Agroforestry systems and soil surface management of a tropical alfisol:

✍ Scribed by R. Lal

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 742 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0167-4366
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00129650

✦ Synopsis

Soil infiltrability was evaluated once a year for five consecutive years in a longterm agroforestry experiment established on an Alfisol in western Nigeria. There were 6 treatments involving plow-till, no-till, contour hedges of Leueaena Leueocephala and Glirieidia sepium established every 4-and 2-m intervals. Continuous cultivation based on 2 crops per year caused drastic reductions in infiltrability in all treatments. The rate of decline was, however, the most severe in no-till treatment. Following 5 years of continuous cultivation, the equilibrium infiltration rate was 8, 19, 21 and 24cm/h for no-till, Gliricidia-based, plow-till and Leucaena-based treatments, respectively. The cumulative infiltration at 2 h was 24, 59, 70 and 76 cm for no-till, Gliricidia-based, Leucaena-based and plow-till treatments. There were also significant differences among treatments in relation to soil water sorptivity (S). The infiltration data were expressed in terms of Philip's and Kostiakov's infiltration models.