Plants for amelioration of subsoil constraints and hydrological control: The primer-plant concept

Plant and Soil

Volumn 257, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 261-281

  Yunusa, Isa A M ^a,b,c   Newton, Philip J ^a  

^a Rutherglen Research Institute   (Australia)

^b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering   (Australia)

^c UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Biological drilling; Drainage; Nutrient cycling; Porosity; Root growth; Salinity; Subsoil constraint

Indexed keywords

DRAINAGE; DRYLAND FARMING; PLANT; POROSITY; ROOT; SOIL IMPROVEMENT; SUBSOIL;

AUSTRALASIA; AUSTRALIA;

EID: 0038658922     PISSN: 0032079X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/A:1027381329549     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (120)

1. Addiscott T M and Thomas D 2000 Tillage, mineralisation and leaching: phosphate. Soil Tillage Res. 53, 255-273.
2. Allbrook R F 1993 Shrinkage of some New Zealand soils and its implications for soil physics. Aust. J. Soil Res. 31, 111-118.
3. Armson K A 1977 Forest Soils: Properties and Processes. University of Toronto Press, Toronto. 390 pp.
4. Aylmore LAG 1995 The role of plant roots and residues in structural amelioration of hard-setting soils. Final report on Project UWA10, GRDC Australia, Canberra. 18 pp.
5. Barley K P 1953 The root growth of irrigated perennial pastures and its effect on soil structure. Aust. J. Agric. Sci. 4, 283-291.
6. Barr N F and Cary J 1992 Greening a Brown Land: the Australian Search for Sustainable Land Use. Macmillan Education Australia, South Melbourne.
7. Blackwell P S, Green T W and Mason W K 1990 Responses of biopore channels from roots to compression by vertical stresses. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54, 1088-1091.
8. Blaikie S J and Mason W K 1993 Restrictions to root growth limit the yield of shoots of irrigated white clover. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 44, 121-135.
9. Bouma J 1981 Soil morphology and preferential flow along macropores. Agric. Water Manage. 3, 235-250.
10. Carbon B A, Roberts F J, Farrington P and Beresford J D 1892 Deep drainage and water use of forests and pastures grown on deep sands in a Mediterranean environment. J. Hydrol. 55, 53-64.
11. Chittleborough D J 1992 Formation and pedology of duplex soils. Aust. J. Exp. Agric. 32, 815-825.
12. Clark R B, Alberts E E, Zobel R W, Sinclair T R, Miller M S, Kemper W D and Foy C D 1998 Eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) root penetration into and chemical properties of claypan soils. Plant Soil 200, 33-4-5.
13. Clarke A L, Greenland D J and Quirk J P 1967 Changes in some soil physical properties of the surface of an impoverished red-brown earth under pasture. Aust. J. Soil Res. 5, 59-68.
14. Clothier B E and Green S R 1993 Rootzone processes and the efficient use of irrigation water. Agric. Water Manage. 25, 1-12.
15. Cockroft B and Olsson K A 1997 Case study of soil quality in south-eastern Australia: management of structure for roots in duplex soils. In Developments in Soil Science 25. Eds. E G Gregorich and M R Carter. pp. 339-350. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
16. Comis D 1997 Aerenchyma: lifelines for living underwater. Agric. Res. 4-8.
17. Collis-George N 1991 Drainage and soil structure: a review. Aust. J Soil Res. 29, 923-934.
18. Cornish P S 1993 Soil macrostructure and root growth of establishing seedlings. Plant Soil 151, 119-126.
19. Cresswell H P and Kirkegaard J A 1995 Subsoil amelioration by plant roots - the process and the evidence. Aust. J. Soil Res. 33, 221-239.
20. Czanes S, Hallett P D, Bengough A G and Young I M 2000 Root- and microbial-derived mucilages affect soil structure and water transport. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 51, 435-443.
21. Dexter A R 1978 Tunnelling in soil by earthworms. Soil Biol. Biochem. 10, 447-449.
22. Dexter A R 1986 Model experiments on the behaviour of roots at the interface between a tilled seedbed and a compact subsoil: I. Effect of seed-bed aggregate size and subsoil strength on wheat roots. Plant Soil 95: 149-161.
23. Dunin F X, Williams J, Verburg K and Keating B A 1999 Can agricultural management emulate natural ecosystems in recharge control in south eastern Australia? Agrofor. Syst. 45, 343-364.
24. Dunin F X, Smith C J, Zeglin S J, Leuning R, Denmead O T and Poss R 2001 Water balance changes in a crop sequence with lucerne. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 52, 247-261.
25. Elkins C B and Van Sickle K 1984 Punching holes in plowpans. Solutions, July/August, 38-41.
26. Elkins C, Bharland R L and Hoveland C S 1977 Grass roots as a tool for penetrating hardpans and increasing crop yields. In Proceedings of the 34th Southern Pasture and Forage Crop Improvement Conference. Auburn, AL, pp. 21-26.
27. Fakuoka M 1985 The Natural Way of Farming: The theory and practice of Green Philosophy. Japan Publications, Inc., Tokyo, New York. 284 pp.
28. Ghuman B S, Lal R and Shearer W 1991 Land clearing in the humid Nigerian tropics: I. Soil properties. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55, 178-183.
29. Grecu S J, Kirkham M B, Kenemasu E T, Sweeny D W, Stone L R and Milliken G A 1988 Root growth in a claypan with perennial-annual rotation. Soil Sci Soc. Am. J. 52, 488-494.
30. Greenland D J 1981 Soil management and soil degradation. J. Soil Sci. 32, 301-322.
31. Geeves G W, Craze B and Hamilton G J 2000 Soil physical properties. In Soils: their properties and management. 2nd edition. Eds. PEV Chapman and B W Murphy, pp. 166-189. DLWC/Oxford University Press, Sydney.
32. Haines P J and Uren N C 1990 Effects of conservation tillage farming on soil microbial biomass, organic matter and earthworm populations, in north-eastern Victoria. Aust. J. Exp. Agric. 30, 365-371.
33. Hamblin A P 1984 The effect of tillage on soil surface properties and the water balance of xeralfic alfisol. Soil Tillage Res. 4, 543-559.
34. Hamblin A P 1985 The influence of soil structure on water movement, crop root growth, and water uptake. Adv. Agron. 38, 95-157.
35. Hamblin A P 1987 The effect of tillage on soil physical conditions. In 'Tillage: New directions in Australian Agriculture'. Eds. P S Cornish and J E Pratley. pp. 128-170. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
36. Hatton T J, Ruprecht J and Goerge R J 2003 Preclearing hydrology of the Western Australia wheatbelt: target for the future? Plant Soil 257, 341-356.
37. Hillel D 1971 Soil and Water: Physical Principles and Processes. 1 edition. Academic Press, Sydney. 288 pp.
38. Hirth J R, Haines P J, Ridley A M and Wilson K F 2001 Lucerne in crop rotations on the Riverine Plains 2. Biomass and grain yields, water use efficiency, soil nitrogen and profitability. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 52, 279-293.
39. Hobbs R J and Cramer V A 2003 Natural ecosystems: pattern and process in relation to local and landscape diversity in southwestern Australian woodlands. Plant Soil 257, 371-378.
40. Hulugalle N R and Lal R 1986 Root growth of maize in a compacted gravelly tropical Alfisol as affected by rotation with woody perennial. Field Crops Res. 13, 33-44.
41. Ilyas M, Miller R W and Qureshi R H 1993 Hydraulic conductivity of saline-sodic soil after gypsum application and cropping. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57, 1580-1585.
42. Incerti M, Clinnick P F and Willatt S T 1987 Changes in the physical properties of a forest soil following logging. Aust. J. Soil Res. 17, 91-98.
43. Jakobsen B F and Dexter A R 1988 Influence of biopores on root growth, water uptake and grain yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum) based on predictions from a computer model. Biol. Fertil. Soils. 6, 315-321.
44. Jakobsen B F, Dexter AR and Hakansson I 1989 Simulation of the response of cereal crops to soil compaction. Swedish J. Agric. Res. 19, 203-212.
45. Jama B, Buresh R J and Place F M 1998 Sesbania tree fallows on phosphorous-deficient sites: maize yield and financial benefit. Agron. J. 90, 717-726.
46. Jayawardene N S and Chan, K Y 1994 The management of soil physical properties limiting crop production in Australian sodic soils - a review. Aust. J. Soil Res. 32, 13-44.
47. Jury W A, Gardner W R and Gardner W H 1991 Soil Physics. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. 328 pp.
48. Kirby J M and Blunden B G 1991 Interaction of soil deformations, structure and permeability. Aust. J. Soil Res. 29, 891-904.
49. Kirby J M, Pierret A, Moran C J and Pankhurst, C E 2000 Imaging of soil structure-root interactions. In Proceedings of 4th International Conference on Soil Dynamics, Adelaide, Australia, 26-30 March. CDROM computer file.
50. Kirchhof G, Daniells I and Schwenke G 2000 Changing tillage method and their effect on soil structure on major dryland cropping soils in North Western New South Wales, Australia. In Proceedings of the 5th International Soil Tillage Research Organisation. Fort Worth, Texas, 1-7 July. CDROM Computer file.
51. Laclau J, Arnaud M, Boillet J and Ranger J 2001 Spatial distribution of Eucalyptus roots in a deep sandy soil in the Congo: relationships with the ability of the stand to take up water and nutrients. Tree Physiol. 21, 129-136.
52. Lal R 1989 Agroforestry systems and soil surface management of a tropical alfisol. Agrofor. Syst. 8, 197-215.
53. Letey J 1991 The study of soil structure: science or art? Aust. J. Soil Res. 29, 699-707.
54. Liang J, Zhang J. Chan G Y S and Wong M H 1999 Can differences in root responses to soil drying and compaction explain differences in performance of trees growing on landfill sites? Tree Physiol. 19, 619-624.
55. Lorimer M S and Douglas L A 1995 Effect of management practices on properties of a Victorian red brown earth. I. Soil physical properties. Aust. J. Soil Res. 33, 851-857.
56. Lorimer M S and Douglas L A 2001 Effect of management practices on properties of a Victorian red brown earth. 2. Wheat root distribution and grain yield. Aust. J. Soil Res. 39, 307-315.
57. Luxmoore R J 1981 Micro-, meso-, and macro-porosity of soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45, 671-672.
58. Mappin K A, Pate J S and Bell T L 2003 Productivity and water relations of burnt and long unburnt semi-arid shrubland in Western Australia. Plant Soil 257, 321-340.
59. Materechera S A, Dexter A R and Alston A M 1991 Penetration of very strong soils by seedling roots of different plant species. Plant Soil 135, 31-41.
60. Materechera S A, Alston A M and Dexter A R 1993 Field evaluation of laboratory techniques for predicting the ability of roots to penetrate strong soil and of the influence of roots on water sorptivity. Plant Soil 149, 498-158.
61. McCown R L, Hammer G L, Hargreaves J N G, Holzworth D P and Freebairn D M 1996 APSIM: a novel software for model development, model testing, and simulation in agricultural research. Agric. Syst. 50, 255-271.
62. McGarry D and Malafant K W J 1987 The analysis of volume change in unconfined units of soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 51, 290-297.
63. McKenzie D C and McBratney A B 2001 Cotton root growth in a compacted grey vertisol I. Prediction using strength measurements and 'limiting water ranges'. Aust. J Soil Res. 39, 1157-1168.
64. Mele P M and Yunusa I A M 2001 Cereal yields associated with changes in soil characteristics following six years of acacia. In Proc10th Australian Agronomy Conference. Hobart, 2001. 〈http://www.regional.org.au/asa/2001/ 〉. Accessed: 5 December 2002.
65. Mele P M, Yunusa I A M, Kingston K B and Rab M A 2003 Response of soil fertility indices to a short phase of Australian woody species, continuous annual crop rotations or a permanent pasture. Soil Tillage Res. (In press).
66. Messing I, Alriksson A and Johansson W 1997 Soil physical properties of afforested and arable land. Soil Use Manage. 13, 209-217.
67. Moran C J 1998 Land degradation processes and water quality effects: decline in soil structure. In Farming Action: catchment reaction. Eds. J Williams, R A Hook and H L Gascoigne. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
68. Nadelhoffer K J, Aber J D and Melillo J M 1985 Fine roots, net primary production and soil nitrogen availability: a new hypothesis. Ecology 66, 1377-1390.
69. Naidu R and Rengasamy P 1993 Ion interactions and constraints to plant nutrition in Australian sodic soils. Aust. J. Soil Res. 31, 801-809.
70. Noble A D and Randall P J 1998 How trees affect soils. RIRDC Publication No. 98/16. Canberra, Australia.
71. Noble A D, Little I P and Randall P J 1999 The influence of Pinus radiata, Quercus suber, and improved pasture on soil chemical properties. Aust. J. Soil Res. 37, 509-526.
72. Northcote K N 1960 A factual key for the recognition of Australian soils. CSIRO Division of Soils. Report No. 4/60. CSIRO, Melbourne.
73. Nulsen R A, Blight K J, Baxter I N, Solin E J and Imrie DH 1986 The fate of rainfall in a mallee and heath vegetated catchment in southern Western Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 11, 361-371.
74. Oades J M 1993 The role of biology in the formation, stabilisation and degradation of soil structure. Geoderma 56, 377-400.
75. Olsson K A, Crockroft B and Rengasamy P 1995 Improving and managing subsoil structure for high productivity from temperate crops on beds. In Subsoil Management Techniques. Adv. Soil Sci. Eds. B A Stewart and N S Jayawardene. pp. 35-65. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.
76. Olsson K A, Dellow K E, Hirth J R, Kelly K B, Greenland K L and Blaikie S J 2002 Soil properties, root responses and production of irrigated pasture on a red-brown earth after subsoil modification. Aust. J. Exp. Agric. 42, 453-463.
77. Passioura JB 1991 Soil structure and plant growth. Aust. J. Soil Res. 29, 717-728.
78. Passioura J B 2000 Broad-acre agriculture: A root's eye view. In Proc. 4th International Conference on Soil Dynamics, Adelaide, Australia, 26-30 March. CDROM computer file.
79. Passioura J B and Ridley A M 1998 Managing soil water and nitrogen to minimise land degradation. In Proc. 9th Australian Agronomy Conference. pp. 99-106. Australian Soc. Agron., Wagga Wagga, Australia.
80. Peck A J and Hurle D H 1973 Chloride balance of some farmed and forested catchments in southwestern Australia. Water Resources Res. 9, 648-657.
81. Peter I and Lehman J 2000 Pruning effects on root distribution and nutrient dynamics in an acacia hedgerow planting in northern Kenya. Agrofor. Syst. 50, 59-75.
82. Pierret A, Moran C J and Pankhurst C E 1999 Differentiation of soil properties related to the spatial association of wheat roots and soil macropores. Plant Soil 211, 51-58.
83. Pillai U P and McGarry D 1999 Structure repair of a compacted vertisol with wet/dry cycles and crops. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 63, 201-210.
84. Qadir M and Oster J D 2002 Vegetative bioremediation of calcareous sodic soils: history, mechanism, and evaluation. Irrig. Sci. 21, 91-101.
85. Rab M A 1994 Changes in physical properties of a soil associated with logging of Eucalyptus regnans forest in southeastern Australia. Forest Ecol. Manage. 70, 215-229.
86. Rengasamy P and Olsson KA 1991 Sodicity and soil structure. Aust. J. Soil Res. 29, 923-934.
87. Richard G, Cousin I, Sillon J F, Bruand A and Guerif J 2001 Effect of compaction on the porosity of a silty soil: influence on unsaturated hydraulic properties. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 52, 49-58.
88. Ridley A M, Christy B, Dunin F X, Haines P J, Wilson K F and the late Ellington A 2001 Lucerne in crop rotations on the Riverine Plains 1. The soil water balance. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 52, 263-277.
89. Ringrose-Voase A J 1987 A scheme for the quantitative description of soil macrostructure by image anlysis. J. Soil Sci. 38, 343-356.
90. Ringrose-Voase A J 1991 Micromorphology of soil structure: description, quantification, application. Aust. J. Soil Res. 29, 777-813.
91. Russell J S and Isbell R F 1986 Australian Soils: The human impact. University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Australia.
92. Sands R, Greacen E L and Gerard C J 1979 Compaction of sandy soils in radiata pine forests. I. A penetrometer study. Aust. J. Soil Res. 17, 101-113.
93. Schmidt C P and Belford R K 1994 Increasing depth of soil disturbance increases yields of direct drilled wheat on the sandplain soils of Western Australia. Aust. J. Exp. Agric. 34, 777-781.
94. Schofield N J and Bari M A 1991 Valley restoration to lower saline groundwater table: results from Stene's farm Western Australia. Aust. J. Soil. Res. 29, 635-650.
95. Shipitalo M J, Edwards W M, Dick W A and Owens L B 1990 Initial storm effects on macropore transport of surface-applied chemical in no-till soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54. 1530-1536.
96. Shipitalo M J, Dick W A and Edwards W M 2000 Conservation tillage and macropore factors that affect water movement and the fate of chemicals. Soil Tillage Res. 53, 167-184.
97. Sidle R C, Noguchi S, Tsuboyama Y and Laursen K 2001 A conceptual model of preferential flow systems in forested hillslopes: evidence of self organisation. Hydrol. Processes 15, 1575-1692.
98. Sollins P and Radulovich R 1988 Effects of soil physical structure on solute transport in a weathered tropical soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 52, 1168-1173.
99. Stewart J B, Moran C J and Wood J T 1999 Macropore sheath: quantification of plant root and soil macropore association. Plant Soil 211, 59-67.
100. Stirzaker R J, Passioura J B and Wilms Y 1996 Soil structure and plant growth: impact of bulk density and biopores. Plant Soil 185, 151-162.
101. Talsma T and Hallam P M 1980 Hydraulic conductivity measurement of forest catchments. Aust. J. Soil Res. 18, 139-148.
102. Tardieu F, Bruckler L and Lafolie F 1992 Root clumping may affect the root water potential and resistance to soil-root water transport. Plant Soil 140, 291-301.
103. Taylor A J and Olsson K A 1987 Effect of gypsum and deep ripping on lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) yield on red-brown earth under flood and spray irrigation. Aust. J. Exp. Agric. 27, 841-849.
104. Topp G C, Reynolds W D, Cook F J. Kirby J M and Carter M R 1997 Physical attributes of soil quality. In Soil Quality for Crop Production and Ecosystem Health. Eds. E G Gregorich and M R Carter. pp. 21-58. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
105. Usman S, Singh S P, Rawat Y S and Bargali S S 2000 Fine root decomposition and nitrogen mineralisation patterns in Quercus leucotrichophora and Pinus roxburghii forests in central Himalaya. For. Ecol. Manage. 131, 191-199.
106. Van Vliet P C J, Radcliffe D E, Hendrix, P F and Colemen D C 1998 Hydraulic conductivity and pore size distribution with and without enchytraeids (Oligochaeta). Appl. Soil Ecol. 9, 277-282.
107. Walker J, Bullen F and Williams B G 1993 Ecohydrological changes in the Murray-Darling Basin. I. The number of trees cleared over two centuries. J. Appl. Ecol. 30, 265-273.
108. Wang J, Hesketh J D and Woolet J T 1986 Preexisting channels and soybean rooting properties. Soil Sci. 141, 432-431.
109. Ward P R, Dunin F X and Micin S F 2001 Water balance of annual and perennial pastures on a duplex soil in a Mediterranean environment. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 52, 203-209.
110. Ward P R, Dunin F X and Micin S F 2002 Water-use and root growth by annual and perennial pastures and subsequent crops in a phase rotation. Agric. Water Manage. 53, 83-97.
111. White R E 1985 The influence of macropores on the transport of dissolved and suspended matter through soil. In Advances in Soil Science. Vol. 3, pp. 95-120. Ed. B A Stewart. Springer, New York.
112. White R E 1997 Principles and Practices of Soil Science: The soils as a natural resource.' 3rd edition. Blackwell Science, Melbourne. 348 pp.
113. Whitfield D M 1998 Hydrologic utility of phase farming based on winter rainfall in southeastern Australia. In Proc 9th Australian Agronomy Conference. Wagga Wagga. pp. 823-826. Also at 〈http://www.life.csu.edu/agronomy/pa pers/92.html/〉. Accessed: 5 December 2002.
114. Williams B, Walker J and Tane H 2001 Drier landscapes and rising watertables. Nat. Resour. Manage. 4, 10-18.
115. Ye X J, Wang Z Q and Li Q S 2002 The ecological agriculture movement in modern China. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 92, 261-281.
116. Young A 1986 Effects of trees on soils. In Amelioration of soils by trees: a review of current concepts and practices. Eds. R T Prinsely and M J Swift. pp. 10-19. Commonwealth Science Council, London.
117. Young I M and Ritz K 2000 Tillage, habitat space and function of soil microbes. Soil Tillage Res. 53, 201-214.
118. Yunusa I A M, Mele P M and Haines P J 2001 Increased root growth due to 'plant-priming' of subsoil structure. In Proc. 3rd International Conference on Land Degradation. 17-21 September, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CDROM computer file.
119. Yunusa I A M, Haines P J, the late Ellington A, Wilson K F and Mele P M 2002a Using woody perennials to achieve sustainable broadacre cropping systems. In Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. Sustainable Agric. Food, Energy and Indust. pp. 188-194. 8-13 September, Beijing, China.
120. Yunusa I A M, Mele P M, Rab M A, Schefe C R and Beverly C R 2002b Priming of soil structural and hydrological properties by native woody species, annual crops and a permanent pasture. Aust. J. Soil Res. 40, 207-219.