물 유거(Run-off)에 따른 토양유실량을 자동정량하고자 ISCO 6712 수질환경 종합측정장치를 이용하여 토양유실량 추정장치를 고안하였고, 이 장치를 통해 실시간으로 유실되는 토양량을 추정할 수 있었다. 토양유실량 추정장치는 ISCO 6712 장치에 수위계(ISCO 730), 우량계(ISCO 674) 그리고 흙탕물을 받는 저수조 내에 층위 별로 흙탕물을 자동으로 채취할 수 있는 시설을 추가하였다. 1 × 5 m2 크기, 경사 15 %의 라이시미터(lysimeter) 내 석비레(Saprolite) 토양에 옥수수를 심어 실험한 결과 2017년 1회 강우량 161.3 ㎜의 강우사상에서는 실측 토양유실량의 85.1%, 82.6 ㎜ 강우사상에서는 101.7 %의 토양량을 추정하였다.

Our research work aimed to evaluate cover crop effects of winter rye on soil characteristics, soil conservation, and yield productivities on potato fields with 15% slope during a fallowed period. There were two controls of bared field without any cultivation and conventional potato cultivation without winter rye. Potato cultivation increased soil pH, organic matter, available phosphate, and exchangeable cation regardless of cover crop cultivation. Sub-soil, particularly, all components of soil chemical properties showed higher value in winter rye cultivation than conventional cultivation. Higher soil density was observed on cover crop cultivation than conventional cultivation resulting from root residues of the cover crop both topsoil and subsoil. Cover crop residues positively affected plant growth and reduced the amount of soil erosion by holding the soil. Although severe soil erosion was seen in conventional cultivation, winter rye cultivation declined soil erosion by 47% during the fallow period on potato slope fields. Distinct soil bacterial communities were detected among treatments and some OTU(Operational Taxonomic Unit)s showed significantly higher abundance in winter rye treatment. Total yield and commercial rate demonstrated no significant differences while higher tuber phosphate, K+, and Mg2+ contents were observed in winter rye cultivation.

Soil microorganism activity in an agricultural field is affected by various factors including climate conditions, soil chemical properties, and crop cultivation. In this study, we elucidate the correlation between microorganism activity and agricultural environment factors using the dehydrogenase activity (DHA) value, which is one of the indicators of soil microbial activity. As a result, the various factors noted above were related to the DHA value. Annual rainfall, soil Mg2+, bacterial and fungal diversities, types of crops, developmental stages, seasons, and cultivation status were highly correlated with the DHA value. Furthermore, next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis was used to identify that the type of crop affected soil microbial compositions of both bacteria and fungi. Soil used for soybean cultivation showed the highest relative abundance for Verrucomicrobia, Planctomycetes, and Acidobacteria but Actinobacteria and Firmicutes had the lowest relative abundance. In the case of soil used for potato cultivation, Actinobacteria had the highest relative abundance but Proteobacteria had the lowest relative abundance. Armatimonadetes showed the highest relative abundance in soil used for cabbage cultivation. Among the fungal communities, Mortierellomycota had the highest relative abundance for soybean cultivation but the lowest relative abundance for cabbage cultivation; further, Rozellomycota, Chytridiomycota, and Cercozoa had the highest relative abundance for cabbage cultivation. Basidiomycota had the highest relative abundance for potato cultivation but the lowest relative abundance for soybean cultivation.

Soil conservation management is necessary for sustainable agriculture, in highland areas, and cover crops are one of the best soil conservation methods for slopes. In this study, we evaluated the effects of alfalfa cultivation on maize production, as well as soil conservation and quality. There was an outstanding soil conservation effect with alfalfa cultivation in the fallow and maize growing seasons. In particular, alfalfa cultivation reduced soil loss by up to 98% compared with bare field. It also increased the activities of soil microorganisms and the supply of organic matter. Maize production with alfalfa cultivation showed no significant differences in yield. In conclusion, alfalfa is an advantageous perennial cover crop in highland agricultural slope areas, which can have positive effects on soil quality and conservation, as well as maize production.

In this study, microorganism community characteristics of organic managed soil which applied rye (Secale cereal L.) as green manure for 25 years, were determined. The chemical properties of organic soil showed high level of organic matter and available P2O5, while the level of exchangeable cation was low. The analysis of dehydrogenase activity and carbon source utilization indicated that the values in on organic soil were significantly higher than those of the control. It suggested that the microorganism community of organic soil had high microorganism activity, compared to the control. In addition, when the 16S rRNA genetargeted NGS (Next generation sequencing) analysis was conducted to estimate the class of bacterial community, the class level of bacterial taxon composition on organic soil showed higher portion of Sphingobacteriia, Acidobacteriia, Gammaproteobacteria, Solibacteres and Planctomycetia. By base on the results of various reports in which organic managed soil had high portion of Acidobacteriia and Planctomycetia, the characteristic of taxon composition in organic soil, which showed the high percentages of Ktedonobacteria, Sphingobacteriia, Acidobacteriia and Gammaproteobacteria, was resulted from the application of rye as a green manure for the long term. However, further researches were needed because the crop effect was not considered in this study.

Yield of potato is largely influenced by drought stress. This study was conducted in Gangneung and Cheongju during the spring cropping of potato. Potatoes in the Gangneung area were affected by drought but there was no damage due to drought in Cheongju. During the early-growth stage, the contents of inorganic components like available phosphate and growth characteristics of the potato leaf in Cheongju were significantly higher than those in Gangneung but there was no difference after the flowering stage. It was considered that the potato plants cultivated in Cheongju could vigorously grow than that of Gangneung under drought stress. In addition, the content of calcium (Ca), which is a secondary messenger related to aging, was found to be higher in potato plants grown in Cheongju than in Gangneung and accumulated more quickly in potato plants of Cheongju. Because magnesium (Mg) was also found to be higher in potato plants from Gangneung by a wide margin, this phenomenon was thought be related with drought stress. The amounts of all inorganic components absorbed from soil were higher in Cheongju than in Gangneung, showing a relatively higher plant biomass in Cheongju. Correlations of development indexes related to leaf showed less or no relation in Gangneung. According to yield characteristics of the harvest stage, although yield was greatly reduced under drought stress condition, the rate of commercial yield was not significantly affected under the drought stress condition. Consequently, it was considered that these responses to drought stress could be utilized to stabilize potato production under the stressful conditions associated with abnormal climate.