ACQUISITION AND ANALYSIS OF 3-COMPONENT DIGITAL IMAGES OF SOIL PORE STRUCTURE .2. APPLICATION TO SEED BEDS IN A FALLOW MANAGEMENT TRIAL

Seed beds of a tillage and fallow management trial were examined using the techniques of field impregnation and image analysis described in Part I of this paper. The trial was situated near Warwick on the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia on a self-mulching black earth soil with wheat as the test crop. The effects of both frequency of tillage operations and of burning vs. retention of stubble on the pore structure are examined. The only effect detected in the top 50 mm was due to stubble burning. The tilth layer was finer in the cultivated treatment. Cultivation was seen to reduce the connectivity of pore space. This effect was greatest when combined with burning of stubble. The image analysis results were found to be consistent with other data generated from the same trial.