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The effect of mulch upon soil moisture content is complex. Mulch forms a layer between the soil and the atmosphere reducing evaporation. [11] However, mulch can also prevent water from reaching the soil by absorbing or blocking water from light rains and overly thick layers of mulch can reduce oxygen in the soil. [12]
Typical layers of natural soil. A model for sheet mulching consists of the following steps: [1] [3] The area of interest is flattened by trimming down existing plant species such as grasses. The soil is analyzed and its pH is adjusted (if needed). The soil is moisturized (if needed) to facilitate the activity of decomposers.
In agriculture, a living mulch is a cover crop interplanted or undersown with a main crop, and intended to serve the purposes of a mulch, such as weed suppression and regulation of soil temperature. Living mulches grow for a long time with the main crops, whereas cover crops are incorporated into the soil or killed with herbicides.
In agriculture, mulch tillage (or mulch-till) is a seeding method where a hundred percent of the soil surface is disturbed by tillage, [1] crop residues are mixed with the soil and a certain amount of residues remain on the soil surface. A great variety of cultivator implements are used to perform mulch-till.
Time-lapse of Tigercat mulcher clearing brush. Forestry mulching is a land clearing method that uses a single machine to cut, grind, and clear vegetation.. A forestry mulching machine, also referred to as a forestry mulcher, forest masticator, or brushcutter, uses a rotary drum equipped with steel chipper tools ("teeth") or blades to shred vegetation. [1]
Plastic mulch is often used in conjunction with drip irrigation. Some research has been done using different colors of mulch to affect crop growth. Use of plastic mulch is predominant in large-scale vegetable growing, with millions of acres cultivated under plastic mulch worldwide each year. [1] Disposal of plastic mulch is an environmental ...
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Evaporation from soil accounts for 25-50% of water used in irrigation, using plastic mulch prevents much of this evaporation and thus reduces the amount of water needed to grow the crop. [8] This conservation of water makes plastic mulch favourable for farmers in dry and arid climates where water is a limited resource.