The deterioration of tall wheatgrass pastures on saline sodic soils
Issue Date
1998-03-01Keywords
sodic soilsB horizons
particle size analysis
saline soils
tillage
A horizons
silt loam soils
topsoil
clay loam soils
grassland improvement
sown grasslands
loam soils
soil water content
Argentina
botanical composition
Elytrigia elongata
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Taboada, M. A., Rubio, G., & Lavado, R. S. (1998). The deterioration of tall wheatgrass pastures on saline sodic soils. Journal of Range Management, 51(2), 241-246.Publisher
Society for Range ManagementJournal
Journal of Range ManagementDOI
10.2307/4003213Additional Links
https://rangelands.org/Abstract
The deterioration of sown tall wheatgrass (Elytrigia elongata) growing on 3 sodic saline soils was investigated in the Laprida basin, in the center of the Buenos Aires province of Argentina. These soils are known to have poor drainage and high saline levels and support different species associations. On each soil type the native grassland was compared to sown wheatgrass, in terms of plant density and cover and soil physical and chemical characteristics. The 3 soil types reacted differently to tillage. Tillage had little impact on soil type A (typic Natraquoll), a poorly drained soil with a loamy A horizon (14 cm) overlying a silty clay loam. Soil type B (typic Natraquaf), a wet texture contrast soil with bleached horizons has characteristics that are likely to severely limit plant growth. The sowing of wheatgrass increased ground cover by live vegetation on this soil type. This contrasted with soil type C (typic Natralboll), a saline soil with an organic matter-rich but thin (8 cm) A horizon. In this soil, the plant density declined and other components such as pasture cover also declined with time. This pasture deterioration was attributed to several soil factors including decreased organic matter content and increased soil bulk density. It was concluded that the varied performance of wheatgrass sown pastures was a function of the different inherent characteristics of the soils.Type
textArticle
Language
enISSN
0022-409Xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.2307/4003213