RELATIONS BETWEEN AGGREGATE STABILITY AND ORGANIC COMPONENTS FOR A SILT LOAM SOIL

Abstract

Rates of change in wet-aggregate stability under different cropping systems have been reported. These data were used to infer rates of change in the amount of stabilizing materials present. Increases in wet-aggregate stability did not correlate with increases in total organic carbon content, suggesting that some components of the organic carbon pool are more actively involved in stabilizing aggregates than others. Assuming a linear relation between these active components and wet-aggregate stability, the amount of stabilizing materials present should increase exponentially with time when forages are introduced onto soil previously used for row crop production. Key words: Soil structure, wet-aggregate stability, organic matter, corn, forages