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Soil Movement in Long-term Field Experiments as a Result of Cultivations I. A Model for Approximating Soil Movement in One Horizontal Dimension by Repeated Tillage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

E. Sibbesen
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Copenhagen V, Denmark
C. E. Andersen
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Copenhagen V, Denmark
S. Andersen
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Copenhagen V, Denmark
M. Flensted-Jensen
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Copenhagen V, Denmark

Summary

A serious problem in long-term field experiments is that soil is moved from plot to plot as a result of cultivations. The problem is often overlooked and very few attempts have been made to quantify this movement under varying conditions.

A simple, mathematical model for approximating the movement of soil in one horizontal dimension by repeated tillage with one or more tillage implements is presented. The model describes the development with time of a concentration gradient of substance, by means of the solution of a diffusion equation. The model is in agreement with ‘the central limit theorem’, when it is used for the situation where the same cultivations are repeated many times in alternating directions.

The model fitted well to data taken from the literature.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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References

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