Effects of Different Plant Residue Managements on Some Soil Physical Properties and Infiltration Rate

Improvement of soil properties through sustainable agriculture requires suitable management of plant residues. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different types and managements of plant residue on soil physical properties in a field experiment as factorial based on RCBD with three replicates. The first factor was residue type including barley straw and alfalfa residue, and the second was different managements including 1) incorporating one percent of the plant residues with the soil (MIX1), 2) incorporating 0.5 percent of the plant residues with the soil (MIX0.5), 3) surface retention­­ of plant­ residues (SUR), 4), burning plant residues (BUR) and 5) control (C). The results showed that the applied managements of plant residue had significant effects on the selected soil properties. In comparison to the control, MIX1 application of barley straw resulted in the highest increases in organic carbon content (70%), total porosity (23%) and final infiltration rate (82%), and the highest reduction in bulk density (40%). In contrast, burning the alfalfa residue led to the highest reductions in organic carbon (200%), total porosity (29.5%), the final infiltration rate (30%), and the highest increase in bulk density (5.5%). In addition, MIX0.5 and SUR treatments improved the soil properties significantly. The highest and the least infiltration rates were found in MIX1 of barley straw (48.6 mm/h) and BUR of alfalfa residue (4.6 mm/h), respectively. Overall, with respect to the improvement of soil properties, the managements of plant residue were prioritized as: MIX1>MIX0.5>SUR>C>BUR.