Information
Level 2 Detail of experimental conditions (what might be found in a journal paper or project brief in Hydstra)
Description of study
What?
A rainfall simulator was applied to plots on a site at Mt Tyson.
When and Where?
The simulation occurred at Mt Tyson in 1997.
The soil at Rossvale can be described as a very shallow black earth (Purrawunda) with generally less than 30 cm of heavy clay overlaying decomposing basalt. The soil was in a well worked condition awaiting a planting rain for winter crop.
How?
At five of the sites a rainfall simulator was used on a range of tillage conditions. Rain was simulated on each of the plots for approximately 50 minutes. Rain was applied at 100mm/hr (4 inches per hour) to simulate a summer storms.
The first two plots were used to compare the difference between stubble being left on the surface or incorporated into the soil similar to what would happen with an offset disk.
Plot 1- Stubble incorporated with a shovel to create conditions similar to those left behind an offset disc. Surface stubble cover was approximately 20%
Plot 2- Was not cultivated, with all stubble left on the soil surface similar to what occurs after harvest of a winter cereal crop. Soil cover was approximately 90%
The second set of plots were managed to examine what impacts deeper tillage with a rougher soil surface might have on capture of rainfall.
Plot 3- Was cultivated with a mattock to a depth of about 125mm (5 inches) with slight cultivation furrows on the contour. The surface soil remains in fine condition somewhat smoother than immediately after tillage, but what you would expect after a few falls of rain. Soil cover less than 10%.
Plot 4- Was not cultivated, but the surface was rolled to create a condition similar to that left after planting when rollers are used to firm the seed bed. No stubble, cover 10%.
Project administration
Site identifier code: N/A
Principal investigator: Titmarsh G
Principal data manager: -N/A
Principal organizations: Pittworth Landcare Group, CRIDA.
Data custodian: Pittworth Landcare Group
Key co-operators:
Data access policy: Research has been published but base data is not archived
Planned pathway for data: completed study, no evidence of formal database records.
Data warehousing: for ongoing studies –N/A
Planned data upload frequency: for ongoing studies –N/A
Key references and sources of this data synthesis
These data summaries have been extracted from:
- Titmarsh G, Glanville S, Goodings K, Bass G, Freebairn D, Harris P, King C, Reddy S. (1997). Evaluating fallow management options using simulated rainfall.