EFFECT OF PIPELINE INSTALLATION ON SOIL PROPERTIES AND CROP PRODUCTION IN OKLAHOMA

In the fall of 1983, a pipeline was installed in a semiarid agricultural ecosystem in Beaver County, Oklahoma, using the single-ditch installation method. Changes in the soil properties and crop production were monitored by studying three transects at five sites (one pasture and four crop production) for three years. Soils were measured for bulk density, moisture retention capacity, chemical characteristics, vegetation reestablishment, and crop production. The results of analyses of the disturbed soils indicated lower or unchanged densities, increased or unchanged moisture retention capacities, and acceptable levels of soil nutrients. In three years, plant cover on the pasture site was reestablished, and crop yields on the pipe ditch transects on the other sites have increased substantially. The single-ditch method has either positive or negligible impacts on semiarid agricultural ecosystems. 24 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.