Physical properties and spatial distribution of the plowpan in different arable soils

The morphology, water-physical properties, and spatial distribution of plowpans were studied. The presence of a plowpan in the root layer is most reliably detected from the macro- and micromorphometric indices and a reliable decrease in the interaggregate porosity and in the range of active moisture. As a rule, the plowpan does not have a continuous character; its appearance in the soil profile depends on the soil texture and wetting and is usually confined to the lower and wetter mesorelief elements. Loamy and clay loamy soils are more liable to form a plowpan. The current farming system favors the propagation of overcompaction deep into the soil profile. The areas with a plowpan within plowed fields vary in a wide range. The main reasons for the unfavorable physical properties of the subplow layer in a plowland are the natural extenuation of the soil-forming processes in this layer, which is manifested in a poorer aggregation, and the residual soil deformation under the long-term pressure of heavy machines. It is suggested that the plowpan can be destroyed via deep chiseling with the use of precision agriculture technologies.