Farm vehicles approaching weights of sauropods exceed safe mechanical limits for soil functioning.

ABSTRACT: Mechanization has greatly contributed to the success of modern agriculture, with vastly expanded food production capabilities achieved by the higher capacity of farm machinery. However, the increase in capacity has been accompanied by higher vehicle weights that increase risks of subsoil compaction. We show here that while surface contact stresses remained nearly constant over the course of modern mechanization, subsoil stresses have propagated into deeper soil layers and now exceed safe mechanical limits for soil ecological functioning. We developed a global map for delineating subsoil compaction susceptibility based on estimates of mechanization level, mean tractor size, soil texture, and climatic conditions. The alarming trend of chronic subsoil compaction risk over 20% of arable land,

SUBMITTER: Keller T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9173810 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature