Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37

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Soil & Tillage Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/still

Age-hardening phenomena in an oxisol from the subtropical region of

Brazil
Moacir Tuzzin de Moraesa,* , Henrique Debiasib , Reimar Carlessoc , Julio Cezar Franchinib ,
Vanderlei Rodrigues da Silvad , Felipe Bonini da Luzd
a
Federal University of Paraná, 80035-050, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
b
Embrapa Soybean, PO Box 231, 86001-970, Londrina, PR, Brazil
c
Federal University of Santa Maria, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
d
Federal University of Santa Maria, 98400-000, Frederico Westphalen, RS, Brazil

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history:
Received 14 July 2016 Soil strength is not only affected by water content and bulk density, but also by the age-hardening
Received in revised form 26 January 2017 phenomena, which plays a key role in increasing the soil strength as a function of time. It has been
Accepted 2 March 2017 demonstrated that soil penetration resistance in no-tillage is higher when compared with other tillage
Available online xxx systems at the same bulk density and water content. The objectives of this study was to investigate the
effects of the age-hardening phenomena on soil penetration resistance in a long-term soil management
Keywords: system, running since 1988 in a very clayey Oxisol, in southern Brazil. Soil samples were collected from
No-tillage system three soil layers (0.0–0.10 m; 0.10–0.20 m and 0.20–0.30 m) and five soil tillage systems: conventional
Rhodic eutrudox
tillage; minimum tillage with chiselling performed every year or every three years; and no-tillage for 11
Soil penetration resistance
or 24 years. Age-hardening was investigated using soil penetration resistance analysis and modelling. We
used the area under the soil resistance to penetration curve to compare the age-hardening phenomena
under the different tillage systems. For the same bulk density and water content, the soil resistance to
penetration increased with time under no-tillage or without soil chiselling. For the same bulk density, no
differences were found for macroporosity and microporosity among the tillage systems. Higher soil
penetration resistance values in long-term no-tillage at the same soil bulk density and water content
were attributed to the age-hardening phenomena, which increased the number and strength of bonds
among soil particles, leading to higher soil cohesion. It is necessary to establish critical limits of soil
penetration resistance as a function of the soil tillage system, and the time without soil chiselling or
under no-tillage system.
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction strength variation, the soil penetration resistance curve (SPR

Soil penetration resistance (SPR) is widely known to change as a
function of water content and soil bulk density (Moraes et al.,
2012). Therefore, the soil water content dependency may influence
the interpretation of the soil’s compaction level when using SPR as
a quantitative indicator. This problem may be circumvented by
measuring the SPR in a drying soil at different bulk density values,
either in the laboratory using undisturbed soil samples, or directly
in the field (Busscher, 1990). To further the understanding of soil
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: moacir.tuzzin@ufrgs.br, moacir.tuzzin@gmail.com
(M.T. de Moraes), henrique.debiasi@embrapa.br (H. Debiasi), carlesso@ccr.ufsm.br
(R. Carlesso), julio.franchini@embrapa.br (J.C. Franchini), vanderlei@ufsm.br
(V.R. da Silva), boninisolos@gmail.com (F.B. da Luz).
curve) can be utilised. The SPR curve is the reading of SPR variation
as a function of bulk density and soil water content. The SPR curve
may be a useful parameter for evaluating soil physical quality in
areas under annual crops (Gao et al., 2016), native forest or fruit
trees (Fidalski et al., 2010), because it is closely related to the
effects of soil strength on crop growth (Bengough et al., 2011).
However, the SPR curve depends on more parameters than only the
soil water content and bulk density (Busscher, 1990; Moraes et al.,
2012). Accordingly, the soil organic carbon content and soil
textural composition (Gao et al., 2011), or time without soil
disturbance are assumed to contribute to change in soil particle
arrangement, and particle cementation (Dexter et al., 1988).
The agricultural area managed under no-tillage has increased
continuously over the last decade mainly in tropical and
subtropical regions, because long-term no-tillage can preserve

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.03.002
0167-1987/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
28 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37
the structural quality of soils over time, and provide suitable soil
physical conditions for crop growth (Moraes et al., 2016). However,
excessive soil compaction in untilled surface layers is regarded as
one of the major reasons for crop yield reductions, especially
during dry years (McKenzie et al., 2009), in weakly structured soils
(López-Garrido et al., 2014) or in absence of diversified crop
rotation systems (Abdollahi et al., 2015).
The increase in soil compaction increases SPR (Moraes et al.,
2012) and reduces soil porosity, macroporosity, aeration, water
infiltration capacity (Valentine et al., 2012) and hydraulic
conductivity (Silva et al., 2009). These soil physical alterations
lead to poor root growth (Schmidt et al., 2013), and thus limit the
soil depth and volume explored by the roots for the uptake of water
and nutrients (Bengough et al., 2011) However, continuous pores
or biopores may attenuate deleterious effects of the soil
mechanical restrictions on plant growth (Moraes et al., 2016;
Calonego and Rosolem, 2010). Thus, soil management is the most
important factor in changing soil structural quality, for example
through the creation of a continuous and stable network of
biopores (Moraes et al., 2016).
Traditionally, SPR values critical to plant growth have been
indicated without taking into account either the soil management
system or the adoption time. Only a few studies have considered
the effects of soil management systems and their adoption time on
the determination of SPR critical limits on crop growth and yield
(Moraes et al., 2014a). For instance, several studies have assumed
that a SPR value greater than 2 MPa at field capacity is limiting to
root growth (Lipiec et al., 2012), slowing root elongation to less
than half of its rate under unimpeded soil conditions (Gregory,
2006; Bengough et al., 2011). In many agricultural areas, no-tillage
has led to SPR values above 2 MPa, however, in these areas no
reduction in crop yield (Moraes et al., 2014a), or root growth
(Martínez et al., 2008) was observed, revealing a cementation
process that strengthened the soil structure in a way that meant
the soil functioning was preserved. This strengthening may be
ascribed to the formation of a pore network encompassing
continuous and vertically oriented biopores that enable root
elongation and adequate water and air fluxes in the soil, even
under a high SPR (Moraes et al., 2016). Additionally, a well-
cemented pore network is more resistant against collapse when
the soil is exposed to heavy agricultural machinery traffic (Jin et al.,
2013).
The processes that result in soil strength increasing over time
without soil disturbance have been reported in the literature, such
as age-hardening phenomena (Utomo and Dexter, 1981). These
phenomena are the result of two major processes, particle
rearrangements, and particle cementation (Dexter et al., 1988).
The first process has been called the type A mechanism, and is the
true thixotropic effect, involving the rearrangement of soil
particles (mainly clay) into new positions of minimum free energy
(Dexter et al., 1988; Dexter, 1990). The second, is known as the type
B mechanism, and involves the reformation or strengthening of
cementing bonds at new points of contact or near-contact between
pairs of mineral particles (Dexter, 1990). This higher number of
contact points between soil particles, and the strengthening of the
bonds among them, leads to greater soil cohesion and internal
friction (Fuentes et al., 2013), thus inducing increases in soil
penetration resistance without significant alterations to the
volume, size and arrangement of pores (Moraes et al., 2014a;
Ortigara et al., 2015).
Soil strength and the strength of aggregates formed from
disrupted soils increases with time (Utomo and Dexter, 1981). This
process has a close association with the Mohr-Coulomb’s equation
(cohesion and angle of internal friction), which determines the soil
shear resistance (Conte et al., 2011). In addition, the soil cohesion is
affected by time (Kemper and Rosenau, 1984), water content (Secco
et al., 2013), number of pores and cracks (Fuentes et al., 2013),
organic matter, temperature, texture (Kemper et al., 1987),
mineralogy, and iron and aluminium contents (Sánchez-Girón,
1996). Consequently, increases in soil strength are expected to
occur over time after conservation tillage adoption, as a result of
age-hardening processes (Horn, 2004).
The definition of critical values of SPR for long-term no-tillage
has been widely discussed in the literature, but still remains
unclear (Moraes et al., 2014a; De Jong van Lier and Gubiani, 2015),
possibly due to the influence of cracks and biopores on root growth
(Dexter, 1991). However, there is little information regarding the
age hardening phenomena in subtropical clayey soils managed
under no-tillage. Thus a better understanding of this process is
necessary to establish more accurate critical limits of SPR to allow a
better understanding and monitoring of soil compaction and
physical quality (Moraes et al., 2014a).
We hypothesised that the absence of soil disturbance (no-
tillage system) increases SPR values under the same bulk density
and water content over time, as a result of the age hardening
process. Thus, distinct SPR critical limits are needed as a function of
tillage system, and the use of SPR curves as a soil physical quality
indicator is a valuable option. We aimed to study the age hardening
phenomena in no-tillage systems, and quantify its influence on the
SPR curve of a very clayey soil for describing the evolution of soil
physical quality.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Study site
The study was carried out in a long-term experiment
established in 1988 at the Experimental Station of Embrapa
Soybean, in Londrina (latitude 23
110 S; longitude 51
110 W; and
620 m in altitude) State of Paraná, Southern Brazil. According to the
Köppen classification, the climate of the region is humid
subtropical (Cfa), with an annual average temperature of 21
C
and with 1651 mm of rainfall (Moreno, 1961). The experiment was
established on an Oxisol (Latossolo Vermelho Distroférrico,
Brazilian classification; Rhodic Eutrudox, USA classification) with
755 g clay kg1 soil, 178 g silt kg1 soil and 67 g sand kg1 soil. The
soil particle density at 0–0.3 m depth is 2.90 Mg m3, and the mean
slope of the experimental area is 0.03 m m1. Before the
establishment of the experiment, the area had been cropped with
coffee (Coffea arabica L.) for approximately 40 years, with the entire
area receiving similar management and inputs.
2.2. Experimental design, treatments, and field management
The experiment was laid out in a 5  2factorial (soil tillage 
cropping system), distributed in a randomised block design with
four replications. The treatments consisted of the following tillage
systems: conventional tillage with heavy disking to a depth of
0.15 m, then light disking (0.1 m depth), performed before each
winter and summer growing season (CT); minimum tillage with
annual chiselling (MTC1), performed before each winter crop
planting, and no-tillage for the summer crop; minimum tillage
with chiselling every three years (MTC3), performed before the
winter crop planting, and no-tillage for the other winter/summer
crops; continuous no-tillage for 11 years, established in 2001
(NT11); and continuous no-tillage for 24 years (NT24), established in
1988. Between 1988 and 2001, the soil under NT11 was tilled with a
mouldboard plough (average working depth of 0.32 m), followed
by light disking before planting the summer crop, and heavy
disking (average working depth of 0.15 m) followed by light disking
(0.07 m work depth) before the planting of the winter crop. The
MTC1 and MTC3 plots were chiselled using a mounted chisel
 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37 29

plough with rollers and four shanks spaced 0.40 m apart, working
at an average depth of 0.30 m and an angle of 45
. Soil sampling
was conducted at 10 and 22 months after final soil chiselling in the
MTC1 and MTC3 plots, respectively.
The soil tillage systems were established under two cropping
systems: (i) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the winter and soybean
(Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in the summer every year (crop
succession); and (ii) a four-year crop rotation system (crop
rotation), with the following species (winter/summer): year
1 = white lupine (Lupinus albus L.) or radish (Raphanus sativus
L.)/maize (Zea mays L.); year 2 = white oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.)/
soybean; year 3 = wheat/soybean; and year 4 = wheat/soybean.
Each plot was 30 m long  10 m wide (area of 225 m2), with a space
of 7 m in width left between each plot to allow tractor
manouvering during operations. The average shoot dry biomass
production of the species in succession and crop rotation systems
was approximately 5.3 and 7 Mg ha1 yr1, respectively. The
average soil organic carbon content in 2012 for the 0.0–0.10 m
surface layers were 18.9 (CT), 19.9 (MTC1), 19.8 (MTC3), 20.6 (NT11)
and 21.9 g kg1 (NT24).
2.3. Soil sampling and laboratory analysis
In January 2012, when all the evaluated plots were grown with
soybean, core soil samples were collected from the centre of the
layers (0.0–0.10, 0.10–0.20, and 0.20–0.30 m) using stainless steel
rings, with a volume of 100 cm3 (5 cm internal diameter and 5 cm
height). Thus, 40 undisturbed cores were sampled per tillage
system (5) for each soil layer (3) in the soybean interrows, totalling
600 soil samples of preserved structure. The 600 undisturbed
samples were divided into five groups of 120, encompassing eight
samples per tillage system and soil layer, regardless of the cropping
system. Subsequently, each group of samples was subjected to the
following soil matric potentials: 3 and 6 kPa using suction
tables (EMBRAPA, 1997); 10; 33; 100; and 500 kPa in
Richards’ chambers with porous plates. Once equilibrated at each
matric potential, the samples were weighed, and the SPR was
determined using a static bench penetrometer (Model: MA 933
Marconi) (Moraes et al., 2014b).
The penetrometer consisted of a metal rod with a cone at the
end, with a semi-angle of 30
, 4 mm diameter, and with a base area
of 0.1256 cm2 connected to a load cell with a nominal capacity of
20 kgf. The penetration rate was 20 mm min1, so that for each
sample, 120 readings were performed to a depth of 40 mm. The SPR
was calculated as the average of the readings from 5 mm to 40 mm
soil depth for each core sample.
After SPR determination, the soil samples were oven-dried at
105
C for 48 h to quantify the soil bulk density – BD (Mg m3) and
the volumetric soil water content – u (m3 m3). The soil
microporosity (pores <50 mm) was equivalent to the volumetric
water content at 6 kPa, known from measurements from the
suction table. The macroporosity (pores >50 mm) was calculated as
the difference between total porosity and microporosity.
The SPR curve was adjusted in relation to the SPR values
(independent variable) for the respective soil water content and
bulk density (dependent variables), using the non-linear model
described by Busscher (1990) (Eq. (1)) for each soil tillage system
irrespective of the cropping systems. The coefficients of determi-
nation (R2) of the fitted Busscher’s non-linear models were
calculated according Eq. (2).
SPR ¼ aBDb u
c
ð1Þ
Where, a, b and c are the parameters of the model.
SSres
R2 ¼ 1  ð2Þ
SSreg
Where, SSres = residual sum of squares; and SSreg = regression sum
of squares.

Table 1
Non-linear regression parameters adjusted for the soil penetration resistance curve (SPR = a*BDb*uc), and the respective coefficient of determination (R2), at three layers in a
Rhodic Eutrudox under different soil tillage systems.

Parameter Layers

0.0–0.10 m 0.10–0.20 m 0.20–0.30 m

Estimated1 R2 Estimated R2 Estimated R2

CT
a 0.0014  0.001 0.0740  0.06 0.0998  0.05
b 10.2964  1.03 0.94* 3.4985  0.95 0.78* 0.7897  0.99 0.91*
c 5.3125  0.50 3.1692  0.75 3.8852  0.63

MTC1
a 0.00426  0.002 0.0214  0.01 0.0624  0.04
b 7.9621  0.71 0.93* 4.5706  0.75 0.78* 3.8942  0.81 0.84*
c 4.6272  0.46 3.9248  0.61 3.0966  0.66

MTC3
a 0.0017  0.001 0.0276  0.02 0.0217  0.01
b 9.9153  0.69 0.96* 4.9886  1.04 0.84* 4.3161  0.106 0.91*
c 5.3255  0.48 3.7445  0.63 4.3430  0.61

NT11
a 0.0193  0.014 0.0450  0.02 0.0356  0.02
b 5.3898  0.92 0.87* 3.0957  0.94 0.89* 3.9592  1.19 0.89*
c 3.8757  0.60 3.7821  0.42 3.7502  0.53

NT24
a 0.00402  0.002 0.0009  0.0004 0.0022  0.001
b 8.8037  0.73 0.96* 9.7291  0.87 0.98* 8.3026  0.92 0.97*
c 4.8792  0.43 6.22421  0.34 6.0537  0.41

CT: conventional tillage; MTC1: minimum tillage with chiselling every year; MTC3: minimum tillage with chiselling every 3 years; NT11: continuous no-tillage for 11 years;
NT24: continuous no-tillage for 24 years. R2 = [1-(SSres/SSreg)]; u: soil volumetric water content (m3 m3); BD: soil bulk density (Mg m3); SPR: soil penetration resistance
(MPa). 1parameters values the standard error. *significant by F-test at the 5% level.
30 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37
2.4. Data analysis
The adjustment of SPR curves (Eq. (1)) to the measured data was
performed using the routine “PROC NLIN” from the Statistical
Analysis System 8.0 (SAS). Adjusted SPR equations were subjected
to analysis of variance (ANOVA) with significant differences
reported at P < 0.05. For all layers, the SPR curves were compared
between the soil tillage systems using the area under the curve,
calculated by the integral of the adjusted Eq. (1), considering water
contents ranging from 0.35 to 0.42 m3 m3 and bulk densities
ranging from 1.21 to 1.30 Mg m3. The area under the curve was
calculated using the Matlab1 software. The area under the curve
from tillage systems was submitted to ANOVA, and, when F-values
were significant (p < 0.05), means were separated by t-test
(p < 0.05).
3. Results and discussion
The fitted soil penetration resistance (SPR) curve parameters for
the soil tillage systems evaluated at the 0.0–0.10, 0.10–0.20, and
0.20–0.30 m layers are shown in Table 1. The models explained
over 87% (0.0–0.10 m), 78% (0.10–0.20 m), and 84% (0.20–0.30 m) of
the SPR variability. The relation between the measured and
calculated SPR values showed that the models were adequate for
all tillage systems, therefore, SPR can be accurately estimated from
bulk density and water content values using Busscher’s model
(Eq. (1)) (Fig. 1). The SPR equations were significant (p < 0.05) for
all the tillage systems and layers evaluated.
The SPR range for all the tillage systems and layers showed
differences in the function of soil structure under field conditions
(Fig. 2). Thus, the range of bulk density and u was higher in CT
(Fig. 2-II) and MTC1 (Fig. 2-II, 2-III) compared with the other tillage
systems. This higher range in the 0.10–0.20 m layer of CT reflects a
transition region between the uppermost layer (0–0.10 m) and the
layer containing a plough pan at 0.20–0.30 m. In addition, MTC1
showed large ranges of u and bulk density, probably resulting from
differences in soil disturbance that occurred due to their positions
near to and between shanks. Conversely, NT24 resulted in a smaller
bulk density and u range at 0.10–0.20 m (from 1.19 to 1.36 Mg m3)
and 0.20–0.30 m (from 1.13 to 1.33 Mg m3) layers. This bulk
density range reflects an intermediary soil compaction level
(maximum bulk density for this soil was 1.5 Mg m3); therefore,
the best physical condition for root growth and yield is provided by
the no-tillage system (Moraes et al., 2016).
Fig. 1. Calculated vs. measured values of soil penetration resistance in a Rhodic
Eutrudox, very clayey soil, obtained at different layers and from different soil tillage
systems. The dashed line represents the one-to-one relationship.
The SPR curve was plotted as a function of u (from 0.35 to
0.42 m3 m3) and bulk density (from 1.21 to 1.30 Mg m3) for all
soil tillage systems at 0.0–0.10 m (Fig. 3a), 0.10–0.20 m (Fig. 3b),
and 0.20–0.30 m (Fig. 3c) layers, enabling us to observe changes in
the exponential increase of SPR as a function of u and bulk density,
for each soil tillage system. The bulk density and u ranges were
chosen because these values were observed in all soil layers and
tillage systems according to the field observations described in
Fig. 3. Moreover, the option of plotting the SPR curves using the
same bulk density and u ranges allowed reliable comparisons
among the treatments through the area under the curve (Table 2).
The area under the SPR curves was greater for NT24 than for the
other tillage systems, except the area under the curve for CT in the
0.20–0.30 m layer, which did not differ from NT24 (Table 2). The
main increase in SPR on CT, at the layer 0.20–0.30 m, was due to a
reduction of soil water content associated with lower soil organic
content, which can increase the soil strength because there is a
mechanical effect of soil particle cementation under lower as well
as higher bulk density. Additionally, the area under the SPR curve
was higher in NT24 than NT11, as well MTC3 had a higher SPR than
MTC1, for all layers. This increase in SPR under the same bulk
density and u emphasises that the soil strength increases over
time, enabling more stable aggregates, and the formation of
continuous pores within the soil profile. Therefore, the soil
susceptibility to compaction increased with soil perturbation by
chiselling. When soil disturbance through tillage is more frequent,
the soil load-bearing capacity is strongly reduced, leading to a soil
that is highly-susceptible to compaction (Ortigara et al., 2015). This
may have a direct relation with the soil strength, and the age-
hardening phenomena can help in understanding the effects of no-
tillage on soil load-bearing capacity.
Considering the tillage system at the same bulk density and u,
the SPR values were higher under NT24 than NT11, while MTC3 had
higher SPR values than MTC1, for all the layers (Table 2). This
increase in SPR under the same bulk density emphasises that the
soil strength increases over time, enabling more stable aggregates,
and the formation of continuous pores within the soil profile.
Therefore, the soil’s susceptibility to compaction is increased with
soil perturbation by chiselling. When soil disturbance through
tillage is more frequent, the soil load-bearing capacity is strongly
reduced, leading to a soil that is highly-susceptible to compaction
(Ortigara et al., 2015). This may have a direct relation with the soil
strength, and the age-hardening phenomena can help in the
understanding of effects of no-tillage on soil load-bearing capacity.
The bulk density and u effects on SPR in the NT24 treatment
were greater compared with all the other tillage systems (Fig. 3).
Hence, we observed that for the same bulk density and u, the SPR
values in the NT24 treatment were higher than in the other tillage
systems, indicating that the absence of tillage resulted in an
increase in soil resistance over time (Fig. 3a and Table 2). This
finding was even more apparent when comparing NT24 with NT11,
and MTC3 with MTC1. Thus, considering the same bulk density
(1.30 Mg m3), when the u decreased from 0.42 m3 m3 to
0.35 m3 m3 at the 0.0–0.10 m depth the SPR difference between
NT24 and NT11 increased from 0.5 MPa (0.42 m3 m3) to 2.15 MPa
(0.35 m3 m3). Similarly, SPR increased when longer intervals
between soil chiselling were used. For the same bulk density
(1.30 Mg m3), the differences between MTC3 to MTC1 increased
from 0.45 MPa to 1.80 MPa when u varied from 0.42 m3 m3 to
0.35 m3 m3. Therefore, SPR increased as the time without soil
disturbance increased for both tillage systems (no-tillage and
minimum tillage) (Table 2).
Thus, the general effect for the same bulk density and u was the
increase in SPR values in response to longer periods under no-
tillage or without soil chiselling, as a result from the age-hardening
phenomenon. The effects of “cementation” among soil aggregates
 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37 31

Fig. 2. Soil penetration resistance as affected by soil water content and bulk density, for the tillage systems (a) CT; (b) MTC1; (c) MTC3; (d) NT11; and (e) NT24, at (I) 0.0–0.10 m;
(II) 0.10–0.20 m and (III) 0.20–0.30 m layers, in a Rhodic Eutrudox. CT: conventional tillage system; MTC1: minimum tillage system chiselled every year; MTC3: minimum
tillage system chiselled every 3 years; NT11: continuous no-tillage system for 11 years; NT24: continuous no-tillage system for 24 years. Dotted lines show the common range,
for all treatments, of bulk density and soil water content that were used for the statistical test of the models in Fig. 4.
32 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37

Fig. 3. Variation of soil penetration resistance estimated by the Busscher (1990) model for each soil tillage system as a function of soil volumetric water content and bulk
density at (a) 0.0–0.10 m; (b) 0.10–0.20 m; and (c) 0.20–0.30 m depth, in a Rhodic Eutrudox in Londrina, PR, Brazil. NT24: continuous no-tillage system for 24 years; NT11:
continuous no-tillage system for 11 years; MTC1: minimum tillage system chiselled every year; MTC3: minimum tillage system chiselled every 3 years; CT: conventional
tillage system. BD: bulk density.

and particles are intensified as u decreases and departs from field

capacity (0.34 kg kg1). Even at the deepest layer (0.20–0.30 m),
SPR increased with time without chiselling, when considering the Table 2
same bulk density and u (Fig. 3c). At this layer, when considering Area under the curve of soil penetration resistance for a range of bulk density and
water content from Fig. 1, for different tillage system and layers in a Rhodic
the same bulk density (1.30 Mg m3) and u (0.35 m3 m3), the Eutrudox.
MTC1 treatment had an average SPR value of 4.5 MPa, whereas in
MTC3, the average SPR was 7.3 MPa. Likewise, the area under the Tillage systems Soil layers (m)

curve was greater for MTC3 compared with MTC1 at the 0.20– 0.0–0.10 0.10–0.20 0.20–0.30
0.30 m depth, reinforcing that SPR increases under longer intervals CT 0.174  0.04 c1 0.243  0.02 b 0.356  0.01 a
between chiselling (Table 2). MTC1 0.162  0.03 d 0.187  0.02 d 0.209  0.02 c
There are two types of age-hardening processes (Dexter et al., MTC3 0.203  0.04 b 0.226  0.03 c 0.268  0.03 b
NT11 0.195  0.05 b 0.244  0.06 b 0.228  0.02 c
1988), referred to as Type A and Type B (Fig. 4). Type A age-
NT24 0.238  0.02 a 0.260  0.02 a 0.365  0.07 a
hardening occurs when new particle–particle bonds are formed by
1
the rearrangement of soil particles. However, in the Type B Means the standard deviation, when followed by the same letter for the same
mechanism, new bonds are not formed, instead existing bonds soil layer did not differ by t-test at the 5% level.
 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37
Fig. 4. Schematic representation of particle–particle bonds as affected by the age-hardening process in mechanism type A and B, according to the concepts described by
Dexter et al. (1988).
become stronger (Dexter et al., 1988). Additionally, the critical u for
the Type B mechanism increases as a function of the soil organic
carbon content. This indicates that u must be higher to enable the
Type B age-hardening process in soils with higher organic matter
content. Conversely, Type-B age-hardening may occur at much
lower water contents when the organic matter content is low
(Dexter et al., 1988).
At 0.20–0.30 m layer, except for the NT24 treatment, SPR values
were higher in CT than other soil tillage systems considering the
same bulk density and u. In CT the effects of the heavy harrow disks
every year were limited to 0.15 m depth. Thus, regarding the time
without soil disturbance at 0.20–0.30 m depth, both CT and the
NT24 were identical, so that SPR was expected to be similar under
the same bulk density and u. However, for bulk density higher than
1.23 Mg m3, and when the u is reduced from 0.42 m3 m3 to
0.35 m3 m3, the differences increased (Fig. 3c), but still without
significant differences for the area under the curve (Table 2). These
findings indicate that the high SPR values in NT24 are likely
associated with other factors and processes besides the time
without soil disturbance. Accordingly, the soil organic carbon may
play a key role in both age-hardening mechanisms. For CT, u had
more effect than bulk density on the variation of SPR values.
Conversely, the effects of bulk density and u on SPR in NT24 were
similar, indicating that root growth is likely less impaired when the
compacted soil layer has higher organic carbon contents.
Another hypothesis for these differences in SPR, for the same
bulk density and u, between NT24 and CT is related to the formation
of a “pan layer” with an absence of biopores, continuous pores and
small root systems in CT, leading to changes in aggregation at the
0.20–0.30 m layer. Thus, in CT, the increase in soil strength was
lower than NT24 because the bonds between soil aggregates in the
CT were probably weaker, resulting in a lower aggregate structural
stability. The absence of suitable physical conditions in CT at the
0.20–0.30 m layer may also have reduced the microbial activity,
impairing the formation and binding of soil aggregates (Silva et al.,
2014).
Changes in the absolute value of each regression coefficient led
to different SPR values for the same bulk density and u as a function
of soil tillage systems and soil layers. For a better understanding of
the effects of Busscher’s model coefficients on soil strength, the
relationship between the estimated SPR values in NT24 was
compared with all the other tillage systems (Fig. 5), for three soil
layers. With the exception of CT in the 0.20–0.30 m layer (Fig. 5d-
III), the SPR observed in NT24 was higher than in the other
treatments (NT11, MTC3, MTC1 and CT), as indicated by the values
located above the 1:1 line. In general, at higher SPR values, i.e., at
33
greater bulk density and lower u, the differences between NT24 and
the other soil tillage systems increased, for all layers studied. Thus,
these results prove the occurrence of the age-hardening phenom-
ena in NT24, leading to higher cohesion and SPR for the same bulk
density and u values comparatively for soil tillage systems
disturbed more frequently and/or recently.
Besides the absence of soil disturbance, the increase in SPR in
NT24 compared with the other treatments may be linked to higher
soil organic carbon contents, which can foster the age-hardening
(type B mechanism) by strengthening the existing bonds between
soil aggregates and particles (Dexter et al., 1988). It has to be
highlighted that high SPR values may not be limiting to plant
growth, since they do not necessarily mean a reduction in the pore
space, as indicated by the SPR variation for the same bulk density
and u. Furthermore, in systems without soil disturbance, the root
growth may occur through biopores or low resistance zones in the
soil profile (White and Kirkegaard, 2010). In this context, the
definition of critical limits to root growth depends on other soil
structural characteristics, such as the presence of cracks, biopores,
inter and intra-aggregate regions with lower resistance that are
perceived by the roots, but not by cone penetration (Bengough
et al., 2011; Gubiani et al., 2013). Therefore, it is necessary to
establish differentiated critical values of SPR as a function of soil
management systems (Moraes et al., 2014a). Critical SPR values for
a given management system may not be considered critical under
another management system, with better soil structure, well
developed aggregates, and more continuous pores such as
biopores, providing easier root penetration even under high soil
strength.
The age-hardening phenomenon was defined by Dexter (1988)
as the process in which the soil strength increases with time by two
mechanisms, Type A and B, where the age-hardening is either
related to the formation of new inter-particle bonds (Type A), or to
the strengthening of existing inter-particle bonds (Type B).
Regardless the mechanism involved in the age-hardening
increases the soil strength as a function of the time without soil
disturbance. This process can also be considered as the recovery of
soil resistance with time by cohesion (Horn, 2004), or because the
connections between soil particles that have been broken due to
soil disturbance tend to be reconstructed with time (Błazejczak_
et al., 1995). Processes associated with physical degradation by soil
mobilisation, may reduce the soil aggregation and strength (Veiga
et al., 2007). The mechanisms involved in the age-hardening
phenomena have been related to the rearrangement of soil
particles via flocculation of clay particles accompanied by changes
in pore size distribution and restoration of cementing bonds
34 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37

Fig. 5. Relationship between soil penetration resistance (SPR) estimated by Busscher’s model for the same bulk density and water content, in continuous no-tillage system for
24 years (NT24) compared with others systems: (a) NT11; (b) MTC3; (c) MTC1; (d) CT, for the (I) 0.0–0.10 m; (II) 0.10–0.20 m and (III) 0.20–0.30 m soil layers. NT24: continuous
no-tillage system for 24 years; NT11: continuous no-tillage system for 11 years; MTC1: minimum tillage system chiselled every year; MTC3: minimum tillage system chiselled
every 3 years; CT: conventional tillage system.

between soil particles, reflecting increase in tensile strength
(Tormena et al., 2008). Debiasi et al. (2008) working on the effects
of winter cover crops and wheeled tractor traffic on load bearing
capacity and compressibility of an Alfisol also discussed processes
that increase soil strength. These authors observed increases in the
load-bearing capacity at the 0.03–0.06 m layer as a function of the
soil sampling time. The increases in pre-consolidation stress were
not attributed to bulk density, total porosity, and macroporosity
because these properties were not affected by the sampling period.
Therefore, the most likely reason for the increase in the pre-
consolidation stress over the soil sampling times is the longer
period after soil mobilisation, enabling the age-hardening phe-
nomenon.
It is worth noting that the increase in SPR values observed in NT24
compared with the other treatments did not reduce the yield of both
soybean and wheat during the 2011/12 growing season (Moraes,
2013). Moreover, Franchini et al. (2012), while analysing the data
obtained in the same long-term experiment, showed higher soybean
and wheat yields in NT than in CT from the 1994/95 to 2010/11
growing seasons. This result reinforces that higher SPR values may be
not limiting to crop growth if the pore space enables adequate root
elongation, air and water fluxes in the soil profile.
The SPR values are determined by several soil factors, such as
bulk density, soil moisture content, particle density, particle size
and pore size distribution. However, particle density and size
distribution were constant among the experimental plots; and
during the modelling process, bulk density and u were kept
constant to enable comparisons among the tillage systems. In
order to verify if the SPR values were influenced by the
modification of the pore size distribution resulting from variations
in the bulk density, we established the relationship between soil
macro and microporosity (calculated from saturation) and bulk
density for all the layers (Fig. 6). The macroporosity decreased
exponentially with increasing bulk density, irrespective of the soil
tillage system. Thus, macroporosity cannot be considered as a
variable directly responsible for the SPR variation under the same
bulk density.
In addition, soil microporosity varied with bulk density
according to a quadratic model for all the layers (Fig. 6d–f).
Importantly, for the same bulk density, microporosity did not differ
among tillage systems. Considering a bulk density of 1.30 Mg m3,
the average macroporosity values were 0.43, 0.45 and 0.46 m3 m3
for the 0.0–0.10, 0.10–0.20 and 0.20–0.30 m layers respectively.
These results show that changes in pore size distribution are not
related to the increase in SPR values for the same bulk density and
 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37
Fig. 6. Relationship between soil bulk density and macroporosity (a,b,c) or microposority (d,e,f) in a Rhodic Eutrudox as a function of soil tillage systems at 0.0–0.10 m (a,d),
0.10–0.20 m (b,e) and 0.20–0.30 m (c,f) layers.
u, observed in treatments with longer periods without soil
disturbance. Therefore, the changes in SPR under the same bulk
density and u as a function of time in NT system or without soil
chiselling are directly linked to an increased bond number and
strength of soil aggregates by age-hardening phenomena.
Soil strength was increased as a function of time under no-
tillage or without soil chiselling, and age-hardening phenomena
was described for SPR by Busscher’s model. In general, the soil
structure in no-tillage systems undergoes intense changes due to
wetting and drying cycles (Gregory et al., 2009), soil management
(Moraes et al., 2016), and crop rotation (Tivet et al., 2013). The pore
network and soil structure are strengthened with time, positively
influencing the hydraulic or gaseous fluxes (Horn, 2004). Soil
strength is increased as a function of time without soil
mobilisation due to higher soil cohesion and internal resistance
of aggregates (Kemper and Rosenau, 1984). In addition, the rigidity
of the pore system is affected by the internal rearrangement of
particles (Horn, 2004). The main effects of age-hardening
phenomena are observed in higher SPR values, which occur in
lower u, because the cohesive forces are manifested more strongly
in such conditions (Secco et al., 2013).
No-tillage system changes the soil structure, soil aggregation
and arrangement of particle–particle contact, leading to larger SPR
values. Increased duration since the adoption no-tillage, associated
with crop rotations encompassing plant species with abundant
root systems, plays a key role in improving soil physical quality
(Moraes et al., 2016), increasing the soil organic carbon content,
the aggregate stability (Devine et al., 2014), the soil load-bearing
capacity (Ortigara et al., 2015), the soil cohesion (Braida et al.,
2007) and tensile resistance of aggregates (Ferreira et al., 2011).
Soil chiselling affects the soil structure and aggregation,
especially due to it breaking the particle–particle bonds, resulting
in reduced SPR values in relation to no-tillage system, even when
considering similar bulk density and u values. In addition, the
continuous pores and network in the soil are disrupted, increasing
35
the soil resistance to root growth, and impairing water and gas
fluxes in the soil. This occurs because the soil aggregation
processes are related to the temporal persistence of the binding
agents (e.g., transient, temporary, persistent), which foster the
formation of micro-aggregates (persistent binding agents, primary
particles and iron and aluminium oxides) or stable macro-
aggregates resulting from the enmeshing effect of fungal hyphae,
and roots, which are temporary binding agents (Tivet et al., 2013).
The physical protection of soil macroaggregates takes time (Cates
et al., 2016), and the soil disturbance may disrupt such macro-
aggregates fostering the organic matter decomposition (Salvo
et al., 2014), and reducing the soil tensile resistance (Ferreira et al.,
2011)and cohesion (Silva et al., 2004), Thus, the soil chiselling
directly affects the age-hardening phenomena, reducing the
number of particle–particle bonds (type A mechanism) and the
weakening of particle–particle bonds (type B mechanism).
In general, the soil strength increases due to an increase in
cohesive forces of capillary bound water and the increased
effectiveness of cementing materials (e.g. drying and hardening
of formerly dispersed clay) (Munkholm, 2011). The increase in soil
organic carbon concentration under no-tillage compared with
conventional tillage usually is attributed to a higher stabilisation of
associated-C within macro and microaggregates (Tivet et al., 2013).
This soil organic stabilisation confers a high tendency to increase
soil aggregation through a higher number of particle–particle
bonds (Moraes et al., 2014c).
Soil strength is an important parameter for soil physical quality,
directly related to the root growth (Bengough et al., 2011).
However, the SPR is affected by many soil and penetrometer
parameters (Moraes et al., 2014b), particularly by soil structure,
water content, and cohesion (Mulqueen et al., 1977). Soil cohesion
is influenced by management systems and is associated with bulk
density, water content (Mulqueen et al., 1977), organic carbon
(Braida et al., 2007), and soil content of Fe, Si and Al oxides (Silva
and Cabeda, 2005). Soil structure affects water availability,
36 M.T. de Moraes et al. / Soil & Tillage Research 170 (2017) 27–37
nutrient uptake, and leaching, thus the soil aggregation can be
improved by management practices (Bronick and Lal, 2005). Thus,
our study showed that SPR is changed, for the same bulk density
and u, by soil tillage as a function of the age-hardening process,
revealing increases in soil cohesion due to the strengthening of
existing inter-particle bonds as described in short term experi-
ments (Dexter et al., 1988) and now described in a long term
experiment encompassing different tillage systems.
4. Conclusions
The age-hardening phenomena in a very clayey, Rhodic
Eutrudox under different soil management practices can occur
as a function of time in no-tillage system (NT11 and NT24), or with
increasing time without soil chiselling (MTC1 and MTC3).
Under the same soil bulk density and volumetric water content,
the soil strength is increased with the time without soil tillage,
leading to greater values of soil penetration resistance in no-tillage
system.
It is necessary to establish distinct critical limits of soil
resistance to penetration, depending on soil tillage system and
time of no-tillage adoption.
Acknowledgments
We thank the staff of the Crop and Soil Management
Department of Embrapa Soybean, Donizete Aparecido Loni,
Mariluci da Silva Pires, Everson Balbino, Eliseu Custodio, João
Ribeiro de Macedo, Agostinho Aparecido da Silva, Ildefonso Acosta
Carvalho, and Gustavo Garbelini, for their assistance over the
experiment and data collection period. We would like to thank the
Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of
Graduate Education (CAPES) for the scholarship awarded to the
first author.
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