Effect of stubble height and tillage on winter soil temperature in central Alberta

Production of winter wheat in central Alberta may be risky due to winter-kill by low temperatures. Winter survival can be enhanced with a snow-trapping stubble. The effect of barley stubble height and tillage on snow depth and soil temperature was investigated during the winters of 1983–1984 and 1984–1985 on a Black Chernozemic soil at Lacombe, Alberta. Snow depth was measured only in 1984–1985 and was deepest under zero tillage with the tallest stubble (30 cm). Under zero tillage, stubble height had a significant effect on soil temperature. Soil temperatures under zero tillage with no stubble were the lowest and fluctuated greatly in response to air temperatures. Soil temperatures increased with an increase in stubble height and were highest at a stubble height of 15 or 30 cm. Soil temperatures in plots with stubble 15 cm tall were 3.9-5.3°C higher than in plots with no stubble. Under conventional tillage, stubble did not affect soil temperatures in 1983–1984, but in 1984–1985 soil temperatures in November and December were warmer when stubble was incorporated than when it was removed. Soil temperatures under conventional tillage were generally similar to temperatures under zero tillage with no stubble or with stubble of 7.5 cm. Although the soil temperatures during the course of this study did not go below the critical lethal limits of −20°C, the results indicated that stubble height and zero tillage may provide a solution to some of the problems associated with winter kill of winter wheat in central Alberta.     

Soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity in subarctic agricultural and forest soils

Summary Microbial biomass, activities of dehydrogenase, phosphatase, and urease, and numbers of ammonium oxidizers were determined at monthly intervals on soil samples obtained from an on-going tillage residue-management study during the summers of 1985 and 1986. The site was cleared of black spruce (Picea mariana, Mill.) in 1979 and has been planted to spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) since 1982. Tillage treatments were no-tillage or disked twice, and residuemanagement treatments were removal of stubble and loose straw or leaving all straw on the plots. Microbial biomass and enzyme activities were moderate to high in the Ap horizon but very low in the B horizon. There was no difference in any parameter measured due to tillage or residue management. In 1986, comparisons were made between the Ap horizon and the agricultural soil and the A horizon of the soil beneath an adjacent black-spruce forest. Total microbial biomass and enzyme activities were generally greater in the forest soil than in the agricultural soil. However, specific activity of the biomass was generally greater in the agricultural soil. Soil microbial biomass and urease activities of both agricultural and forest soils were similar to those reported for warmer climates, but dehydrogenase activity was higher and phosphatase was lower.     

The effect of ground cover or initial organic carbon on soil fungi, aggregation, moisture and organic carbon in one season with oat (Avena sativa) plots

The unique capacity of fungi to efficiently sequester carbon in aerobic conditions, presents a way to maximize OC gain in agricultural systems. Oat (Avena sativa) was planted in the temperate climate of southern Ontario, Canada to study factors affecting soil organic carbon (OC). The plots varied with initial OC from 25 to 68 g kg⁻¹ or with ground cover of differing decomposability (alfalfa (Medicago sativa) growing from seed, dried oat straw, dried hay and compost) on high OC soil (60–70 g kg⁻¹). The soil was analysed for correlation of changes in soil aggregation, moisture, OC, fungal hyphal number and length and distribution of organic matter by mass and OC in density fractions within the growing season. At harvest, soil OC and moisture were increased only in plots with ground cover. Total hyphal length was not significantly different with ground cover treatment at harvest, and did not correlate with soil aggregation and soil OC. However, the number of hyphae with >5 μm diameter (primarily mycorrhizal fungi) correlated with % OC in ground cover plots while the number of hyphae <5 μm (primarily saprophytic fungi) correlated with % OC without ground cover in the gradient of initial soil OC. Mycorrhizal hyphae may be important to the increases in soil OC from surface treatment, although there was no treatment effect of mycorrhizal occurrence on the oat roots. This microcosm study, with growing and dried ground cover, suggests surface management may a simple and inexpensive means in agriculture to increase soil moisture and OC that benefits farmers as well as reducing atmospheric CO₂.     

Revegetation of burnt areas: relative effectiveness of native and commercial seed mixtures

The efficiency of revegetation of burnt areas was put to the test with two different mixes of grasses, one comprising native species and the other, including Lolium multiflorum, sown by hand. Runoff generation and soil loss were studied over the first 20 months after the fire in seeded plots (two plots for each seed mix) and in an unseeded plot (considered as the control). The seeded plots showed a marked increase in vegetation, and 6 months after the fire ground cover was about 60 per cent in the plots seeded with native species. This ground cover value (considered to be the cover necessary for good protection against soil erosion) was reached in plots seeded with the commercial mix after 8 months and in the control plot after 14 months. Runoff volume was similar in all plots, but the soil erosion was reduced in both seeded plots by a factor of 6·5. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of fungal communities in soil and tomato roots subjected to diverse land and crop management systems

Effects of diverse agricultural land management practices on soil and on root colonizing fungal communities were determined through a PCR-based molecular method and a culture-dependent method, respectively, in a field location with uniform soil type. Initiated in July 2000, the management systems were: conventional tomato production, frequent tillage (disk fallow), undisturbed weed fallow, bahiagrass pasture (Paspalum notatum var. notatum ‘Argentine’), and an organically managed system including cover crops and annual applications of poultry manure and urban plant debris. Culture-dependent colony counting was used to identify and enumerate communities of root colonizing fungi and length heterogeneity polymerase chain reaction (LH-PCR) analysis of internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) profiles to characterize phylotypes in soil fungal communities. Three years after initiation of land management treatments and midway through tomato cultivation, both methods detected a high degree of similarity in fungal community composition between weed fallow and bahiagrass plots. Soil fungal communities in organically managed plots were similar to each other and distinct from communities in other land management systems while the composition of root colonizing fungal communities in organic plots was divergent. The results demonstrate that the soil fungal communities and root colonizing fungal communities were affected differently depending on land and crop management practices. Fusarium oxysporum was a dominant species in all soil and root colonizing fungal communities except those subjected to organic management practices.     

Soil structural stability and erosion rates influenced by agricultural management practices in a semi‐arid Mediterranean agro‐ecosystem

Unsuitable agricultural practices can cause loss in soil quality and erodibility to thus increase or trigger desertification under Mediterranean conditions. A field experiment was performed at the El Teularet‐Sierra de Enguera Experimental Station (eastern Spain) to assess the influence during a 5‐yr period of different agricultural practices on physical and chemical indicators of soil quality (total and water‐soluble carbohydrates, glomalin‐related soil proteins (GRSP), total organic carbon, aggregate stability (AS), vegetation cover and soil erosion). The management practices included residual herbicide use, ploughing, ploughing + oats, addition of oat straw mulch and a control (land abandonment). Adjacent soil under natural vegetation was used as a reference for local, high‐quality soil and as a control for comparison with the agricultural soils under different management practices. Oat straw mulching led to higher levels of water‐soluble carbohydrates, GRSP and AS and lower soil erosion rates, resulting in values similar to those in the soil under native vegetation. The lowest levels of carbohydrates and GRSP were for the plots that were treated with herbicide or were ploughed. The maintenance of and increases in stable aggregates promoted by the different agricultural management practices over the years were attributed to increases in labile organic fractions such as carbohydrates and to the GRSP content. The results demonstrate that land abandonment (control plot) or the use of a cover (plants or straw) contributes to increases in soil quality and reduces the risk of erosion. The research also shows that sustainable agricultural management allows soil to recover and that the use of straw mulching is the most effective management strategy.     

Influence of method of land preparation on weed regeneration in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.)

The influence of four methods of land preparation on weed regeneration and the efficacy of imazaquin (2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1 H-imidasol-2yl]-3-quinolinecarboxylic acid) applied singly at 0.18 kg a.i. ha⁻¹, and in tank mixture with either 2.0 kg a.i. ha⁻¹ of metolachlor (2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl) acetamine) or 0.64 kg a.i. ha⁻¹ of diuron (N′-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N, N-dimethylurea) in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) was studied in the late season of 1989 at the University of Benin and in the early season of 1990 at the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin City, Nigeria. The methods of land preparation were: no-tillage (NT-B with all the stubble mulch packed and burnt in situ); no-tillage (NT-Pa, the existing vegetation was killed with paraquat and the sod left in situ); ploughing (P); ploughing and harrowing (P+H). The number of regenerating weeds was significantly greater were the land was prepared by no-till and the stubble mulch left in situ compared with all other methods of land preparation. There were no significant differences in number of regenerating weeds and the weed biomass between NT-B, P and P+H. Herbicide treatments significantly reduced both the number of regenerating weeds and weed biomass irrespective of the method of land preparation. Herbicides generally performed better in NT-B, P, P+H than in NT-Pa plots. Cowpea pod or grain yield was not significantly influenced by the method of land preparation. However, it was significantly depressed where the plots were left unweeded for all methods of land preparation, especially so in the NT-Pa treatment. These observations suggest that where a good degree of burn or stubble mulch removal is achieved, further soil tillage may not necessarily enhance the efficacy of imazaquin and its tank-mixtures with diuron or metolachlor.     

Die Bedeutung der Umsetzung von Weizenstroh im Hinblick auf den C- und N-Haushalt von Löß-Ackerböden

The significance of wheat straw decomposition with regard to the C- and N-cycle of a cultivated loess soil In 1984/85, a microplot experiment with ¹⁵N-enriched fertilizer was carried out on a field of the Calenberg loess area near Hannover (surface area of the plots: 1 ± 2 m; experimental soil: stagnigleyic cambisol from loess). On the one hand, the extent of immobilization as well as remobilization of native soil- and fertilizer-N associated with straw incorporation (± 8 t/ha) was quantified. On the other hand, the turnover as well as the alteration of C- and N-masses in the decomposing straw material was studied. About 70% of the initial dry organic matter of straw was mineralized within one year. An enrichment of fertilizer-N as well as native soil-N in the residues of up to 20 kg/ha was observed as compared to the initial N-mass. On a microplot cropped with winter-wheat, microbial N-immobilization of about 30–40 kg/ha (native soil-N and fertilizer-N) occured in the soil after straw incorporation. The immobilization extended to march 1985. Subsequent, associated with a C/N-ratio in the straw of 43, N-remineralization as well as -extramineralization was observed with 40 kg/ha at maximum in december 1985.     

Effect of fencing,artificial seeding and abandonment on vegetation composition and dynamics of ‘black soil land’ in the headwaters of the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

Rangeland management can affect plant diversity and plant functional groups of native grassland communities. To improve pasture for livestock grazing from the existing poisonous and ruderal vegetation in the ‘black soil land’ grassland in the headwaters of the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers (HAYYR) of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, three treatments (fencing‐FT, artificial seeding with local grasses‐ST and abandonment‐AT) were applied during a 5‐year period (2000–2005). Plant diversity and groups (sedges, grasses and dwarf shrubs) in the treated plots were compared with non‐treated control plots. Results showed that (1) FT promoted an increase in forbs species, but there was no change in the other plant functional groups; (2) with ST, species richness of forbs decreased but grass species increased indicating that sowing local grasses could change plant composition of black soil land in the short‐term, and increase the proportion of grasses and, thus, forage for grazing and (3) AT, after plowing, was similar to CK plots, with forbs being the dominant plant functional group for the 5 years. In conclusion, the goal to alter black soil land cover from poisonous and ruderal plants to more useful plants for livestock grazing by either fencing, artificial seeding or abandonment was not successful in the long term. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fungal diversity in set-aide agricultural soil investigated using terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism

As part of the restoration of biodiversity on former agricultural land there has been focused on methods to enhance the rate of transition from agricultural land towards natural grasslands or forest ecosystems. Management practices such as sowing seed mixtures and inoculating soil of later successional stages have been used. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a managed plant community on the diversity of soil fungi in a newly abandoned agricultural land. A field site was set up consisting of 20 plots where the plant diversity was managed by either sowing 15 plant species, or natural colonization was allowed to occur. The plant mixture contained five species each of grasses, legumes and forbs that all were expected to occur at the site. A subset of the plots (five from each treatment) was inoculated with soil cores from a late successional stage. The plant community composition was subject to a principal component analysis based on the coverage of each species. Five years after abandonment, soil samples were taken from the plots, DNA was extracted and the ITS region of the rDNA gene was amplified using fluorescently labelled fungal specific primers (ITS 1F/ITS 4). The PCR products were digested using HinfI and TaqI and sequenced. Results from both restriction enzymes were combined and a principal component analysis performed on the presence/absence of fragments. Also the fungal diversity expressed as number of restriction fragments were analysed. There was significantly higher fungal species richness in the experimental plots compared to the forest and field soils, but no differences between sown and naturally colonized plots. The different plant treatments did not influence the below ground fungal community composition. Soil water content on the other hand had an impact on the fungal community composition.     

Barley yield and evapotranspiration governed by tillage practices in interior Alaska

Tillage and residue management practices are sought in the subarctic where small grain production is often curtailed by the lack of soil water. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grain yield and evapotranspiration were compared among four tillage and three residue management practices near Delta Junction, Alaska, USA from 1988 through 1991. Barley was hand-harvested in the fall whereas soil water content was determined biweekly during the growing season by neutron attenuation. Grain yield was similar for spring disk, fall chisel, and conventional (fall and spring disk) tillage across years. No tillage, however, resulted in a 260 kg ha⁻¹ greater yield as compared with fall chisel and conventional tillage in 1990 when evaporative demand exceeded that in other years by nearly 10%. In 1990 and 1991, grain yield from plots devoid of stubble and loose straw was at least 200 kg ha⁻¹ greater than from plots with stubble or stubble and loose straw. Barley consumed at least 15 mm more water to achieve the greater yield on no tillage or no stubble and loose straw plots. Water-use efficiency did not vary among tillage treatments, but was greatest in 1990 for plots devoid of stubble and loose straw. This study suggests that, in dry years with high evaporative demand, no tillage or removal of stubble and loose straw from the soil surface will enhance grain production and water-use efficiency of barley in the subarctic.     

稻麦玉米秸秆残留还田量定量估算方法及应用

为了解秸秆残留还田是秸秆直接还田的基本形式。该文通过逐步推导,给出了秸秆残留还田量定量估算的系列公式,并将秸秆残留还田量定量估算建立在5个参数的基础上,即农作物平均株高、收割留茬高度、叶部生物量比例、枝叶脱落率和秸秆机械收集损失率;以实地调查为基础,结合对试验数据收集整理,给出了小麦、玉米、水稻三大农作物秸秆残留还田量定量估算的参数体系,并估算出了三大农作物的秸秆残留还田量,分别为7 106.92、4 543.48和6 392.95万t,合计为18 043.35万t,占三大农作物的秸秆总产量的31.13%;三大作物人工收获秸秆残留还田量为1724.47万t,机械收获秸秆残留还田量为16 318.88万t,后者是前者的9.46倍;进而以农作物面积为权重,推算出全国的秸秆残留还田量为25 330.08万t,计算出单位面积耕地的残留还田量为1.87 t/hm2,与基本还田量的最低需求3.0 t/hm2相比尚需增加60%以上,与基本还田量的一般需求4.5 t/hm2相比尚需增加1.41倍。论文最后指出了秸秆残留还田量定量估算需要继续深入开展的主要研究工作:一是开展更广泛的田间实测,进一步提高小麦、玉米、水稻三大农作物秸秆残留还田量定量估算参数的精准度,尤其是收割留茬高度和秸秆机械收集损失率这两大参数的精准度,以便更确切地估算三大农作物的秸秆残留还田量;二是针对棉花、大豆、油菜等主要经济作物进行秸秆残留还田量定量估算研究,建立全国主要粮经作物秸秆残留还田量定量估算的参数体系;三是建立区域性的秸秆残留还田量定量估算的参数体系,逐步实现各区域秸秆残留还田量的定量估算。     

Exotic vs. native plant dominance over 20 years of old-field succession on set-aside farmland in Argentina

Exotic plants are major constituents of species pools in modern landscapes. Managing succession for restoration of degraded ecosystems thus requires an understanding of novel trajectories unfolding in mixed, native/exotic plant assemblages. We examined trends in native and exotic species abundance over 20 years of old-field succession on set-aside farmland in the Inland Pampa, Argentina. Changes in plant cover and species richness were annually monitored on adjacent permanent plots established in different years (1978-1989). Both native and exotic species occurred in early, mid and late successional stages, exhibiting similar life-form replacement patterns, from annual forbs, through annual to perennial grasses. Exotic plant richness declined with plot age. Yet, four exotic grasses remained dominant through succession (50-70% cover), with plots initiated in later years showing increased exotic cover. While native perennial grasses occurred from the onset of succession, increasing from 5 to 12 spp/plot, they only showed transient peaks below 30% cover. Cluster analysis of 113 plot-year samples identified alternative community states for early, mid and late successional stages, which were connected by a complex network of interweaving dynamic pathways. Depending on the plot, vegetation dynamics comprised directional temporal trajectories as well as nondirectional pathways, and arrested community states dominated by exotic grasses. Our results illustrate the overwhelming role of exotic species in modern old-field succession, and their potential to hinder recovery of native communities on former agricultural land. Community states with novel, native/exotic plant mixtures could be managed to deliver specific ecosystem services (e.g. forage production, carbon sequestration). However, meeting conservation goals may require active restoration measures, including exotic plant removals and native grass seeding.     

黄淮海平原小麦保护性耕作对土壤动物总量和多样性的影响

强度的耕作管理使土壤生物多样性下降,也使农业可持续发展面临困难,而实行保护性耕作可以缓解这一问题。通过调查小麦季保护性耕作下土壤动物群落结构,分析了耕作方式和秸秆覆盖对土壤动物群落的影响,采用冗余分析（RDA）并设置协变量的方法对土壤动物数量变异进行了研究。结果表明,弹尾目和蜱螨目是土壤动物优势类群,两者数量之和占总数比例约为80％,土壤动物在表层（0～10cm）分布较大,约占总数的75％。土壤动物类群数免耕高于翻耕,覆盖量越大,个体数量越多。免耕在小麦拔节期有更高的多样性指数,但在成熟期土壤动物优势类群明显,多样性指数下降。相似性指数表现为土壤动物类群对环境具有选择性,翻耕和免耕之间类群差异较大。耕作方式、覆盖数量、土壤层次和时间共解释了土壤动物数量变异量的28．7％,其中时间占最大的变异量,为12．2％,其次是秸秆覆盖处理（8．7％）和土壤层次（6．4％）。耕作方式直接解释的变异量较小,但耕作方式显著影响了秸秆覆盖的作用形式,进一步影响了土壤动物的垂直分布状况。     

干旱半干旱区地表覆盖对土壤风蚀的影响

为了探究地表覆盖对干旱半干旱地区土壤侵蚀及表层特性的影响,探寻农业发展的新机遇,使用Meta分析的方法,通过搜集国内外干旱半干旱地区土壤覆盖已发表的研究数据,分析了3种地表覆盖方式：覆盖植物、秸秆覆盖和高留茬对土壤风蚀模数及表层干容重、含水量和有机碳含量的影响。结果表明：(1)地表覆盖使土壤年风蚀量降低77.96%,地表风蚀量与覆盖度密切相关,秸秆覆盖度最高,减轻风蚀效果最佳。(2)地表覆盖平均降低2.94%表层(0—20 cm)土壤干容重,从而提高孔隙度保水保肥,抑制土壤侵蚀;其中覆盖植物效果最好,能够降低5.26%。(3)地表覆盖能够增加6.26%年均表层土壤含水量,从而有效增大土壤颗粒间的黏聚力;在降水量≤450 mm的半干旱地区该值能达到10.62%。(4)地表覆盖能够提高23.54%表层土壤有机碳含量,增加土壤颗粒间的黏结性,从而提高土体的抗风蚀能力;高留茬的提升效果最好,为34.42%;覆盖植物中豆科作物的效果最好,平均提高30.76%。总之,3种地表覆盖措施均能不同程度地减轻风蚀,能够实现保土、保水和固碳的多重收益,是未来双碳背景下实现农业可持续发展的有效解决方案。     

Historical influences on the vegetation and soils of the Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts coastal sandplain: Implications for conservation and restoration

Both disturbance history and previous land use influence present-day vegetation and soils. These influences can have important implications for conservation of plant communities if former disturbance and land use change species abundances, increase colonization of nonnative plant species or if they alter soil characteristics in ways that make them less suitable for species of conservation interest. We compared the plant species composition, the proportion of native and nonnative plant species, and soil biogeochemical characteristics across seven dominant land use and vegetation cover types on the outwash sandplain of Martha’s Vineyard that differed in previous soil tillage, dominant overstory vegetation and history of recent prescribed fire. The outwash sandplain supports many native plant species adapted to dry, low nutrient conditions and maintenance of native species is a management concern. There was broad overlap in the plant species composition among pine (Pinus resinosa, P. strobus) plantations on untilled soils, pine plantations on formerly tilled soils, scrub oak (Quercus ilicifolia) shrublands, tree oak (Q. velutina, Q. alba) woodlands, burned tree oak woodlands, and sandplain grasslands. All of these land cover categories contained few nonnative species. In contrast, agricultural grasslands had high richness and cover of nonnative plants. Soil characteristics were also similar among all of the woodland, shrubland and grassland land cover categories, but soils in agricultural grasslands had higher pH, extractable Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in mineral soils and higher rates of net nitrification. The similarity of soils and significant overlap in vegetation across pine plantations, scrub oak shrublands, oak woodlands and sandplain grasslands suggests that the history of land use, current vegetation and soil characteristics do not pose a major barrier to management strategies that would involve conversion among any of these vegetation types. The current presence of high cover of nonnative species and nutrient-enriched soils in agricultural grasslands, however, may pose a barrier to expansion of sandplain grasslands or shrublands on these former agricultural lands if native species are not able to outcompete nonnative species in these anthropogenically-enriched sites.     

Tillage and straw management for modifying physical properties of a subarctic soil

Conservation tillage practices are intended to minimize soil erosion. Yet little is known concerning changes in physical properties of subarctic soils subject to tillage practices. This study ascertained whether physical properties of a newly cleared subarctic soil are altered after 7 years of continuous barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) using different tillage and straw management strategies. Tillage and straw treatments were established in 1983 near Delta Junction, Alaska, and consisted of conventional fall and spring disk, fall chisel plow, spring disk, and no-tillage. Tillage plots were split by straw management practices, which included straw and stubble, stubble only, and no straw or stubble. Soil samples were collected from the upper 0.15 m of the profile in the spring of 1990 to assess water content, bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, dry aggregate and mechanical stability, penetration resistance, water retention, and particle size distribution. Percent non-erodible aggregates, mechanical stability, and penetration resistance were greater for no-tillage compared to conventional tillage, chisel plow, and spring disk. No-tillage soils were also typically wetter, denser, and had a greater hydraulic conductivity. The spring disk treatment was least susceptible to erosion and also conserved soil water compared with chisel plow. Straw maintained on the surface conserved water and promoted soil stability.     

黑土区不同耕作措施的水土保持效益

为了探求黑土区坡耕地水土流失的有效防治措施,以吉林省伊通县毯子房小流域为典型试验研究区,采用野外观测与室内实验相结合的方法,对留茬、轮作和秸秆还田3种不同耕作措施下黑土区坡耕地的水土保持效益进行研究与分析。结果表明:1)对照处理产生径流量和泥沙量最大,秸秆还田产生侵蚀量最小,留茬、轮作和秸秆还田比对照处理径流量减少36.4%～66.7%,泥沙量减少75.2%～86.4%;2)与对照相比,留茬、轮作和秸秆还田3种不同措施下冲刷泥沙中土壤有机质质量分数分别减少56.6%,62.8%和81.4%,全氮质量分数分别减少53.3%,60.0%和80.0%,全磷质量分数减少38.5%,61.5%和84.6%,且不同处理下3种土壤养分流失总量均比对照减少85%以上。     

Soil microbial biomass as affected by groundcover management in a Fraser fir (Abies fraseri [Pursh] Poir) plantation after 1?year

We investigated soil microbial biomass response to incorporating a non-leguminous [perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)] and two leguminous [Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa)] cover crops into a newly established Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) plantation. Groundcover treatments consisted of growing each cover crop in the interspaces of the plantation, mowing the aboveground biomass every 3?weeks, and leaving the plant residues on the ground to decompose. Conventionally managed plots were used as a control. Soil total C, total N, and microbial biomass carbon (SMB-C) and nitrogen (SMB-N) were assessed at the 0–15-, 15–30-, and 30–35-cm soil depths. Soil total C was unaffected by groundcovers at any depths, whereas soil total N was significantly (P?=?0.031) higher in the cover crop treatments than in the conventional system at the top soil layer. Groundcovers increased SMB-C and SMB-N by 20–50% and 35–80%, respectively, in the top soil layer relative to the control. These results suggest that groundcovers could potentially improve soil fertility and be a good strategy for sustainable fir tree production.     

Humus and nitrogen in soddy-podzolic soils of different agricultural lands in Perm region

Heavy loamy soddy-podzolic soils (Eutric Albic Retisols (Abruptic, Loamic, Cutanic)) under a mixed forest, a grass–herb meadow, a perennial legume crop (fodder galega, Galéga orientalis), and an eightcourse crop rotation (treatment without fertilization) have been characterized by the main fertility parameters. Differences have been revealed in the contents of humus and essential nutrients in the 0- to 20- and 20- to 40-cm layers of soils of the studied agricultural lands. The medium acid reaction and the high content of ash elements and nitrogen in stubble–root residues of legume grasses favor the accumulation of humic acids in the humus of soil under fodder galega; the C_HA/C_FA ratio is 0.95 in the 0- to 20-cm layer and 0.81 in the 20- to 40-cm layer (under forest, 0.61 and 0.41, respectively). The nitrogen pool in the upper horizon of the studied soddy-podzolic soil includes 61–76% nonhydrolyzable nitrogen and 17–25% difficultly hydrolyzable nitrogen. The content of easily hydrolyzable nitrogen varies depending on the type of agricultural land from 6% in the soil under mixed forest to 10% under crop rotation; the content of mineral nitrogen varies from 0.9 to 1.9%, respectively. The long-term use of plowland in crop rotation and the cultivation of perennial legume crop have increased the content of hydrolyzable nitrogen forms but have not changed the proportions of nitrogen fractions characteristic of this soil type.