Pengaruh Mulsa Sebagai Penutup Tanah terhadap Distribusi Air Pada Tanah Ultisol

Abstract

Soil conservation, such as knowing the distribution of water in the soil, is one of the efforts to prevent erosion and improve soil. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of water in the Ultisol soil with and without soil cover, as well as to determine the efficiency of the soil cover. The study in a greenhouse scale used a 2-factorial completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 5 replications for each treatment. Parameters observed included soil physical properties, soil chemical properties, soil moisture content, soil depth, soil cover and soil diffusivity. The results showed that Ultisol soil with sandy loam texture contained 1.00% organic matter with low criteria. The lowest diffusivity occurred without mulch with a total diffusivity of 1,03 cm2 /day and a moisture content of 15,74%. And the highest amount of moisture content and the highest diffusivity occurred in the soil with the application of straw mulch, with a diffusivity of 43,33 cm2 /day and a soil moisture content of 37,56%. The lowest water distribution occurs in soil without mulch at a depth of 5 cm, which is 12,92% and the most water distribution occurs at a soil depth of 20 cm with straw mulch with a moisture content of 37,56%