Double cropping and tillage intensity in continuous wheat agroecosystems have variable impacts on soil hydrologic and physical properties

Conservation management practices such as no-tillage (NT) and cover cropping are vital to sustainable agricultural intensification. The Southern Great Plains is one of the largest wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production regions in the U.S. Typical wheat production systems there and other thermic and hyperthermic regions generally employ conventional tillage (CT) and summer fallow. Over time, these practices can degrade soil physical properties. In this study, we determined the effects of NT and summer double cropping systems on infiltration, runoff, soil water dynamics, and water stable aggregates (WSA). Research was conducted for five years (2016 −2020) at three locations (Beeville, Lubbock, and Thrall, Texas, USA), which represent three distinct ecoregions (Coastal Plains, Southern High Plains, and Blackland Prairie). Three tillage systems (NT, strip tillage (ST), or CT) and five summer double crops (cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.], sesame [Sesamum indicum L.], sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], fallow, or a seven-species cover crop mixture) were evaluated in continuous wheat cropping systems. Tillage and Double Crop had minimal to no effect on infiltration, runoff rates, or WSA, suggesting that soil physical improvements from conservation adoption in thermic regions might need longer to manifest than five years. Conversely, soil water was greater with NT in Thrall and Lubbock, but with CT in Beeville, indicating that improvements in soil hydrological properties can vary by soil type and ecoregion. Agricultural producers should consider these varying impacts when adopting double cropping or tillage conservation practices in thermic and hyperthermic wheat production systems.