Grazing effects of the bulk density in a Natraquoll of the flooding pampa of Argentina

Abstract

The influence of grazing by cattle on soil bulk density was studied in a typic Natraquoll of the Flooding Pampa of Argentina for a period of 33 months, by comparing a grazed situation to an enclosure deferred from grazing for 7 years. Floods took place in this period as usual. Bulk density (BD) at -33.3 kPa of water retention varied from 1.00 to 1.11 Mg m-3 in the ungrazed soil and in the grazed soil from 1.04 to 1.16 Mg m-3. Environmental factors were the primary agent controlling BD; only in some periods were there significant differences between treatments. Slight increases in BD occurred under grazing after the recession of the flood water, and significant decreases occurred in the ungrazed soil during the large and sudden falls in water content. In this case the effect of trampling, therefore, would consist mainly of impeding the decrease in BD. No compaction was observed in periods when no flood occurred or while soil remained submerged in water. The results indicated that the variations of bulk density caused by cattle trampling were superimposed on those produced by floods and showed an interaction between the effects of land-use and the particular environmental conditions of the region.