Infiltration of Water on a Cattle Feedlot

ABSTRACT j NFILTRATION into a feed-x lot surface could not be mea-sured on site because of extremely low infiltration rates. Four undisturbed soil cores from an active cattle feed-lot, encased in heat-shrink plas-tic, were used in the laboratory to measure infiltration. Six undisturbed feedlot cores containing the manure surface, interface layer (2 cm manure and top of soil) and soil below were cut into sections 10 cm long. Air permeability, hydraulic conduc-tivity, air-water permeability ratio, and bulk density were measured on each section. The interface layer of manure and soil develops as a result of hoof action and manure cover. It is the most restrictive layer to water and air movement in the feedlot soil profile. The hydraulic conductivity increased 28-fold from the interface layer to the next layer and was about the same as the comparable depth in adjacent cropland.