Compared to the
improved pastures, the degraded non-fertilised pasture presented the lowest above ground herbage biomass as
well as negative effects on soil physical properties (e.g. Pc increased by 57% and lower physical resilience) after
grazing events.

1. Introduction ha−1) and with a low nutritive value (Siebald et al., 2000). The pasture
improvement managements (PIMs) mostly used directly on the increase
Sheep, beef and dairy cattle farming in southern Chile are based on of the low dry matter production of these degraded pastures in southern
grazing systems located mainly in the zone of volcanic ash soils Chile are: i) the improvement of the chemical soil condition and grazing
(Balocchi, 2002). These pastures in Chile cover an area of 1,340,000 ha. management; ii) sowing high production species through zero-tillage
However, 44% (594,000 ha) of these pastures are degraded or present techniques plus an improvement of soil chemical conditions, and iii)
low levels of productivity (INE, 2007), consequently different strategies new pasture establishment by traditional soil tillage, sowing high pro-
to improve these prairies have been implemented (Zúñiga et al., 2015). duction species plus an improvement of soil chemical conditions
The latter is a relevant topic in southern Chile, since naturalised pas- (Cuevas, 1980; Balocchi and López, 1994; Chauveau et al., 2015;
tures produce low annual accumulated herbage (less than 5000 kg DM Zúñiga et al., 2015).

⁎
Corresponding author at: Instituto de Ingeniería Agraria y Suelos, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Centro de Investigación en Suelos Volcánicos, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia,
Chile.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Dörner).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.11.013
Received 26 May 2017; Received in revised form 6 November 2017; Accepted 20 November 2017
Available online 29 December 2017
0167-1987/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
I. Ordóñez et al. Soil & Tillage Research 178 (2018) 55–64

It is well known that different tillage intensities generate different

changes in soil physical quality (Strudley et al., 2008; Dörner et al.,
2013a, 2013b; Ivelic-Sáez et al., 2015; Zúñiga et al., 2015). The more
intensive the intervention of the soil structure, the more drastic the
changes in pore functions will be, in comparison with the original status
of the soil (Schwen et al., 2011a). Traditional tillage implies a de-
struction of soil aggregates, and then, soil structure formation processes
will occur depending on wetting/drying cycles, cementation of the
particles of the soil, and the stabilisation of the structure by the bio-
logical factors made by soil macro, meso and microfauna (Hartge, 2000;
Bronick and Lal, 2005). This kind of tillage negatively affects the con-
tinuity of the functional pores of the soil (Dörner and Dec, 2007; Dörner
et al., 2013b; Zúñiga et al., 2015) and generates a change in the relation
between macro, meso and micropores by increasing total porosity but
destroying the pore continuity at the same time (Reszkowska et al., Fig. 1. Temperatures and rainfalls between December of 2012 and January of 2016.
2011a; Zúñiga et al., 2015). On the other hand, less intensive tillage
systems, like zero-tillage, maintain the soil structure, the architecture 5.6, organic matter levels of 13.1% as well as 8.6 mg/kg of Polsen and
and the pore size distribution (Zúñiga et al., 2015) allowing preferential aluminium saturation of 8.6%. Detailed information about the physical
fluxes of water as well as a minor resistance to root growth and ex- and chemical properties of the soil series under different land uses and
ploration of deeper soil depths (Xua and Mermoud, 2003; Uteau et al., soil management intensities can be found in Dörner et al. (2013a,
2013). 2013b, 2015); Zúñiga et al., (2015).
There is wide scientific knowledge related to the impact of tradi- The experiment considered five types of pastures, including the
tional, zero and reduced tillage on mineral soils (Reynolds et al., 1995; initial situation, defined as ‘non-fertilised naturalised pasture (NFNP)’.
Angulo-Jaramillo et al., 2000; Neves et al., 2003; Xua and Mermoud, This pasture was spontaneously growing in the utilised site and was not
2003; Zibilske and Bradford, 2007; Strudley et al., 2008; Abid and Lal, sown neither fertilised nor limed. The other four pastures corresponded
2009; Schwen et al., 2011a, 2011b), however, this does not hold true to pasture improvement managements (PIMs, Table 1) that farmers can
for soils derived from volcanic ashes (Dörner et al., 2012; Ivelic-Sáez use in southern Chile: 1) fertilised naturalised pasture (FNP) without
et al., 2015; Zúñiga et al., 2015), which normally have very low bulk tillage treatment: the initial naturalised pasture was improved through
densities (< 0.9 Mg m−3) and excellent physical properties (WRB, fertiliser addition and liming to upgrade soil pH conditions. Fertiliser
2006). Dörner et al. (2013a) pointed out that the impact of tillage and and lime were applied over the current pasture (improvement of the
of different botanical composition at these andic soils result in very initial situation, NFNP) without tillage; 2) cultivated pasture (CP): the
different soil physical properties which also affect their relationships to initial pasture was eliminated through two consecutive applications of
soil water content dynamics. Considering that the physical properties of glyphosate (3 weeks apart), after which the soil was ploughed, har-
volcanic ash soils are specific and that animals graze pastures rowed and a L. perenne and T. repens pasture was sown; 3) direct drill
throughout the whole year in southern Chile (Dec et al., 2012), it is pasture (DP), zero-tillage treatment: the initial naturalised pasture re-
necessary to understand how the soil responds after the implementation ceived two consecutive glyphosate applications, as it was performed for
of different pasture improvement managements (PIMs) under grazing CP, afterwards a L. perenne and T. repens pasture was direct drilled; 4)
conditions. The latter is relevant in order to: i) evaluate the interaction diverse direct drill pasture (DDP), zero-tillage treatment: the initial
between the different managements (e.g. different kind of tillage and naturalised pasture was eliminated by herbicide application, as it was
pastures) on soil-plant-water relationships, and, ii) determine how done for CP, subsequently a B. valdivianus, L. perenne, D. glomerata, H.
these different managements systems may affect the physical properties lanatus and T. repens pasture was direct drilled. All the pasture treat-
of the soil in the medium- and long-term. Therefore, the aim of this ments, except by NFNP, were annually limed and fertilised as follows:
research was to analyse the impact of the implementation of different 180 kg nitrogen ha−1 year−1 (Nitromag 21%N); 52.3 kg phosphorus
pasture improvement managements (PIMs) on soil physical properties, ha−1 year−1 (triple superphosphate, 20% P), 99.6 kg potassium
water content dynamics and pasture productivity of a volcanic ash soil ha−1 year−1 (potassium chloride, 60% K+) and 800 kg calcium
under grazing. ha−1 year−1 (lime). The establishment of the PIMs were conducted in
April 2013, when the soil water content was close to field capacity (soil
2. Material and methods water content ≤ 40%). The botanical composition was performed ac-
cording to Grant (1981) and measured before the PIMs were im-
2.1. Geographic and treatment descriptions plemented (March 2013) as well as during spring of 2014 as indicated
in Table 1 (more information about this parameter can be found in
The experimental field was located at the Universidad Austral de Descalzi, 2017). The pastures were sown on April 17th 2013 and then
Chile’s Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Austral (EEAA) (39°46′ S, were grazed by 25 sheep per plot (equivalent to 625 sheep ha−1). The
73°13′ W, 12 m a.s.l.) in Valdivia, Chile. The average annual tempera- grazing criteria were sheep introduced at 2100–2300 kg DM ha−1 and
ture is 12 °C and yearly precipitation is between 1901 and 2005 mm, removed at 1000–1200 kg DM ha−1 (Parga et al., 2007; Flores et al.,
with a 2440 mm mean (González-Reyes and Muñoz, 2013), but with a 2017).
major concentration of the rainfall in winter (Huber, 1970), as well as, a
well-defined reduction in the rainfall in recent years (González-Reyes
and Muñoz, 2013). Rainfall and average daily air temperature during 2.2. Soil physical parameters, water content dynamics and dry matter
the experiment (March 2013 till December 2015) were collected at the production: soil sampling and field measurements
INIA station, located 40 km north from the study site (Fig. 1).
The soil is derived from volcanic ashes, classified as a Duric In order to determine the effect of the different pasture improve-
Hapludand (Valdivia Series according to CIREN, 2003) with a profile ment managements (PIMs) on soil hydraulic properties, undisturbed
that can reach 3 m depth. The topography is complex, with dominant soil samples were collected in the topsoil (2–8 cm depth) in September
slopes of 3 to 8%, and sectors that are slightly curved from 2 to 5%. At 2013 by using metallic cylinders (230 cm−3, with h = 5.60 cm and
the study site the slope was less than 2%. The soil presented pHwater of Ø = 7.15 cm). Additionally, samples were also collected before and

56
 I. Ordóñez et al.

Table 1
Pasture improvement managements (PIM’s) of a degraded pasture and botanical composition in an Andisol in southern Chile.

Treatments Acronym Tillage Sown species Sowing rate Initial botanical composition Botanical composition (spring 2014)

Before the PIMs L. perenne (12.1%); H. lanatus (26.2%);

Other grasses (50.9%) and broad leaf
(10.3%)
Non-fertilised naturalised NFNP Without None None L. perenne (1,28%); H. lanatus (8.2%); T. repens (6.2%); B.
pasture tillage valdivianus (0.05%); other grasses (49.1%) and broad leaf
(35.2%)
Fertilised naturalised FNP Without None None L. perenne (24.2%); H. lanatus (13.5%); T. repens (15.5%);
pasture tillage other grasses (32.3%) and broad leaf (14.5%)
L. perenne:
25 kg ha−1
T. repens: 4 kg ha−1

57
Direct-drilled pasture DP Zero-tillage Lolium perenne L. cv. Rohan and Trifolium repens L. cv. L. perenne (68%); H. lanatus (1.5%); T. repens (7.2%); B.
Weka. valdivinaus (0.8%); other grasses (20.4%) and broad leaf
(2.0%)
L. perenne:
25 kg ha−1
T. repens: 4 kg ha−1
Diverse direct-drilled DDP Zero-tillage Lolium perenne L. cv. Rohan; Trifolium repens L. cv. L. perenne: L. perenne (28.1%); H. lanatus (7.9%); T. repens (6.8%); B.
pasture Weka; Bromus valdivianus Phil.; Dactylis glomerata L. cv. 25 kg ha−1 valdivinaus (26.1%); D. glomerata (8.9%); other grasses
Safin and Holcus lanatus (13.2%) and broad leaf (9.1%)
T. repens: 4 kg ha−1
B. valdivianus:
16 kg ha−1
H. lanatus:
1 kg ha−1
D. glomerata:
3 kg ha−1
Soil & Tillage Research 178 (2018) 55–64
I. Ordóñez et al. Soil & Tillage Research 178 (2018) 55–64

after the first grazing, to evaluate the effect of tillage and grazing, re- used to evaluate the impact of PIMs on soil mechanical and hydraulic
spectively. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks, n = 21 per treat- properties, as also conducted by Dörner et al. (2013b) and Zúñiga et al.
ment) and water retention curves (WRC, n = 12 per treatment) were (2015) for the same soil series. While capacity parameters define a
determined. To measure the pre-compression stress (Pc; n = 9 per general status of the soil (e.g. bulk density, pre-compression stress),
treatment), soil samples were taken in October 2014, with a cylinder of intensity parameters quantify the functionality (e.g. air conductivity) of
120 cm3 (h = 3.00 cm, Ø = 7.15 cm). To determine the grazing effect, the pore system (Horn and Kutilek, 2009). To evaluate the soil capacity
the sampling was undertaken before and after grazing. parameters, the bulk density (BD), pre-compression stress (Pc), air ca-
To evaluate the pore system under the different PIMs and grazing pacity (AC) and plant available water (PAW) were calculated as in
events, the following field analyses were performed: i) field air con- Dörner et al. (2015). On the other hand, for the evaluation of soil in-
ductivity (kl field; Air Permeability PL-300, UGT GmbH, Germany), ii) tensity parameters, air permeability (ka), saturated hydraulic con-
penetration resistance (PR; Hand Penetrometer, Eijkelkamp Agrisearch ductivity (Ks) and pore continuity indexes (C2) were used. The air
Equipment, Giesbeek, The Netherlands) and iii) soil water content permeability was registered during the determination of the WRC at a
(SWC; HH2 Moisture Meter readout unit with WET-2 sensor, Delta-T matric potential of −6 kPa according to Dörner and Horn (2006). The
devices, England). These measurements were conducted before and C2 pore continuity index was calculated from the relationship between
after every grazing between August 2013 – December 2014, with the air permeability and volume of air-filled porosity at a matric potential
exception of kl field, which was performed in all the treatments, before of −6 kPa (Groenevelt et al., 1984).
and after the first grazing. For both, PR and SWC there were 30 re-
petitions per treatment, which were registered, whereas 9 repetitions 2.4. Statistical analyses
per treatment were carried out for the kl field.
To evaluate the water content dynamics, data loggers and sensors The experiment was a complete randomised block design (5 treat-
(Decagon devices, USA) were installed in the field. For the temporal ments x 3 blocks). The normality of the data was evaluated using the
changes in the matric potential and volumetric water content MPS-2 Shapiro-Wilk test (p ≤ 0.05) and the homogeneity of variance by
(two repetitions per depth) and 5TM (two repetitions per depth) were Levene test (p ≤ 0.05). If the data were not normally distributed, data
installed at 10, 20 and 60 cm soil depth. All sensors were connected to a were transformed with the natural logarithm or non-parametric statis-
data logger (EM50, Decagon Devices, USA) in which the data were tics were used (box diagrams, mean, median, percentiles, and standard
collected at 30 min intervals. The 5TM sensors were calibrated using deviation). The Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p ≤ 0.05) was used to compare
undisturbed soils samples collected from the same field and soil depths. the means of the treatments (for not normal distribution). The data with
The calibration was conducted according to Dörner et al. (2010). normal distribution were analysed by analysis of variance (ANOVA),
The determination of accumulated herbage mass production was and the difference between treatments was tested with the Fisher’s least
performed with the Rising Plate Meter (n = 300 per treatment) before significance difference test (LSD) (p ≤ 0.05).
and after every grazing until March 2015. The plate was calibrated
according to the available pasture herbage mass following the metho- 3. Results
dology of Earle and Mc Gowann (1979). Each measurement was per-
formed before and after every grazing. 3.1. Effects of the pasture improvement managements (PIMs) and grazing
on soil penetration resistance, soil capacity and intensity parameters
2.3. Laboratory analysis
Penetration resistance (PR) increased with decreasing SWC
To determine the water retention curve (WRC), the samples (n = 12 (y = −36.89× + 2963; R2 = 0.87; P < 0.001) and no statistical dif-
for each treatment, before and after grazing) were saturated from be- ferences between treatments were observed (P > 0.05; Fig. 2). PR va-
neath for 48 h and then equilibrated at matric potential values of −1, lues ranged between 1.2–1.3 MPa (at an average SWC of 41.4%) and
−2, −3, −6 (in sand tables), −15, −33, −50 kPa (in pressure 2.9–3.0 MPa (by volumetric water contents ≤ 10%). When the soil
chambers). The volume of fine pores was defined from the data pro- reached field capacity (SWC 40% in Fig. 2), PR ranged between 1.343
vided by Zúñiga et al. (2015) for the same soil. To determine saturated and 1.520 MPa.
hydraulic conductivity (Ks), the undisturbed soil samples (n = 21 for Treatments without tillage (NFNP and FNP) and direct-drilled (or
each treatment, before and after grazing) were saturated from beneath zero-tillage DP and DDP) treatments exhibited a similar behaviour with
for 48 h. Thereafter, the samples were introduced into the water per- no statistical differences for all parameters (Fig. 3). Regarding capacity
meameter (Eijkelkamp, model 09.02.01.25, The Netherlands) and sa- parameters, the traditional tillage treatment (CP) presented the lower
turated again for 24 h. The Ks measurements were conducted 1, 3, 6,
12, 24 and 48 h after beginning the constant water flow through the soil
samples. The saturated hydraulic conductivity was calculated using
Darcy’s law (Klute and Dirksen, 1986). Finally, the samples were dried
at 105 °C for 24 h (Hartge and Horn, 2009).
To determine the consolidation curve, the samples (n = 9, before
and after the grazing) were saturated from beneath for 48 h, and
thereafter equilibrated at a matric potential value of −6 kPa (at sand
tables). Using an odometer with free drainage (T-controls T303) the
samples were mechanically stressed with a static loading of 1; 6.25;
12.5; 25; 50; 100 and 200 kPa for 6 min as conducted by Zúñiga et al.
(2015) in the same soil. The unloading of the mechanical stress was
realised in the following order 200; 50; 6.25 and 1 kPa. During the
stress application, the vertical deformation of the soil was measured
(0.001 mm of precision). The pre-compression stress (Pc) was calcu-
lated from the stress strain curve using the mathematical model pro-
posed by Baumgartl and Köck (2004), which is based on the graphical
method of Casagrande (1936). Fig. 2. Penetration resistance (kPa) as a function of soil water content (Vol.%) for the
different pasture improvements strategies (PIMs).
The capacity and intensity concept (Horn and Kutilek, 2009) was

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I. Ordóñez et al. Soil & Tillage Research 178 (2018) 55–64

Fig. 3. Tillage effect over both, capacity and in-

tensity soil parameters. Bulk density (BD; n = 12),
air capacity (AC; n = 12), air permeability (ka;
n = 12) and field air conductivity (kl field; n = 9),
before the first grazing, for the different pasture
improvements strategies (PIMs). Bars indicate ± 1
error standard. Uppercase letters indicate statistical
differences between treatments.

BD (p ≤ 0.01) and AC (p ≤ 0.001) compared with the zero-tillage 3.2. Water content dynamics and pasture productivity after the
treatments (Fig. 3A and B). According to results of intensity parameters, implementation of the pasture improvement managements (PIMs)
the air permeability of the traditional tillage treatment (CP) measured
in the lab (ka; p ≤ 0.001) as well as in the field (kl field; p ≤ 0.001) Rainfalls between April-August 2013 (autumn and winter) were
presented the lowest values compared to the other PIMs. 1160 mm ( ± 138.2 mm differences between years), whereas
Regarding the grazing effect (Fig. 4), NFNP showed an increase of September-December 2013 (spring) reached 350 mm ( ± 15.6 mm dif-
Pc (p ≤ 0.01) and a decrease in C2 index (p ≤ 0.001) as a consequence ferences between years). Rainfalls between January-March 2014
of animal trampling. Under NFNP and FNP treatments was there a (summer) were 251 mm, while in the same period during 2015, only
decrease of PAW (p ≤ 0.05) after the grazing event. No other treatment 19 mm were collected (Fig. 1).
exhibited statistical differences in the studied parameters due to grazing The pasture growth distribution was quite similar between treat-
(p ≥ 0.05). Regarding CP, there was an increase of PAW (p ≤ 0.05), ments with some seasonal differences also observed for the water
and decrease in Ks (p ≤ 0.001) and C2 index (p ≤ 0.001). content dynamics (Figs. 5 and 6). The cultivated pasture (CP) presented
a greater growth in winter compared to the other treatments, reaching

Fig. 4. Grazing Effect over both, capacity and in-

tensity soil parameters. Plant available water (PAW;
n = 12), Bearing capacity (Pc; n = 4), saturated hy-
draulic conductivity (Ks; n = 10) and C2 index
(n = 12). Black columns indicate data before grazing
and grey columns indicate data after grazing for the
different pasture improvement strategies (PIMs).
Bars indicate ± 1 error standard. Uppercase letters
indicate statistical differences between treatments
and lowercase letters indicate statistical differences
because of the grazing.

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I. Ordóñez et al. Soil & Tillage Research 178 (2018) 55–64

Fig. 5. Effect of the pasture improvement strategies (PIMs) over herbage dry weight (HDW) and soil water content (SWC) at different depths. NFNP (A); FNP (B); CP (C); DP (D) and DDP
(E).

the maximum growth in this season (2015) of 2450 kg DM ha−1 (ap- of SWC (indicating higher water uptake) reaching 16.3% ( ± 1.18%
proximately 30 kg DM ha−1 day ± 2.3 kg). In spring, all pastures difference between summers). At 20 cm depth, a change in this trend
presented similar growth; however, in late spring (November − De- was observed: FNP was the treatment with the lowest average of SWC
cember) the higher growth was for FNP with herbage production of between the summers of 2014–2016 with an average of 22.7%
4400 (approximately 105 kg DM ha−1 day−1) and 3300 kg DM ha−1 ( ± 1.26% difference between summers) and at 60 cm depth with a
(approximately 64.5 kg DM ha−1 day−1) in spring of 2014 and 2015, 24.3% ( ± 1.48% difference between summers). On the other hand, the
respectively. Greater differences were detected between summer per- average of SWC at 10 and 60 cm depths, during all the seasons were
iods of 2014 and 2015 (Fig. 5). There was a significant reduction in the higher for the DDP treatment. If taken into account, the average of SWC
production of herbage mass growth per day between the summer of of the driest summer (2015) at 10 cm was 14.7% and at 60 cm depth
2014 and 2015, with the exception of FNP, which had a production of was 26.1%. Conversely, the maximum average of SWC at 20 cm was for
23.2 kg DM ha−1 ( ± 3.2 kg) in summer 2014 and 20.1 kg DM CP treatment with 26.2% indicating the lowest water uptake.
ha−1 day ( ± 2.7 kg) in summer 2015. On the other hand, the treat- Due to the effect of the dry season in 2015, the depth dependent
ment that was most affected, between all the treatments under PIMs, changes in SWC, matric potential and soil temperature for the day be-
was CP with a herbage mass growth per day of 12.4 kg DM ha−1 day fore the first rain in autumn (40.2 mm on 01/04/2015) are presented in
( ± 4.4 kg) summer 2014 and 2.5 kg DM ha−1 day ( ± 0.2) in summer Fig. 7. The matric potential values at 10, 20 and 60 cm soil depth were
of 2015. The accumulated herbage at summer 2015 for FNP was over the permanent wilting point, with the exception of: CP at 20 cm
2306 kg DM ha−1, CP was 714 kg DM ha−1, DP was 1088 kg DM ha−1, depth (-12,500 hPa); NFNP and CP at 60 cm (-13,600 and −13,800
DDP was 1119 kg DM ha−1 (Fig. 6). hPa, respectively). The CP presented the lowest matric potential at
The soil volumetric water contents were near saturation (< 6 hPa) 10 cm (-40,500 hPa) compared to the other treatments. While the ma-
between April − October for 10 cm depth, April–November for 20 cm tric potential increased towards the 20 cm depth for DP and CP, the
and between May − November for 60 cm depth (data not shown). In opposite was observed for the other treatments. At 20 cm depth, the
general, the CP treatment at 10 cm depth, presented the lowest average pastures with the lowest matric potential were the more diverse ones,

Fig. 6. Seasonal changes and herbage dry weight (HDW, accumulated

value for each season and pasture) by the different PIMs as affected by
soil water content (SWC, mean values for each season) and the ac-
cumulated rainfall per season. Seasons are abbreviated as follows:
S = summer; A = autumn; W = winter; Sp = spring.

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I. Ordóñez et al. Soil & Tillage Research 178 (2018) 55–64

effect of tillage as well as of grazing events on the mechanical stability

measured in the field (PR) were assessed (Fig. 2). It is well known that
PR increases with decreasing SWC (Franzluebbers and Stuedemann,
2008; Dec et al., 2011), which is in agreement with our results. Fur-
thermore, when regarding the physical means of PR values, it can be
assessed that at field capacity (40% of SWC) none of the pastures
reached PR values higher than 2000 kPa, which is considered as a cri-
tical value to indicate soil compaction problems (e.g. Horn and Fleige,
2009).
We used capacity parameters to define the effect of PIMs on soil
porosity and stability, whereas the intensity parameters have been used
to reveal the impact of PIMs on soil pore organisation and functionality.
Regarding soil capacity parameters, soil tillage normally induced a
decrease of BD (Schwen et al., 2011a, 2011b), an increase of AC
(Dörner et al., 2012) and a decrease in PAW (Abid and Lal, 2009);
however, in the present study a decrease of BD accompanied with a
decrease of AC and an increase of PAW under traditional tillage treat-
ment (CP) was observed. These contradictory results, can be ascribed to
rain events which occurred after tillage and which allowed the re-
arrangement of soil particles, changing the pore size distribution after
soil tillage (Seguel and Horn, 2005; Dörner et al., 2012). Capacity
parameters are less sensitive to changes in soil structure compared to
intensity since they provide the status of the continuity and architecture
of soil porosity (Horn and Kutilek, 2009; Uteau et al., 2013). Their
sensitivity to soil structural changes has been assessed by several au-
thors (Strudley et al., 2008; Dörner et al., 2013b; Ivelic-Sáez et al.,
2015) and also proven in the present study (Figs. 3C,D, 4C,D) by the
negative effects of soil tillage (CP treatment) on ka and kl field, Ks and
C2 index due to the destruction of continuity of soil porosity (Reynolds
et al., 1995; Schwen et al., 2011a). These results are also consistent
with outcomes of several authors that underline the sensitivity of pore
space at the macropore range (Gebhardt et al., 2009; Dörner et al.,
2011; Reszkowska et al., 2011a, 2011b). In these terms, the zero-tillage
treatments (DP and DDP) as well as those treatments without me-
chanical disturbance (NFNP and FNP) did not affect the C2 index (as
well as Ks, ka and kl field) which means that soil pores remain stable
and able to conduct fluids, highlighting the conservation of soil struc-
ture as well as the continuity and architecture of soil porosity.
Finally, unclear effects of grazing on soil PAW, Pc, Ks and C2 index
were observed (Fig. 4). NFNP and FNP treatments and soils under zero-
tillage (DP and DDP) have a similar behaviour whereas the tilled soil
differs from them. Soil physical attributes of CP treatment were not
altered by grazing, however, CP showed a diminishment of the para-
meters of Ks and C2 index, showing the interruption of the soil porosity
Fig. 7. Effect of the dry season over soil water tension (A); soil water content (B) and soil (Schwen et al., 2011a; Dörner et al., 2012; Zúñiga et al., 2015), and an
temperature (C) at different depth before the raining season started (31/03/2015). increase of PAW indicating the change of pore distribution compared to
the original situation or less intensive soil intervention (Dörner et al.,
NFNP with −36,400 hPa and FNP with −31,500 hPa. At 60 cm depth, 2012; Zúñiga et al., 2015). On the other hand, negative effects of
the FNP reached the lowest matric potential of −19,800 hPa. CP and grazing on PAW, Pc and C2 index of the soil under NFNP were observed.
NFNP show the highest tension at 60 cm, with −13,800 and −13,500 This meant that the treatment with the lowest accumulated herbage
hPa, respectively. Corresponding to the matric potential, the depth mass (see Fig. 6 with NFNP reaching 4 ton DM ha−1 year−1) and
dependent change in SWC showed that FNP presented the lowest values therefore probably with the lowest below ground production (root mas
at 10, 20 and 60 cm with 21.0%, 18.6% and 12.2%, respectively. Fi- production), was affected by grazing, which indicates that animal
nally, the pasture with the lowest temperatures (31/03/2015 before the trampling on the soil with least resilience (understood as the ability of
first autumn rain) at all depths was FNP with 17.6 °C, 17.6 °C and the soil to recuperate its pore functions after removing the stress ac-
18.2 °C at 10, 20 and 60 cm, respectively. On the other hand, for the cording to Lal, 1994) of the degraded pasture induced a higher impact
same period the highest temperatures were registered in NFNP with on the mechanical strength compared to the other pastures. In these
17.8 °C, 18.2 °C and 18.6 °C at 10, 20 and 60 cm depth, respectively. terms, it has been assessed that the fertilised pastures presented a
higher resilience capacity compared to non-fertilised or degraded pas-
tures (as NFNP) in the same soil, similar treatments in a long-term trial
4. Discussion (Zúñiga et al., 2015; Ivelic-Sáez et al., 2015; Dec et al., 2012). The
resilience capacity as an indicator of soil elasticity is related to the type
4.1. Effect of pasture improvement managements (PIMs) and grazing over of pasture since forage production is positively correlated with the
penetration resistance, the capacity and intensity parameters nutrient recycling (Whitehead, 2000; Franzluebbers et al., 2004). The
higher above ground biomass production (e.g. FNP) is positively related
According to the results of soil penetration resistance, almost no to the below ground biomass production (Yan et al., 2013). Therefore a

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higher root surface, generated by higher above ground biomass pro- have the higher values of SWC being constant in all depths evaluated
duction, is one of the important factors to improve the soil resilience during almost all seasons (Figs. 5 and 6), but with a similar accumu-
(Zúñiga et al., 2015). lated herbage mass production per year (Fig. 6). This may indicate a
lower absorption of water by these pastures since the soil fertility was
4.2. Pasture improvement managements (PIMs) and their consequences on not a limiting growth condition. Clearer differences were observed re-
soil water content dynamics garding the plant growth rate during summer, where FNP, DP and DDP
were the improved pasture with the highest production during this
Soil structural changes, related to soil water content dynamics as a period (2306; 1087 and 1119 kg DM ha−1 respectively for summer
result of rainfall, evaporation, infiltration and water uptake by the roots 2015; Fig. 6). On the other hand, regarding SWC, DP and DDP were the
(Simunek et al., 2003), are more pronounced on superficial soil hor- pastures with higher values, indicating less water absorption between 0
izons (Hartge and Horn, 2009). Direct-drilled treatments (DP and DDP) and 60 cm soil depth (20.4% and 22.2% respectively; Fig. 6) compared
and those without tillage (NFNP and FNP) did not present a negative to FNP.
alteration of the architecture and continuity of soil porosity, allowing Finally, the differences of water uptake (given by the SWC) and the
the existence of a continuous pore system within the soil profile (Uteau similar accumulated herbage mass per year between all the treatments
et al., 2013). The latter increased the water infiltration to the deepest indicate that there are some mechanisms which influence the SWC, e.g.:
soil layers, improving the water distribution, which facilitated root the hydraulic lifting generated by species with deeper root systems.
growth (Xua and Mermoud, 2003). On the other hand, the traditional This mechanism must be taken into account in order to better under-
tillage treatment (CP) exhibited a change in the soil porosity distribu- stand the distribution and absorption of water through the soil profile
tion, increasing the retention of water in the superficial soil layer (Richards and Caldwell, 1987; Caldwell et al., 1998; Skinner et al.,
(Zúñiga et al., 2015). The latter is related to the disruption of pore 2004; Skinner, 2008). The hydraulic lifting by the deeper root species
continuity through the soil profile, e.g. due to the well-known forma- along with the effect of the type of tillage influencing the continuity of
tion of platy soil structure, which can also induce a direct dependent soil porosity and soil water content dynamics, may allow the movement
behaviour of mechanical and hydraulic properties (Dörner and Horn, of water from the bottom to the top of the soil and, this process may
2006,2009). According to these findings and from the soil water con- give some insights of the differences between the treatments, especially
tent dynamics presented in this research, it is possible to indicate that during the drought seasons. All the PIM’s had the same accumulate
the fertilised soil under the diverse pasture managements with a minor herbage mass (Fig. 6) for both 2013 (between 6700 and
intervention in the soil structure (FNP), had major access to the pool of 8100 kg DM ha−1) and 2014 (between 9000 and 9600 kg DM ha−1).
water stored in the soil as assessed in the water stress season (Figs. 5–7). According to these, it seems for this specific soil type (Andisol), that the
The latter is related to both soil physical and root development, which connectivity of pores it is not the priority for biomass production, but it
again is in agreement with the differences in field soil water content may have an effect over the persistence and survival of the species at
and matric potential registered at the end of an extreme drought season stress seasons, such as summer (soil water redistribution). According to
(Fig. 7). these results, such as the high efficiency in capturing water in summer
While the soil physical condition is related to the presence of a showed by FNP (2% more in summer 2015 than CP between 0 and
continuous pore system across the soil profile (Uteau et al., 2013), the 60 cm soil depth; Fig. 6), the high accumulated herbage mass and its
root development across these pores plays a key role in the access to high production during summer (Fig. 6) could support the hypothesis
water and nutrients. The higher water uptake, derived by lower SWC that a high diversity pasture may deliver a higher stability and persis-
(or also higher matric potential) and higher daily productivity during tence in time of both survival of the species and dry matter production
the dry seasons in FNP, is in concordance with those presented by Neal (Garwood and Sinclair, 1979; Tillman and Downing, 1994; Volaire and
et al. (2012). They found differences of SWC at different depths with Thomas, 1995; Volaire, 1998). However, there are still several ques-
different perennial species, indicating that L. perenne extracted less tions, which have to be clarified in order to better understand these
water from deeper soil horizons as reflected by higher SWC’s, in com- mechanisms in this complex soil-water-plant continuum, such as hy-
parison with Bromus wildenowii, Festuca arundinacea and Phalaris draulic lifting in the soil profile (Richards and Caldwell, 1987; Caldwell
aquatica. In the present study the SWC was related to the pasture spe- et al., 1998; Skinner et al., 2004; Skinner, 2008), the water use effi-
cies root system architecture that is shallow (e.g Lolium perenne) or deep ciency of different pasture species (Evans, 1978; Skinner, 2008) and the
roots systems (e.g Bromus valdivianus, Dactylis glomerata). Evans (1978); role of root growth rate and roots turnover effects on soil structure
Crush et al. (2005) found that some cultivars of L. perenne have a higher (Matthew et al., 1986; Reid et al., 2015).
concentration of roots in the first 10 cm of the soil compared with other
species (e.g. D. glomerata). Similarly, Crush et al. (2009) indicated that 5. Conclusions
variations of 59.0%–77.5% of L. perenne root concentrations in the first
10 cm were related to its origin (wild types; cultivars and breeding The implementation of pasture improvement managements without
lines). This is consistent with our results, since the SWC registered in CP alteration of structure dependent properties (soil fertilisation without
and DP (pastures highly dominated by L. perenne according to Table 1) tillage): i) allows the conservation of the continuity of the pore system
had the lowest SWC at 10 cm depth during summer 2015, reflecting a in the soil profile and throughout this, ii) improves the water accessi-
higher concentration of roots. Descalzi (2011) shows that B. valdivianus bility by plants, and therefore, iii) can produce the same herbage mass
had higher tiller stability compared with L. perenne, under water re- production as those improved pastures by conventional systems (cul-
striction, indicating a higher tolerance to water stress, due to the pre- tivar establishment, soil fertilisation and tillage). According to this, the
sence of a deeper root system (Stewart, 1996). Likewise, the increase of fertilisation of the degraded naturalised pastures without soil tillage is a
root morphological traits (or a higher diversity of species) may magnify viable way to improve the herbage mass production and soil physical
the water uptake of the pasture and even improve its resilience functions, keeping a higher summer production since the root system is
(Barkaoui et al., 2016). In the present study, a high percentage of highly able to explore the soil and absorb water from deeper soil horizons.
productive species, but also a high percentage of less productive grasses The soil response to grazing events differs between pastures; only
and broad leaf species were observed in FNP (Table 1), being highly the degraded non-fertilised pasture presented negative effects on soil
probable that the diversity of pasture species in FNP and the soil structure-dependent properties after grazing. The non-fertilised pasture
structure conservation are responsible for the higher quantity of living (NFNP), which reached the lowest above biomass herbage production,
roots between 20 and 60 cm, which may explain the lower levels of was more exposed to animal trampling and presented a lower resilience
SWC (Fig. 7). These results differ in the case of DP and DDP, since they compared to the other pastures.

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Acknowledgements Dörner, J., Dec, D., Zuñiga, F., Horn, R., López, I., Leiva, C., Cuevas, J., 2013b. Soil
changes in the physical quality of an Andosol under different management intensities
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The authors wish to thank FONDECYT grant 1130795 for funding. Advances in Geoecology. 42. Catena Verlag GMBH Reiskirchen, Germany, pp.
Dr. José Dörner thanks the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for the 262–281.
Grant “Georg Foster Fellowship for Experienced Researchers” which Dörner, J., Huertas, J., Cuevas, J.G., Leiva, C., Paulino, L., Arumí, J.L., 2015. Water
content dynamics in a volcanic ash soil slope in southern Chile. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.
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