Temporally stable patterns in grain yield and soil water on a dryland catena

Abstract Grain yields from dryland cropping systems can be affected by water availability, topographic position, and crop rotation. The temporal stability over 14 years of observed spatial patterns is investigated by exploring: (1) relationships between grain yield, soil water content, and topographic position; (2) whether the crop rotation system affects yield; and (3) possible interactions between landscape position and crop rotation. Data have been collected along a soil catena for winter wheat [Triticum aestivum (L.)] and corn [Zea mays (L.)] grain yields and soil water content from 1986 to 1999 as part of a long-term study of sustainable dryland agroecosystem management in eastern Colorado, USA. The experiment included two-year (wheat–fallow), three-year (wheat–corn–fallow), and four-year (wheat–corn–millet [Panicum miliaceum (L.)] or sunflower [Helianthus annus (L.)]–fallow) rotations arranged in a randomized block design (two replicates of each rotation/phase) with repeated measurements from three slope positions. Over all years, analysis of variance revealed a strong effect of topographic position on both corn and wheat yield (p   0.44) or rotation by position (p > 0.56). Yield at the toeslope was significantly different (p

[1]  Gregory L. Tylka,et al.  A MODELING APPROACH TO QUANTIFY THE EFFECTS OF SPATIAL SOYBEAN YIELD LIMITING FACTORS , 2001 .

[2]  D. K. Cassel,et al.  Effect of Erosion and Landscape Position on the Productivity of Piedmont Soils , 1985 .

[3]  Gary A. Peterson,et al.  Reduced tillage and increasing cropping intensity in the Great Plains conserves soil C , 1998 .

[4]  D. T. Lewis,et al.  Soil Properties Associated with Landscape Position , 1993 .

[5]  Gary A. Peterson,et al.  Soil Attribute Prediction Using Terrain Analysis , 1993 .

[6]  Gary A. Peterson,et al.  Cropping intensification in dryland systems improves soil physical properties: regression relations , 2003 .

[7]  D. Nielsen,et al.  Legume Green Fallow Effect on Soil Water Content at Wheat Planting and Wheat Yield , 2005 .

[8]  I. Moore,et al.  Digital terrain modelling: A review of hydrological, geomorphological, and biological applications , 1991 .

[9]  Costas Kosmas,et al.  The impacts of parent material and landscape position on drought and biomass production of wheat under semi-arid conditions , 1993 .

[10]  Gary A. Peterson,et al.  Sustainable Dryland Agroecosystem Management , 2004 .

[11]  L. Nelson,et al.  Soil Erosion Class and Landscape Position in the North Carolina Piedmont , 1985 .

[12]  Gary A. Peterson,et al.  Cropping intensity enhances soil organic carbon and nitrogen in a no-till agroecosystem. , 2003 .

[13]  D. K. Cassel,et al.  Effect of Landscape Position on Soil Water and Corn Silage Yield , 1993 .

[14]  John C. Gallant,et al.  TAPES-G: a grid-based terrain analysis program for the environmental sciences , 1996 .

[15]  M. Costa-Cabral,et al.  Digital Elevation Model Networks (DEMON): A model of flow over hillslopes for computation of contributing and dispersal areas , 1994 .

[16]  Ayse Irmak,et al.  ESTIMATING SPATIALLY VARIABLE SOIL PROPERTIES FOR APPLICATION OF CROP MODELS IN PRECISION FARMING , 2001 .

[17]  Sylvie Galle,et al.  On-farm spatial and temporal variability of soil and water in pearl millet cultivation , 1999 .

[18]  E. C. Doll,et al.  Topographic Effects on Spring Wheat Yields and Water Use , 1991 .

[19]  D. Nielsen,et al.  Winter wheat and proso millet yield reduction due to sunflower in rotation , 1999 .

[20]  D. Karlen,et al.  Relationship Between Six Years of Corn Yields and Terrain Attributes , 2003, Precision Agriculture.

[21]  Gary A. Peterson,et al.  Agroecosystem approach to soil and crop management research , 1993 .

[22]  Bojie Fu,et al.  Soil nutrients in relation to land use and landscape position in the semi-arid small catchment on the loess plateau in China , 2001 .

[23]  Gary A. Peterson,et al.  Soil Water Storage in Dryland Cropping Systems: The Significance of Cropping Intensification , 1998 .

[24]  T. S. Colvin,et al.  Relationship of Corn and Soybean Yield to Soil and Terrain Properties , 2004 .

[25]  S. Malhi,et al.  Slope Position, Nitrogen Fertilizer, and Fungicide Effects on Diseases and Productivity of Wheat on a Hummocky Landscape , 2005 .

[26]  D. Nielsen,et al.  Cropping System Influence on Planting Water Content and Yield of Winter Wheat , 2002, Agronomy Journal.

[27]  A. Saxton A Macro for Converting Mean Separation Output to Letter Groupings in PROC MIXED , 1998 .

[28]  D. Mulla,et al.  Aggregate Stability in the Palouse Region of Washington: Effect of Landscape Position , 1990 .