Abstract

The soil physical quality can be characterized with the existence of “indicator” soil parameters that quantify the level or degree of quality. Andosols present very peculiar physical properties and this study aimed to determine the effect of different soil management practices (native forest, tilled and non-tilled pastures) and intensities (1 and 30 years old pastures) on the soil physical quality of an Andosol. The presented results were taken from different research projects conducted in a volcanic ash soil under different management intensities in southern Chile. When this volcanic ash soil’s management was intensified, changes in soil structure occurred, which resulted in an increase in bulk density (0.55 to 0.74), changes in air capacity (25 to 4%), conductivity and derived pore-continuity indices (e.g. C2 from 600 to 80 μm2). The increase in bulk density due to soil structural changes did not reach critical values concerning soil compaction; we also found no relation between bulk density and soil physical pore functions. The air capacity of the soil was higher under less intensive soil managements; however, it could still reach critical values concerning soil compaction as a result of soil structure degradation. Finally, air capacity values seem to be an effective and sensitive capacity parameter when studying the effect of soil management on Andosol’s soil physical functions.