Terraced Pasture Changes the Soil Moisture Dynamics

Climate changes, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, scarcity and pollution of waters are the problems caused and experienced by society. The conservation methods of soil moisture are important for plant growth and groundwater preservation. The aim at this study was to evaluate the impacts of the terraces on soil moisture and to analyze the efficiency of Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) in the soil moisture determination. Soil moisture was determined by gravimetric and GPR methods in the depths of 0 to 10, 10 to 30, 30 to 60 and, 60 to 100 cm. The water storage in depth was larger and uniform in terraced than in the non-terraced pasture. However, the non terraced pasture has less soil compaction. Thus, the terrace does not guarantee adequate pasture management and other alternatives for sustainable management of cattle and reduction of soil compaction is necessary. The GPR method may be used to estimate the soil water content in volumetric basis in the field of a non-invasive manner. However, there need to study and determine the accuracy in GPR measurement in different methods and soil types.