We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Tillage erosion as the main driver of in-field yield patterns in an intensively used hummocky landscape.
- Authors
Öttl, Lena Katharina; Wehrhan, Marc; Wilken, Florian; Sommer, Michael; Fiener, Peter
- Abstract
Hummocky landscapes under intensive arable use are substantially affected by erosion processes. Especially in areas of limited precipitation and highly mechanized large field farming, tillage erosion causes substantial soil erosion that can distinctively exceed water erosion. In consequence, truncated soil profiles can be found on hilltops and steep slopes, whereas colluvial material is accumulated in depressions and along downslope field boarders. We are testing the hypotheses that tillage erosion substantially affects in-field crop yield patterns and that this effect is more pronounced in dry years or regions. The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), derived from RapidEye data (5 m x 5 m raster), and the Topographic Position Index (TPI), derived from a high-resolution digital terrain model, serve as proxies for crop yield and erosional status, respectively. The amount of erosion was also estimated with the tillage erosion component of the model SPEROS-C. Data from the Quillow catchment (size: 291 km2; mean annual precipitation: 500 mm) in North-East Germany were used to analyse the interrelation between EVI, TPI and modelled tillage erosion in dry versus wet years and along a precipitation gradient within the catchment. Our findings clearly indicate that the most eroded areas had the lowest EVI values, while the highest EVI values were found in the depositional positions. Moreover, it can be recognized that the differences in yields between hilltop positions and depressions (lower field boarders) are more pronounced in dry years. Overall, this study underlines the substantial effect of tillage erosion on crop yields in hummocky landscapes under highly mechanised arable cultivation.
- Subjects
GERMANY; TILLAGE; EROSION; COLLUVIUM; DIGITAL elevation models; SOIL erosion; CROP yields
- Publication
Geophysical Research Abstracts, 2019, Vol 21, p1
- ISSN
1029-7006
- Publication type
Article