Physical properties of soil after change of use from native forest to vineyard

Abstract

In Chile, as the soils located in valleys are cultivated, the hillsides with natural vegetation have been used by agriculture. In the Apalta valley, Santa Cruz, VI^th Region of Chile, some soil properties both inter-row (IR) and row planting (R) were measured in cultivated sloping vineyard (7-year establishment, 8% slope hillside), comparing the results with soil properties from a natural vegetation site (N). With this purpose, the surface hydraulic conductivity was measured, and some soil physical properties (bulk density, pore size distribution, aggregate stability, aggregate strength and air flux) and organic matter content were measured at three depths (0-10, 10-30, 30-50 cm). In the surface horizon, soil use change caused significant differences with respect to N, decreasing the organic carbon content, the very coarse porosity (>50 μm) and the aggregate stability, and increasing the bulk density and soil strength. The soil physical disturbance promoted a detriment in soil functioning, decreasing the water and air flux capacity. The higher differences were found in the IR surface, while in deep (50 cm) the changes were not significant between locations, leading to conclusion that in depth still persist soil conditions before cultivation.