Microbial biomass and N mineralization in relation to N supply of sugar beet under reduced tillage

Reduced tillage may affect N supply of plants by influencing soil microbial biomass and thereby N release. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in microbial biomass due to tillage in relation to N mineralization and to assess the contribution to the N supply of sugar beet. For this purpose, in a field trial near Göttingen in 1995 microbial biomass and net N mineralization were determined in an in situ incubation of ploughed and reduced tilled soil in plots which were not given application of mineral N fertilizer. In reduced tilled soil the increase in mineral N concentration in the upper 10 cm of soil was mainly attributed to an increase in microbial biomass. The organic matter was more easily decomposable, indicated by the increase in C_mic/C_org and N_mic/N_t ratios; this was further supported by the enhanced turnover of microbial biomass in reduced tillage plots. A regression function was used to relate seasonal fluctuations of microbial biomass, soil moisture and soil temperature to N mineralization rate. There was a good agreement between measured and calculated N mineralization rate. Reduced tillage affected N mineralization by affecting the quantity and quality of microbial biomass. In 0–30 cm soil depth 169 kg N/ha were mineralized, 30 kg more N than in ploughed soil. However, despite improved N availability, the N uptake of sugar beet was decreased in reduced tilled soil. Because the N concentration in plants did not differ, it was concluded that sugar beet growth in reduced tilled soil was impaired due to other factors than N supply.     

Tillage intensity and fertility level effects on nitrogen and carbon cycling in a vertisol

Abstract

Because of erosion problems, an effort has been undertaken to evaluate the effect of tillage intensity on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling on a vertisol. Soil samples at 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm depth were collected from a split plot experiment with five different levels of tillage intensity on Houston Black soil (fine, montmorillonitic, thermic Udic Pellusterts). The experiment was a split plot design with 5 replications. The main plots were chisel tillage, reduced tillage, row tillage, strip tillage, and no tillage. The subplots were soil fertility levels with either high or low fertilizer application rate. Total N, total phosphorus (P), organic C, inorganic N, and C:N ratio were measured on soil samples as well as the potential C mineralization, N mineralization, C turnover, and C:N mineralization ratio during a 30 d incubation. Total P and organic C in soil were increased, with 0.9 and 0.8 kg P ha^‐1 and 20.6 and 20.0 kg C ha^‐1, for high and low soil fertility, respectively. Fertilizer application had no effect on either total N at the 0–10 cm depth, or on soil nutrient status below 10 cm. Potential soil N mineralization was decreased at the 0–10 cm depth and increased at the 20–30 cm depth by the high fertilizer treatment. Chisel tillage decreased total N and P in the 0–10 cm depth, with 1.4 and 1.6 kg N ha^‐1 and 0.8 and 0.9 kg P ha^‐1. However, chisel tillage increased total N and P at the 10–20 cm depth, with 1.3 and 1.2 kg N ha^‐1, and 0.72 and 0.66 kg P ha^‐1 for chisel tillage and no tillage, respectively. Tillage intensity increased C mineralization and C turnover, but reduced N mineralization at the 0–10 cm depth. The results indicate that intensively tilled soil had a greater capacity for C mineralization and for reductions in soil organic C levels compared to less intensively tilled systems.     

Tillage and amendment effects on soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization and phosphorus release

The influence of tillage and nutrient amendment management on nutrient cycling processes in soil have substantial implications for environmentally sound practices regarding their use. The effects of 2 years of tillage and soil amendment regimes on the concentrations of soil organic matter variables (carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)) and C and N mineralization and P release were determined for a Dothan fine-sandy loam soil in southeastern Alabama. Tillage systems investigated were strip (or conservation) and conventional tillage with various soil nutrient amendments that included no amendment, mineral fertilizer, and poultry waste (broiler litter). Surface soil (0–10 cm depth increment) organic matter variables were determined for all tillage/amendment combinations. Carbon and N mineralization and P release were determined on surface soils for each field treatment combination in a long-term laboratory incubation. Soil organic P concentration was 60% greater in soils that had been conventionally tilled, as compared with strip-tilled, both prior to and following laboratory incubation. Carbon and N mineralization results reflected the effects of prior tillage amendment regime, where soils maintained under strip-till/broiler litter mineralized the greatest amount of C and N. Determination of relative N mineralization indicated that strip tillage had promoted a more readily mineralizable pool of N (6.1%) than with conventional till (4.2%); broiler litter amendments had a larger labile N fraction (6.7%) than was found in soils receiving either mineral fertilizer (4.1%) or no amendment (4.7%). Tillage also affected P release measured during the incubation study, where approximately 20% more inorganic P was released from strip-tilled soils than from those maintained under conventional tillage. Greater P release was observed for amended soils as compared with soils where no amendment was applied. Results from this study indicate that relatively short-term tillage and amendment management can significantly impact C, N, and P transformations and transfers within soil organic matter of a southeastern US soil.     

Changes in soil properties after 10 years continuous non-tilled and conventionally tilled corn

Soil properties were evaluated after 10 years of continuous non-tilled and conventionally tilled corn (Zea mays L.) production on a Maury silt loam (Typic Paleudalfs) soil, which had been in bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) for 50 years. On limed and nonlimed plots soil samples from 0, 84, 168 and 336 kg/ha N treatments were taken in the 0–5, 5–15 and 15–30 cm layers for determination of organic C and N, soil pH, and exchangeable Al, Mn, Ca, Mg, K.Tillage treatments had no effect on soil bulk density in the 0–15 cm layer. In the 0–5 cm surface layer, organic C and N were approximately twice as high with no-tillage as with conventional tillage; N fertilizer induced a high level of both organic C and organic N. No-tillage decreased soil pH for unlimed plots as compared to conventional tillage, especially at high N-rates, which produced an increase in exchangeable Al and Mn and a decrease in exchangeable Ca down to the 30 cm depth. When lime was applied, the pH of the surface soil was slightly higher under no-tillage. On treatments receiving lime, exchangeable Al and Mn levels were very low with no significant difference in tillage systems. At low rates of N fertilization the 10-year average corn yield was higher for conventional tillage than for no-tillage, but at high rates of N fertilization it was equal or higher for no-tillage treatments receiving lime. Unlimed no-tillage treatments produced lower yields at all N levels during 1975–1979. Deterioration of soil physical properties was not observed.     

Influence of cultivation on soil nitrogen pools

Abstract

Exchangeable NH₄, organic N, and fixed NH₄, were followed in three soil layers (0–25, 25–50, and 50–75 cm) of plots under conventional and minimum tillage in a 10—year field experiment. The main effect of both tillage treatments was a marked increase of fixed NH₄ during the first two years which was attributed to the heavy application of N fertilizers because soils were not fertilized prior to the experiment. Due to spatial variability of soil composition, a statistically significant increase over the 10—year was observed for total and fixed NH₄ only in the surface layer of conventionally tilled soils, probably due to thorough mixing caused by intense cultivation. In this layer the organic N pool did not appear to vary with the years, while the fixed NH₄ pool was influenced by N fertilization. A general trend was a uniform increase of the ratio between fixed NH₄ and total N. Under conventional tillage, the trend was similar for the three soil layers while the reduced amount of fixed NH₄ present in the upper soil layers (0—25 and 25–50 cm) was assumed to be caused by root absorption. Under minimum tillage, the increase of fixed NH₄ ratio was limited to the first 50 cm of soil, and was less pronounced in the top layer where maximum root accumulation is generally expected to be present. The data support the importance for crops of the fixed NH₄ pool.     

Effects of conventional and alternative management systems on soil phosphorus content,soil structure,and corn yield

Abstract

Conventional management practices have been associated with increased soil erosion and organic matter loss and the contamination of surface and ground water. Alternative agriculture systems which minimize external chemical inputs and degradation of soil and water resources represent alternatives to conventional management practices. Four different management practices were compared on an alluvial silty loam soil cultivated to grow corn (Zea mays L.). The effects of conventional and reduced tillage and of different chemical inputs on the distribution of phosphorus (P) concentration and on soil porosity were investigated. Results showed that the highest P content was detected in the topsoil (0–10 cm) of the minimum tilled plots even though the amount of P fertilizer added was much lower than the amount added in the conventionally tilled plots. The total porosity was significantly higher in the minimum tilled soil and was related only to the tillage technique. Since the higher porosity was mainly due to the higher proportion of elongated and regular pores, the minimum tilled soil appeared to be more resistant to physical stresses and characterized by a higher biological activity.     

A comparison between seasonal changes in soil water storage and penetration resistance under conventional and conservation tillage systems in Aragón

Low and extremely variable precipitations limit dryland crop production in the semi-arid areas of Aragón (NE Spain). These areas are also affected by high annual rates of topsoil losses by both wind and water erosion. A long-term experiment to determine the feasibility of conservation tillage in the main winter barley production areas of Aragón was initiated in 1989 at four locations, three on loam to silt loam soils (Xerollic Calciorthid) and one on a silty clay loam (Fluventic Ustochrept), receiving between 300 and 600 mm of average annual rainfall. In this study, we compared, under both continuous cropping and cereal-fallow rotation, the effects of conventional tillage (mouldboard plough) and two conservation tillage systems, reduced tillage (chisel plough) and no-tillage, on soil water content and penetration resistance during the first two growing seasons. Whereas reduced and conventionally tilled treatments generally had similar soil water content during the experimental period, the effects of no-tillage were inconsistent. No-tilled plots had from 26% less to 17% more stored soil water (0–80 cm) than conventional tilled plots at the beginning of the growing season. In contrast to the conventional and reduced tillage treatments, penetration resistances were between 2 and 4 MPa after sowing in most of the plough layer (0–40 cm) under no-tillage at all sites. Fallow efficiencies in moisture storage in the cereal-fallow rotation, when compared with the continuous cropping system, ranged from −8.7 to 12%. The highest efficiencies were recorded when the rainfall in the months close to primary tillage exceeded 100 mm. Since this event is very unlikely, long fallowing (9–10 months) appears to be an inefficient practice for water conservation under both conventional and conservation management. Our results suggest that, up to now, only reduced tillage could replace conventional tillage without adverse effects on soil water content and penetration resistance in the dryland cereal-growing areas of Aragón.     

Measurement and calculation of hydraulic conductivity in horizons of tilled and untilled loess-derived soil,Germany

A new rapid and simple method was employed to determine unsaturated hydraulic conductivity functions within A-, B- and C-horizons of tilled and untilled loess-derived soil. The results obtained by the laboratory method compared well with results obtained by a lysimeter technique. Tillage as well as structural and textural differences affected the conductivity functions, and the differences, in diffusivities proved to be significant. Conductivity at low tensions was drastically reduced within the 20–30 cm layer of tilled soil, which had a low porosity caused by the compressing action of the plough. Also in the non-compressed 10–20 cm layer of tilled soil, conductivity at low tensions was lower than that in the 10–20 and 20–30 cm layer of an adjoining field which was left untilled for the previous 6 years. In a few layers, where the laboratory procedure failed, conductivity functions were obtained by a calculation method based on the soil-moisture characteristic. The data gained by the laboratory procedure were then used for matching the calculated conductivity functions. The new method is recommended for soil physics and tillage research.     

耕作与覆盖措施对黄土塬区春玉米田土壤水气传输的影响

  【目的】  良好的土壤物理和水力学性质是土壤肥力可持续的基础。研究黄土高原旱作农业区长期不同耕作、覆盖措施对土壤水气传输性质的影响,为黄土塬区可持续的农田管理提供参考。  【方法】  基于设在渭北旱塬始于2002年的田间定位试验,选取传统耕作 (CT)、传统耕作+秸秆覆盖 (TS)、传统耕作+地膜覆盖 (TP)、传统耕作+全膜覆盖 (TWP)、免耕 (NT)、免耕+秸秆覆盖 (NS)、免耕+地膜覆盖 (NP)、免耕+生草覆盖 (NG) 共8个处理。于2019年春玉米收获期采集剖面土样,对0—10、10—20、20—30和30—40 cm土层土壤质量含水量、容重、导气率、相对气体扩散率和饱和导水率进行测定与分析。  【结果】  与CT处理相比,TS处理显著增加了0—40 cm土壤平均质量含水量,降低了0—40 cm各层土壤导气率,增加了各层土壤相对气体扩散率,表层 (0—10 cm) 土壤饱和导水率显著降低了75.9%;TP处理收获期耕层 (0—20 cm) 土壤容重增加,土壤总孔隙度显著降低,在0—10 cm土层,土壤导气率显著提高了54.1%;TWP处理耕层土壤容重显著增加,土壤总孔隙度显著降低,剖面0—40 cm土壤导气率和饱和导水率分别平均增加了64.8%和111.2%,尤其是表层土壤导气率显著提高了99.5%。与NT处理相比,NS处理耕层土壤容重降低,总孔隙度增加,表层土壤质量含水量、相对气体扩散率和饱和导水率分别显著提高了14.8%、25.3%和446.4%;NP处理耕层土壤容重增加,总孔隙度降低,表层土壤质量含水量和饱和导水率分别显著增加3.5%和145.2%,土壤导气率显著降低33.7%;NG处理耕层土壤容重降低,总孔隙度增加,表层土壤质量含水量显著提高了11.3%,土壤相对气体扩散率显著降低了42.1%。相同覆盖条件下与传统耕作比较,免耕处理能够降低下层20—40 cm土壤容重,增加土壤总孔隙度,提高土壤持水性,虽然降低了表层0—10 cm土壤导气率,但提高了土壤相对气体扩散率和饱和导水率。  【结论】  免耕秸秆覆盖可降低耕层土壤容重,增加总孔隙度,并且显著提高耕层土壤相对气体扩散率和饱和导水率,增加下层土壤导气率,是免耕处理组中最佳处理。传统耕作全膜覆盖可提高耕层土壤导气率、相对气体扩散率和饱和导水率,是传统耕作组中最佳处理,可有效保持渭北旱塬良好的土壤水气传输能力。     

Interactive effects of wheel‐traffic and tillage system on soil carbon and nitrogen

Abstract

Wheel‐traffic induced soil compaction has been shown to limit crop productivity, and its interaction with tillage method could affect soil nutrient transformations. A study was conducted during 1993–1994 to determine interactive effects of tillage method (conventional tillage and no‐tillage) and wheel‐traffic (traffic and no traffic) on soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) at a long‐term (initiated 1987) research site at Shorter, Alabama. The cropping system at this study site is a corn (Zea mays L.) ‐ soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] rotation with crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) as a winter cover crop. Soil organic C, total N, and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were not significantly affected by six years of traffic and tillage treatments. However, conventional tillage compared to no‐tillage almost doubled the amount of CO₂‐C respired over the entire observation period and during April 1994 field operations. Soil respiration was stimulated immediately after application of wheel‐ traffic, but nontrafficked soils produced greater amounts of CO₂‐C compared to trafficked soils during other periods of observation. Nitrogen mineralization was significantly lower from no‐tillage‐trafficked soils compared to conventional tillage‐trafficked and no‐tillage‐nontrafficked soils for the 1993 growing season. A laboratory incubation indicated the presence of relatively easily mineralizable N substrates from conventional tillage‐trafficked soil compared to conventional tillage‐nontrafficked and no‐till‐trafficked soils. For the coarse textured soil used in this study it appears that conventional tillage in combination with wheel‐traffic may promote the highest levels of soil microbial activity.     

耕作方式对麦–玉轮作农田固碳、保水性能及产量的影响

【目的】 农田固碳保水性能是影响作物产量的关键因素,研究耕作方式对耕层 (0—20 cm) 土壤碳、水含量和产量的影响,为选择适宜该地区的最佳耕作措施提供参考。 【方法】 保护性耕作长期定位试验始于2002年,种植制度为冬小麦–夏玉米一年两熟,两季秸秆全量粉碎 (3～5 cm) 还田,试验设传统翻耕、深松、旋耕和免耕4种耕作方式。对2015—2016年作物生长各时期土壤有机碳含量、土壤含水量、碳水储量、产量和等价产量等进行了测定。 【结果】 不同处理麦–玉轮作农田0—20 cm土层有机碳含量有所不同。耕作措施对土壤有机碳含量有显著 (P < 0.05) 影响,表现为深松和免耕能显著增加0—10 cm土层有机碳含量,且以深松效果最为显著 ( P < 0.05)。与传统翻耕相比,免耕和旋耕降低了10—20 cm土层土壤有机碳含量;深松比传统翻耕显著 ( P < 0.05) 增加了小麦季土壤有机碳含量,玉米季没有显著性差异 ( P < 0.05)。0—10 cm土层,玉米季旋耕和免耕处理的土壤含水量高于深松和传统翻耕;在10—20 cm土层小麦季免耕处理土壤含水量高于其他三种耕作方式。产量结果表明,深松能有效增加作物的有效穗数、穗粒数和千粒重,进而增加籽粒产量和周年等价产量;免耕显著 ( P < 0.05) 降低了亚表层 (10—20 cm) 有机碳含量,降低穗粒数和千粒重,不利于作物增产。两年小麦玉米单作产量和周年等价产量均表现为深松 > 传统翻耕 > 旋耕 > 免耕。 【结论】 深松能有效促进耕层土壤有机碳积累和保水性能提高,增加作物的有效穗数、穗粒数和千粒重,从而增加产量;免耕显著 (P < 0.05) 提高了表土层 (0—10 cm) 碳储量,有助于增强耕层土壤的保水性能。      

Ammonium accumulation in soil: the long‐term effects of tillage,rotation and N rate in a Mediterranean Vertisol

Plant nutrition requires organic nitrogen to be mineralized before roots can absorb it. A 13‐year field study was conducted on typical rain‐fed Mediterranean Vertisol to determine the effects of tillage system, crop rotation and N fertilizer rate on the long‐term NH₄⁺–N content in the soil profile (0–90 cm). The experiment was designed as a randomized complete block with a split–split plot arrangement and three replications. The main plots tested the effects from the tillage system (no‐tillage and conventional tillage); the subplots tested crop rotation with 2‐year rotations (wheat–wheat, wheat–fallow, wheat–chickpea, wheat–faba bean and wheat–sunflower) and the sub‐subplots examined the N fertilizer rate (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N/ha). Soil NH₄⁺–N content was greatest in the rainiest years and greater under the no‐tillage (NT) system than the conventional tillage (CT) system (57 and 48 kg/ha, respectively). The deepest soil (30–60 and 60–90 cm) contained a greater NH₄⁺–N content (21.0 and 21.4 kg/ha, respectively) than the shallowest soil (19.5 kg/ha in 0–30 cm). This observation may be related to Vertisol characteristics, especially crack formation that allows greater mineralization in the deepest layers by displacing organic matter.     

Nitrogen balance in a soil‐wheat system under plow‐ and no‐tillage in the argentine humid pampa

Abstract

Changing conventional tillage to conservation tillage systems affects nitrogen (N) cycling in agroecosystems. Our objective was to evaluate the role of soil organic pools, specially plant residues, as sources‐sinks of nitrogen in an humid and warm temperate environment cropped to wheat, under plow‐ and no‐tillage. The experimental site was in the Argentine Pampa on a Typic Hapludoll. A balance‐sheet method was used: Nupt+Nres=Nsow+Nmin, where Nupt=N uptake by the crop at harvest; Nsow=soil mineral N as NH₄ and NO₃ at 0–90 cm depth, one month before sowing, plus N added as fertilizer; Nres=residual soil mineral N as NH₄ and NO₃ at 0–90 cm depth, at harvest; Nmin=N mineralized from humus and plant residues during wheat growing period. Nupt did not differ between tillage systems. Nitrogen supply by the mineral N pool, estimated by the difference Nsow‐Nres, was ca. 150 kg N ha^‐1 in both tillage systems. Plant residues decomposed and released N under both treatments. This organic N pool decreased 77% along the crop cycle. Nmin, calculated using the balance equation was 83 kg N ha^‐1, and did not differ between tillage managements, representing 35% of Nupt. This results highlight the importance of the organic pools as sources of N for wheat in the Humid Pampa. They also brink our attention on the importance for evaluate residue decomposition and humus mineralization in warm‐temperate regions when fertilizer requirements are determined, in order to minimize environmental hazard and economic losses by overfertilization.     

Leaching of potassium,magnesium, manganese and iron in relation to porosity of tilled and orchard loamy soil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the leaching of potassium, magnesium, manganese and iron in tilled and orchard silty loam soil. The experimental treatments were: conventionally tilled field (CT) with main tillage operations including pre-plough (10 cm)+harrowing followed by mouldboard ploughing to 20 cm depth, and a 35-year-old apple orchard (OR) with a permanent sward. Leaching of the cations was determined in soil columns of undisturbed structure, 21.5 cm diameter and 20 cm height, from a depth of 0–20 cm. All the columns were subjected to spray irrigation at a level of 1110 ml (30 mm), and leachate in 50-ml increments was collected. Concentration of the cations in the leachate was determined using a spectrophotometer ICP-AS. Pore size distribution data showed that the volume of pores >20 µm under CT was greater at a depth of 0–10 cm and lower in the 10–20 cm soil layer under OR, and the reverse was true with respect to pores <6 µm. At each 50-ml leachate, concentration of all the cations was greater under CT than OR. In most leachates the differences were more pronounced for potassium and magnesium than iron and manganese. Percolation of the leachate was considerably faster in orchard than tilled soil.     

Soil organic matter quality as influenced by tillage,lime, and phosphorus

In Eastern Canada, cereal yields are often restricted by soil acidity and low fertility. Continuous cereal production can also lead to soil structural degradation. The addition of lime and fertilizers and the adoption of conversation tillage practices are proposed solutions which may have a positive impact on soil quality. The objective of the present work was to assess the impact of 3 years of different tillage practices and P additions, and of a single lime addition on organic C and total N, microbial biomass C, and on N mineralization at the surface layer (0–7.5 cm) of a Courval sandy clay loam (Humic Gleysol). The easily mineralizable N, total amount of N mineralized in 22.1 weeks, the rate of N mineralization, and microbial biomass C were significantly greater in the minimum tillage than in the moldboard plow treatment. Chisel plow treatment showed intermediate values. The ratios of potentially mineralizable N and of easily mineralizable to total soil N were also significantly larger under minimum tillage and chisel plowing than under moldboard plowing. The lime and P treatments had no significant effect on the measured soil quality parameters. The total amount of N mineralized per unit of biomass C decreased as the tillage intensity increased, suggesting a decrease in the efficiency of the biomass in transforming organic N into potentially plant-available forms and thus a loss in soil organic matter quality. The results of this study indicate that conservation tillage practices such as rototilling and chisel plowing are efficient ways of maintaining soil organic matter quality when old pastures are brought back into cultivation.     

麦稻轮作下耕作模式对土壤理化性质和作物产量的影响

为了探明不同耕作模式对土壤理化性质和作物产量的影响,采用田间定位试验方法,于2007-2010连续4a在麦稻轮作制下开展了本试验研究。结果表明,免耕提高了耕层土壤体积质量,降低了土壤含水率。但是免耕土壤表层(0～10cm)的体积质量仍在作物适宜生长的范围内,并未对作物的生长产生不利影响。免耕促进了土壤有机质和全氮在表层土壤的富集。0～10cm土层有机质和全氮含量比翻耕处理显著增加,而>10～20cm土层上述养分含量明显低于翻耕处理。小麦季免耕土壤的碱解氮、速效磷和速效钾含量的变化趋势与有机质和全氮含量相似,而水稻季免耕处理整个耕层土壤碱解氮、速效磷和速效钾含量均低于翻耕处理。免耕显著的提高了小麦产量,但降低了水稻产量,起主要作用的产量构成因素是小麦和水稻的有效穗数。整个轮作周期的作物产量以小麦免耕水稻翻耕模式的产量较高,比小麦翻耕水稻免耕模式产量增加了5.70%。     

Effect of tillage on soil organic carbon mineralization estimated from 13C abundance in maize fields

Three methods of cultivation, conventional tillage (CT), superficial tillage (ST) and no-tillage (NT), were applied for 17 years to continuous maize. Their effect on soil organic carbon content was investigated through measurements of carbon and ¹³C/¹²C ratios, using the natural difference in ¹³C content between C₃ plants and maize, which is a C₄ plant. Because the soil had carried C₃ plants before the experiment started, the organic carbon remaining from that time (C₃,-carbon), was distinguished from the carbon derived from maize. Comparison between continuous wheat and maize plots showed that organic matter from both maize and wheat decomposed without significant ¹³C enrichment, whereas older C₃-carbon was enriched by 1.5% compared to that of fresh wheat material. From the initial 3.6 kg C m^?2 in the topsoil (0–30 cm), 0.95 were mineralized in the CT treatment, but only 0.45 in NT. The mineralization was the same in the tilled layer of ST as in CT. The CT treatment accumulated 1.1 kg C m^?2 of maize-derived carbon and the NT treatment 0.8. The mineralization of initial C₃-carbon was the same at all depths between 0 and 30 cm in the NT treatment; 75% of the carbon derived from maize was found in the 0–5 cm layer.     

Response of organic matter to reduced tillage and animal manure in a temperate loamy soil

The impacts of tillage and organic fertilization on soil organic matter (SOM) are highly variable and still unpredictable, and their interactions need to be investigated under various soil, climate and cropping system conditions. Our work examined the effect of reduced tillage and animal manure on SOM stocks and quality in the 0–40 cm layer of a loamy soil under mixed cropping system and humid temperate climate. The soil organic carbon (SOC) and N stocks, particulate organic matter (POM), and C and N mineralization potential (301 days at 15 °C) were measured in a 8‐yr‐old split‐plot field trial, including three tillage treatments [mouldboard ploughing (MP), shallow tillage (ST), no tillage (NT)] and two fertilization treatments [mineral (M), poultry manure 2.2 t/ha/yr C (O)]. No statistically significant interactive effects of tillage and fertilization were measured except on C mineralization. NT and ST showed greater SOC stocks (41.2 and 39.7 t/ha C) than MP (37.1 t/ha C) in the 0–15 cm increment, while no statistical differences were observed at a greater depth. N stocks exhibited similar distribution patterns with regard to tillage effect. Animal manure, applied at a rate representative of typical field application rates, had a smaller impact on SOC and N stocks than tillage. The mean SOC and N stocks were higher under O than M, but the differences were statistically significant only in the 0–5 cm increment. MP showed lower C‐POM stocks than NT and ST in the 0–5 cm increment, whereas greater C‐POM stocks were measured under MP than under NT or under ST in the 20–25 cm increment. Organic fertilization had no impact on C‐POM or N‐POM stocks. In the 0–25 cm increment, NT showed a lower C and N mineralization potential than MP. Our work shows that the sensitivity of SOM to reduced tillage for the whole soil profile can be relatively small in a loamy soil, under humid‐temperate climate. However, POM was particularly sensitive to the differential effects of tillage practices with depth, and indicative of differentiation in total SOM distribution in the soil profile.     

Dynamics of soil biota at different depths under two contrasting tillage practices

One aim of conservation tillage is to preserve soil biological properties. This study was conducted to examine the effects of two contrasting tillage treatments on soil biota at different depths. We investigated the population dynamics and vertical distributions of microbes and several soil faunal groups for 2 years in field Andosols in northeastern Japan. The experimental plots were under no tillage (NT) or conventional tillage (CT, rotary tilled to 20 cm) management. In the 0–10-cm soil layer, bacterial and fungal substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and the population density of enchytraeids were higher under NT than under CT, but the population densities of protozoa, mites, and collembolans did not differ significantly. In contrast, at 10–20 cm, both SIR values were higher under CT, where larger populations of mites and collembolans were recorded. At both depths, nematodes were more abundant under CT. Thus, the effects of tillage on these soil organisms differed according to soil depth, and negative impacts of tillage were smaller in the deeper layer. Larger amounts of earthworm casts at the soil surface in NT plots showed a greater biomass of earthworms than in CT. To evaluate the activities of soil biota, we buried litterbags with three different mesh sizes at the two depths and examined the rate of decomposition. The daily decay constant of litter in the surface soil layer (1.5–8.5 cm) was greater under NT. We suppose that the activities of soil biota in this layer were stimulated under NT, and that especially microbes and enchytraeids, which were abundant at 0–10 cm, contributed greatly to the decomposition.     

Effect of conservation agriculture on stratification of soil organic matter under cereal-based cropping systems

ABSTRACT

Degradation of soil quality caused by conventional tillage practices is a major concern for the sustainability of rice-wheat cropping systems in South Asian region. Therefore, suitable conservation agriculture (CA) practices are required. This study investigates the stratification and storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) as affected by eight years of different CA practices in the North-West Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. There were four treatments: (1) conventionally tilled rice-wheat cropping system, (2) reduced-till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system, (3) no-till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system, and (4) no-till CA-based maize-wheat-mungbean system. The mean stratification ratio (SR) (i.e. a ratio of the concentrations of SOC and TN in the soil surface to those in a deeper layer) of SOC and TN for 0–5:5–10, 10–15, 15–20, 20–25 and 25–30 cm were found higher (> 2) under CA practices compared to intensive tillage-based conventional agricultural practice (< 2). No-till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system stored the highest amount of SOC (25.32 Mg ha^?1) whereas reduced till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system stored highest amount of TN (3.21 Mg ha^?1) at 0–30 cm soil depth. This study shows that CA stratifies SOC and TN and helps to enhance SOC sequestration and soil quality.