Measuring Soil Compaction on Rangeland

Abstract

Several instruments used for measuring soil compaction have been evaluated on a homogeneously-textured, nongravelly silt-loam soil. The instruments used in the study were the air permeameter, proving ring penetrometer, volumeasure, pocket penetrometer, and gamma ray scattering device. Correlation coefficients and regression equations were developed between each instrument and bulk density as determined by the soil core method. Readings from all instruments were significantly correlated with soil core bulk density. The two instruments which had the highest correlation with bulk densities during initial testing, the air permeameter and the proving ring penetrometer, were further evaluated on a rangeland soil. In this instance, predicted bulk densities (using the above regression equations) from air permeameter readings correlated better with soil core bulk densities than did predicted bulk densities from proving ring penetrometer readings.