Abstract: A field experiment was conducted in Zhangye of Gansu Province China， to examine the effects of controlled traffic tillage on the soil bulk density, soil moisture content, and soil strength. It was found that after harvest, soil bulk density decreased in the order of traffic lanes > crop zone of conventional cultivation > crop zone of controlled traffic tillage. Controlled traffic tillage increased the bulk density of 0-20 cm soil layer in traffic lanes significantly, but mitigated the impacts of machine work in crop zones. Comparing with that before sowing, the soil bulk density after crop harvest increased significantly in the crop zone of conventional cultivation, but had no significant change in the crop zone of controlled traffic tillage. After irrigation, the decrease of soil moisture content in traffic lanes was obviously lagged, compared with that in crop zone of conventional cultivation, suggesting that the soil compaction in traffic lanes increased soil water-holding capacity and decreased soil water evaporation. The soil strength in 0-20 cm layer was higher in traffic lanes than in the crop zone of conventional cultivation, but that below 20 cm layer had no obvious difference. It was concluded that controlled traffic tillage had the advantages of mitigating the impacts of machine work and irrigation on crop zones, while the impermeable soil layer formed by the machine work in traffic lines could decrease the soil water evaporation from un-cropped zones.

Key words: Maize, Chemical constituents, Temporal and spatial dynamics