Variability of Soil Properties in Southern Illinois Croplands

Understanding soil properties and what causes their variability is important for improving or maintaining soil health, as well as incorporating better cropland management practices. The objective of this research was to determine the variability of soil properties from six St. Clair County, Illinois fields with different soil orders, types, textures, and field conditions. The six fields studied were a soybean field with clay hills, corn field with medium texture, corn field with light texture, corn field with high plant residue, soybean field with medium texture, and corn field with Mollisol heavy clay. The soil properties evaluated in this study were soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC), soil water holding capacity (SWHC), macroporosity (MP), soil water at field capacity (SWFC), bulk density (BD), and total porosity (TP). The results indicated that soil pH was nearly identical for all fields (6.13-6.45). Also, the study revealed that the corn field with Mollisol heavy clay had the highest content of SOM (5.54%) and SOC (3.21%), the lowest SWHC (30.27%), MP (29.24%), and SWFC (26.35%), and the highest BD (1.435 g/cm3). Furthermore, the corn field with light texture had the highest TP (51.23%), SWHC (41.64%), MP (40.43%), and SWFC (38.03%), in addition to the lowest BD (1.292 g/cm3). This data will be useful for making educated crop management decisions that help maintain soil health for years to come. Keywords: Land Use, Soil Health, Soil Properties, Soil Types, Soil Variability