Abstract

DRUILLE, Magdalena; CASTIGLIONI, Mario  and  MASSOBRIO, Juan Marcelo. Fracción erosionable del suelo en el oeste Bonaerense bajo sistemas de uso de la tierra contrastantes. Cienc. suelo [online]. 2013, vol.31, n.1, pp.125-132. ISSN 1850-2067.

The Sub-humid Pampas region (RSP) has soil and climate characteristics that expose the fragile land to degradation by wind erosion. Land uses that favor the presence of surface aggregates susceptible to detachment by wind (erodible fraction; FE) will enhance wind erosion. In soils with a low clay content, as found in the RSP, soil organic matter (MO) is an important component in maintaining stable structures. In the RSP, there are few experiments that study the the spatial distribution of FE under contrasting land uses. The objectives of this study were to: 1) compare the EF and MO in two surface soils with contrasting land uses, located in the western part of Buenos Aires province; 2) investigate the relationship between those variables for both land uses; 3) evaluate and compare the spatial distribution of these variables. This study was conducted in Trenque Lauquen, in fields under agricultural and livestock use. Samples in both sites were taken at regular intervals, using a grid pattern. For each sampling point, FE and MO contents were determined. With these results, comparisons between the two land use systems were made and spatial distribution maps were performed. Lower FE and higher MO values were observed in the soil under livestock use. Only in this site, a negative correlation between these two variables was observed. The spatial distribution maps of the two land uses showed similar patterns for both the FE and MO. We found that the fragility expression to wind erosion can be controlled through land use. However, such changes are subject tothe intrinsic soil heterogeneity.

Keywords : Wind erosion; Land use; Organic matter.

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