Soil Moisture Regime of Ameliorated Gelyic Stagnosol
Stjepanj HUSNJAK, Matko BOGUNOVIĆ, Ivan ŠIMUNIĆ
Pages: 169-179
Summary
The paper presents the results of investigation of performance of drainage systems on ameliorated gleyic stagnosol in the Central Sava Basin, in order to recommend pipe drainage for the purpose of more intensive use of drained land. Investigations of the soil moisture regime were carried out on drained and non-drained gleyic stagnosol in the period from 1987 to 1991, within regular crop production which included monitoring of soil moisture dynamics, ground water levels, occurrence of stagnant water and drain outflows. Subsoil pipe drains on the drained plot were placed at the depth of 0.9 m, with the spacing of 20 m. For the vegetation period (April-September) small differences have been determined between the durations of the wet phase in non-drained and drained gleyic stagnosol. In this period the average annual wet phase lasts 17 days at the depth of 15 cm, 47 days at 30 cm, and 10 days at 60 cm in non-drained soil, and 23 days at 15 cm, 43 days at 30 cm, and 10 days at 60 cm in drained soil. In the non-vegetation period (October-March), the differences in duration of the wet phase between drained and non-drained soil were also small at depths of 15 and 60 cm, while the difference at 30 cm was considerably larger. The average annual duration of the wet phase was 50 days at 15 cm, 140 days at 30 cm, and 17 days at 60 cm in non-drained soil, or 50 days at 15 cm, 97 days at 30 cm, and 13 days at 60 cm in drained soil. Statistically significant difference in the dynamics of soil moisture between drained and non-drained soil was determined only for the depth of 30 cm, and only in the non-vegetation period. The ground water level was practically always below 1.0 m; however in the upper part of the soil profile the presence of stagnant rain water has been determined. No significant difference between the duration of presence of stagnant water in drained and non-drained soil has been determined. Maximum values of drain discharge, which were about 0.003 m/day were over three times less than the design drainage module. The noticed differences between crop yields on drained and non-drained soils are not significant. Research of the soil moisture regime in soil and monitoring of ground and stagnant water in drained and nondrained gleyic stagnosol show that, in drained soils the problem of evacuation of excess water in rhyzospheres still remains, first of all as a consequence of the absence of agricultural measures, i.e. subsoiling, liming and humization. In such conditions, drainage systems have only limited effects.
Keywords
drained soil; ground water; non-drained soil; gleyic stagnosol; soil moisture regime; stagnant water
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