Evaluation of soil compaction in an irrigated short-duration grazing system

Reduction in pasture productivity is generally attributed to alterations in soil quality. Soil compaction due to animal trampling is one of the factors responsible for the degradation of the physical quality of soils under pasture. The objective of the study was to evaluate penetrometer resistance (PR) in an irrigated short-duration grazing system at three post-graze residue levels. PR and moisture were simultaneously measured in plots containing three different post-graze residue levels (1000, 2500 and 4000 kg dry material ha(-1)). The influence of soil moisture on PR was taken into account using regression analysis techniques. PR was significantly higher for the treatments characterized by a small amount of post-graze residue, while similar values were obtained for the other two treatments. From a management perspective, adopting an irrigated short-duration grazing system with high stocking rate may adversely affect the soil physical quality. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.