Crop Diversity Effects on Near-Surface Soil Condition under Dryland Agriculture

Table 1

Crop diversity effects on soil bulk density at 0–10 cm and infiltration rate for long-term crop and pasture treatments near Mandan, ND.

Soil property	Small grain-fallow	3 yr fixed rotation	5 yr fixed rotation	Dynamic rotation	Grazed pasture^†
Bulk density (Mg m^−3)	1.20 (0.02) a^‡	1.18 (0.04) ab	1.13 (0.01) b	1.18 (0.01) a	0.83 (0.02)
Infiltration rate (cm hr^−1)	7.9 (4.8)	15.0 (6.9)	22.1 (4.6)	28.2 (5.7)	—

†Soil property values for grazed pasture with the same soil type are shown for comparison but were not included in statistical analyses. Infiltration rate not measured in grazed pasture due to excessive soil wetness at time of sampling.
^‡Values in parentheses represent mean standard error. Mean values in a row followed by a different letter are significantly different at 𝑃≤0.05.