Browsing by Author "Schumacher, T. E."

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Soil microbial properties under permanent grass, conventional tillage, and no-till management in South Dakota
    Carpenter-Boggs, L.; Stahl, P. D.; Lindstrom, M. J.; Schumacher, T. E. (Elsevier B.V., 2003)
    This paper reports on a study comparing no-till and conventional tillage (chisel and disk) effects on microbial aspects of soil quality, with permanent grassland as the control high quality soil. For most factors, both cropped treatments were similar to each other, but significantly lower quality than permanent grass plots. No-till root segments had slightly greater observed mycorrhizal fungi colonization than conventional till (63% versus 55%; 76% in permanent grass). No-till plots had significantly greater alkaline phosphatase activity and C mineralized in 12 days than conventionally tilled plots. The authors suggest that no-till may allow mineralizable C to build up by reducing oxidation of crop residues. The lack of significant differences between no-till and "conventional" tillage possibly attributable to small difference in tillage intensity between no-till and chisel plowing (as compared to moldboard plowing).
  • Soil movement by tillage as affected by slope
    Lindstrom, M. J.; Nelson, W. W.; Schumacher, T. E.; Lemme, G. D. (Elsevier B.V., 1990)
    The purpose of this study is to determine if soil erosion on ridge tops may be in part caused by tillage moving soil downslope and to quantify the relationship between slope gradient and soil movement. The research took place at the University of Minnesota Southwestern Experiment Station on hillside plots with a 1-8% grade slope. Plots were tilled up and down or across the slope by moldboard plough and disc. While it is widely accepted that tillage indirectly contributes to erosion by making the soil more vulnerable to wind and water erosion, they find that the act of tillage itself directly erodes soil on slopes. They found a direct relationship between soil movement and slope; on an 8% grade, the movement downhill (perpendicular to plow movement) was double uphill movement.