Comparison of different tillage intensities on runoff, infiltration and soil losses and implications for maize production in Krasna Hora, Czech Republic

Anežka Stejskalová

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

Legislative incentives have led to a significant increase in maize cultivation for the generation of energy from biomass. As a result, the area under maize production is probably growing faster than any other crop in the UK;from just 8,000 hectares in England in 1973 to 183,000 hectares in 2014. Similar issues have arisen in the Czech Republic. The Research Institute of Soil and Water Conservation in Prague, Czech Republic is testing various tillage practices (TP) and comparing their effectiveness. Maize cultivation is associated with high rates of runoff and soil erosion, which have negative impacts on public goods like soils and fresh water. Soil conservation farming methods are used to mitigate these environmental risks. Field experiments using a rainfall simulator measured the soil loss caused by water erosion under various tillage treatments and intensities of rain. Rain simulations were conducted between 2013-2015 to evaluate the effectiveness of 12 different tillage practices in terms of surface run off, infiltration and soil loss. The results suggest no tillage with maize row widths of 37.5 cm was the most effective tillage practice compared to conventional tillage. This treatment can reduce surface runoff by 30% and soil loss by 93.6%, as well as increase the infiltration rate by 7.9%. The results of the rainfall simulation experiments were also compared with other studies to test if the outcomes agree with those in other locations.

Keywords

Maize, Erosion mitigation, Infiltration, Surface run-off, Erosion control, Rain simulation, Soil loss, Tillage technologies

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 18. 4. 2017

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: Ing. Zdeněk Keken, Ph.D.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta životního prostředí

Magisterský studijní program / obor:
Krajinné inženýrství / Landscape Planning