Soil Inversion Research
Manchester University PHD initial results
Glen,
E., J. Barker, L. Thompson, E.A.C. Price, S.J.M. Caporn, J. Carroll, M.L.M.
Jones & R. Scott (2005) "Creative conservation on agricultural land
using topsoil inversion."
Table 1: Results of t-tests to compare soil factors between deep (D) and conventional (C) ploughing at eight soil depths one week after ploughing (N = 8). + = p < 0.05; + + = p < 0.01; + + + = p < 0.001, all where D > C. Minus as above, where D < C. Data for water and organic matter were arcsine transformed prior to analysis. pH range 6.0 - 8.2; water content range 11 - 22%; organic matter content range 1.3 - 4.0%.
Figure 2: Mean total N (mg/g + 1 SE) in 10 cm depth bands in conventionally ploughed (C) and deep ploughed (D) soil two years after ploughing. * = p < 0.05; * * = p < 0.01; NS = not significant. Significance from t-test comparing total N between treatments at each depth (N = 3).
Figure 3: Mean number of seeds per litre (+ 1 SE) in the top, middle and bottom
thirds of a 1 m soil profile in conventionally (C) and deep (D) ploughed soil
two years after ploughing. * = p < 0.05; * * = p < 0.01; * * * = p <
0.001. Significance from t-test comparing number of seeds per litre between
treatments at each depth (N = 6).
Figure 4: Mean Larix decidua height (mm + 1 SE) in three treatment areas after two years (N = 50). CG = conventionally ploughed with grass; DG = deep ploughed with grass; DW = deep ploughed with wildflowers. Differences between all three are significant (p < 0.05; one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferonni-Dunn post-hoc tests).
