effects of minimal tillage and contour cultivation on surface runoff, soil loss and crop yield in the long-term Woburn Erosion Reference Experiment on sandy soil at Woburn, England

Runoff and soil erosion on plots of the Woburn, UK, Erosion Reference Experiment were concentrated in periods with sparse vegetation cover. The mean event runoff of 1.32 mm from plots cultivated up-and-downslope was markedly greater than that from plots cultivated across-slope, but mean even soil loss was not substantially different between the two cultivation directions. Mean event runoff from the across-slope/minimal tillage treatment combination was less than from the up-and-downslope/minimal tillage, up-and-downslope/standard tillage, and across-slope/standard tillage treatments. Crop yields were higher in across-slope plots; minimal cultivation reduced yield relative to standard cultivation in one year only.