AUTHOR=Sainju Upendra M. , Liptzin Daniel TITLE=Relating soil chemical properties to other soil properties and dryland crop production JOURNAL=Frontiers in Environmental Science VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1005114 DOI=10.3389/fenvs.2022.1005114 ISSN=2296-665X ABSTRACT=

Soil chemical properties have often been related to some other soil properties and crop yields, but extensive evaluation of the relationships of soil chemical properties with other properties and long-term crop yields under dryland cropping systems is lacking. We related six soil chemical properties (pH, electrical conductivity [EC], cation exchange capacity [CEC], and inorganic P [IP], K, and Al concentrations) with 62 other soil physical, chemical, biological, and biochemical properties and crop yields at two long-term (14- and 36-year old) dryland farming sites in the northern Great Plain, United States. Treatments were rotations of no-tillage and conventional tillage spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), and fallow with or without N fertilization. Soil samples collected to a depth of 0–15 cm in April 2019 were analyzed for soil properties and long-term crop yields were determined. Soil chemical properties were mostly correlated to each other at the short-term than at the long-term site. Based on the principal component analysis, EC, CEC, and IP, and K concentrations were associated with most of the physical, chemical, biological, and biochemical properties at both sites. The CEC, IP, and K concentrations were related to mean crop yields across years at individual or combined sites, but other chemical properties were not related to yields. We conclude that CEC, IP, and K concentrations may be used as potential chemical indicators of soil health that were related to most soil properties and crop yields under dryland cropping systems in the semiarid region.