3.2 Soil physical quality indexes
Soil particle distribution varies across the study site, but they were
dominantly coarse-textured ranging from sandy loam and loamy sand for
both grazing conditions (S. Material 2). Sand contents vary from 65 to
90%, with very little clay content in most cases (<5 %).
None of the soil physical properties showed an interaction among
factors; therefore, each factor was analyzed independently. The
infiltration rate (K) and saturated hydraulic conductivity
(Ksat) were significantly different between the CG
condition and the OG condition (Table I).
Most soil physical variables showed a significant difference between the
bare soil and the under canopy conditions, except for porosity and water
holding capacity (WHC). Bulk density was significantly lower in the
under-canopy condition and both saturated and unsaturated hydraulic
conductivity. Additionally, the under-canopy condition showed much more
stables aggregates than in the bare-soil condition