Infiltration Rate and Its Related Soil Properties in Various Land Management Systems of Western Kentucky.

Infiltration is one of the most important properties in determining the level of soil compaction. In general, infiltration rate is closely related to the level of soil organic matter, bulk density, and macro-porosity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impacts of various land management systems on infiltration rates and to relate other soil properties including soil organic matter, bulk density, and porosity with the infiltration rate. The study was conducted in Calloway County of western Kentucky, using seven land management systems that included corn, soybeans, tobacco, organically grown vegetables, woodland, sod and prairie. All of the soils have a silt loam textural class on the topsoil. Each soil variable being replicated three times in each of three points in the selected area. Infiltration rates were measured using a single ring infiltrometer. Soil organic matter was determined using loss on ignition (LOI) method. Bulk density and porosity were performed using the core method with undisturbed samples. The data was statistically analyzed using ANOVA and the least significant difference was at α 5%. Understanding soil responses to various agricultural practices will improve crop management systems in the future, especially in minimizing compaction and runoff. The overall results will be presented in the poster.