Measuring soil processes in agricultural research / edited by K.B. Laryea, P. Pathak and J.C. Katyal

Soil and crop management strategies (e.g., tillage, bunding, cropping intensity, and crop sequencing) are locationand season-specific in the way they affect soil processes and resource utilization by crops. Research findings on these effects therefore need to be modeled if they are to be extrapolated to other locations with similar soils and climatic conditions. This manual presents practical methods for assessing management effects on such soil processes as water infiltration and erosion by water, and on water, air, and nutrient use by crops. It covers the basic elements of soil physical charcterization, and deals principally with the role of soil structure on water infiltration and percolation (and, as a consequence, on water balance in the soil profile), on heat flow (and therefore on the soil thermal regime), on aeration, and on the mobility of roots and soil microorganisms.