Near-Surface Soil Nutrient Changes over Time under Native Prairie and Managed Agriculture in Arkansas ()
ABSTRACT
Landuse change from native prairie to managed
agriculture can have substantial impacts on soil nutrient properties. Nutrient
release from soil organic matter decomposition is the soil’s inherent source of
long-term fertility; thus it is imperative to understand the effects of
continued landuse over time to avoid mistaking actual soil property changes
with simple inter-annual variability from one
year to the next. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of
landuse (i.e. managed agriculture and
native prairie) in two contrasting physiographic regions (i.e. the Ozark Highlands region of northwest Arkansas and the Grand
Prairie region of east-central Arkansas) on the change in extractable soil
nutrients over a 15-yr period from 2001 to 2016. Extractable soil Ca, Mg, and
Zn increased at least two times more over time (P < 0.05) under cultivated agriculture in the Grand Prairie than
under native prairie in the Grand Prairie or either landuse in the Ozark
Highlands. Averaged
across landuse, extractable soil S increased
nine times more over time (P <
0.05) in the Ozark Highlands than in the Grand Prairie, while extractable soil
Na and Mn increased at least six times more over time (P < 0.05) in the Grand Prairie than in the Ozark Highlands. Averaged across region, extractable soil Mn increased 2.5 times more over
time (P < 0.05) under native
prairie than under agricultural landuse. Results from this long-term field
study clearly demonstrate how landuse and regional soil characteristics can
affect near-surface soil nutrient contents, which should be taken into
consideration when implementing conservation and/or ecosystem restoration
activities.
Share and Cite:
Brye, K. , Cordes, F. and McKee, M. (2020) Near-Surface Soil Nutrient Changes over Time under Native Prairie and Managed Agriculture in Arkansas.
Natural Resources,
11, 243-256. doi:
10.4236/nr.2020.116015.