Reduced tillage and increasing cropping intensity in the Great Plains conserves soil C

Concern about soil organic matter losses as a result of cultivation has been voiced consistently since the early part of the 20th century. Scientists working in the US. Great Plains recognized that organic matter losses from an already small pool could have major negative consequences on soil physical properties and N supplying capacity. The advent of reduced- and no-till systems has greatly improved our ability to capture and retain precipitation in the soil during the non-crop periods of the cropping cycle, and has made it possible to reduce fallow frequency and intensify cropping systems. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the effects of reduced tillage and cropping system intensification on C storage in soils using data from experiments in North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Texas. Decades of farming with the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–fallow system, the dominant farming system in the Great Plains, have accentuated soil C losses. More intensive cropping systems, made possible by the greater water conservation associated with no-till practices, have produced more grain, produced more crop residue and allowed more of it to remain on the soil surface. Combined with less soil disturbance in reduced- and no-till systems, intensive cropping has increased C storage in the soil. We also conclude that the effects of cropping system intensification on soil C should not be investigated independent of residue C still on the surface. There are many unknowns regarding how rapidly changes in soil C will occur when tillage and cropping systems are changed, but the data summarized in this paper indicate that in the surface 2.5 cm of soil, changes can be detected within 10 years. It is imperative that we continue long-term experiments to evaluate rates of change over an extended period. It is also apparent that we should include residue C, both on the surface of the soil and within the surface 2.5 cm, in our system C budgets if we are to accurately depict residue–soil C system status. The accounting of soil C must be done on a mass basis rather than on a concentration basis.     

夏玉米残茬覆盖与耕作方式的研究

对小麦机械收获后残茬覆盖与不覆盖两种条件下免耕、翻耕和间隔深松三种土壤耕作方式夏玉米的营养生长及籽粒产量进行了研究。结果表明,残茬覆盖和深松耕作玉米播种后出苗率高,次生根条数多,株高增加而基部节间缩短,叶面积系数提高,最终产量显著高于其他处理。     

残茬覆盖与耕作方式对夏玉米营养生长及籽粒产量的影响

对小麦机械收获后残茬覆盖与不覆盖 2种条件下免耕、翻耕和间隔深松 3种土壤耕作方式夏玉米的营养生长及籽粒产量进行了研究。结果表明 ,残茬覆盖和深松耕作玉米播种后出苗率高 ,次生根多 ,株高增加而基部节间缩短 ,叶面积系数提高 ,最终产量显著高于其他处理。     

Rainfall and tillage effects on soil structure after alfalfa conversion to maize on a clay loam soil in New York

Soil degradation is accelerated when perennial crops are converted to annual row crops, primarily due to increased soil disturbance from tillage. Subsequent heavy rainfall may induce soil settling, reduce macroporosity and increase hardsetting upon drying. An experiment involving plow and no-tillage and two simulated rainfall treatments (‘wet’ and ‘dry’) was conducted on Kingsbury clay loam soil in northern New York in 1992 and 1993 to study their effects on soil structure under maize (Zea mays L.) after conversion from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), and to evaluate the use of spectral analysis of micropenetrometer observations for studying soil aggregation. Undisturbed soil cores were collected from the row and trafficked and non-trafficked interrow positions at the 0.05 and 0.15 m depths and used for laboratory measurement of soil strength and pore system properties. These well-structured soils show a high contribution (up to 0.15 m³ m⁻³) of macropores to the total porosity of the soil. Soil strength was generally slightly higher for no-till (NT) than plow till (PT), although only significant in 1992. Soil strength in the surface layer did not change significantly with drying. Spectral density patterns did not show strong treatment effects, although distinct peaks reflect 3.0–3.5 mm stable structural units within macroaggregates. Simulated rainfall treatments and tillage treatments generally did not strongly affect measured soil properties, presumably due to stable soil structure. Structurally stable clay loam soils show little effect of tillage or settling on soil physical properties in the first years after alfalfa to maize conversion, and have good potential for long-term annual crop production if properly managed.     

Tillage, cover crops, and nitrogen fertilization effects on soil nitrogen and cotton and sorghum yields

Sustainable soil and crop management practices that reduce soil erosion and nitrogen (N) leaching, conserve soil organic matter, and optimize cotton and sorghum yields still remain a challenge. We examined the influence of three tillage practices (no-till, strip till and chisel till), four cover crops {legume [hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth)], nonlegume [rye (Secaele cereale L.)], vetch/rye biculture and winter weeds or no cover crop}, and three N fertilization rates (0, 60–65 and 120–130 kg N ha⁻¹) on soil inorganic N content at the 0–30 cm depth and yields and N uptake of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. A field experiment was conducted on Dothan sandy loam (fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic, Plinthic Paleudults) from 1999 to 2002 in Georgia, USA. Nitrogen supplied by cover crops was greater with vetch and vetch/rye biculture than with rye and weeds. Soil inorganic N at the 0–10 and 10–30 cm depths increased with increasing N rate and were greater with vetch than with rye and weeds in April 2000 and 2002. Inorganic N at 0–10 cm was also greater with vetch than with rye in no-till, greater with vetch/rye than with rye and weeds in strip till, and greater with vetch than with rye and weeds in chisel till. In 2000, cotton lint yield and N uptake were greater in no-till with rye or 60 kg N ha⁻¹ than in other treatments, but biomass (stems + leaves) yield and N uptake were greater with vetch and vetch/rye than with rye or weeds, and greater with 60 and 120 than with 0 kg N ha⁻¹. In 2001, sorghum grain yield, biomass yield, and N uptake were greater in strip till and chisel till than in no-till, and greater in vetch and vetch/rye with or without N than in rye and weeds with 0 or 65 kg N ha⁻¹. In 2002, cotton lint yield and N uptake were greater in chisel till, rye and weeds with 0 or 60 kg N ha⁻¹ than in other treatments, but biomass N uptake was greater in vetch/rye with 60 kg N ha⁻¹ than in rye and weeds with 0 or 60 kg N ha⁻¹. Increased N supplied by hairy vetch or 120–130 kg N ha⁻¹ increased soil N availability, sorghum grain yield, cotton and sorghum biomass yields, and N uptake but decreased cotton lint yield and lint N uptake compared with rye, weeds or 0 kg N ha⁻¹. Cotton and sorghum yields and N uptake can be optimized and potentials for soil erosion and N leaching can be reduced by using conservation tillage, such as no-till or strip till, with vetch/rye biculture cover crop and 60–65 kg N ha⁻¹. The results can be applied in regions where cover crops can be grown in the winter to reduce soil erosion and N leaching and where tillage intensity and N fertilization rates can be minimized to reduce the costs of energy requirement for tillage and N fertilization while optimizing crop production.     

脲酶/硝化抑制剂配施氮肥对春玉米农田氨排放的影响

通过两年田间定位试验,探讨脲酶/硝化抑制剂配施氮肥在黑土区玉米体系中的氨减排及氮素增效效果。设置两种耕作模式(条耕和旋耕)和3种氮肥类型(常规尿素、添加脲酶抑制剂尿素、添加硝化抑制剂尿素)。结果表明,条耕产量和氮素利用率分别为8 631 kg/hm2和33.4%,明显低于旋耕;氨挥发总量为20.6 kg/hm2,明显高于旋耕。脲酶/硝化抑制剂配施氮肥的产量和氮素利用率分别为10 737 kg/hm2和46.0%,较常规尿素分别提高25.6%和23.6%;土壤氨挥发累积量为18.6 kg/hm2,明显低于常规尿素。抑制剂类型显著影响氨排放,添加脲酶抑制剂尿素低于添加硝化抑制剂尿素。相同氮素投入条件下,添加脲酶/硝化抑制剂尿素在土壤条耕和旋耕模式下均可实现增产增效及氨减排效果,且添加脲酶抑制剂尿素具有较好的氨减排效果。     

Land-use history has a stronger impact on soil microbial community composition than aboveground vegetation and soil properties

The response of soil microbial communities following changes in land-use is governed by multiple factors. The objectives of this study were to investigate (i) whether soil microbial communities track the changes in aboveground vegetation during succession; and (ii) whether microbial communities return to their native state over time. Two successional gradients with different vegetation were studied at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan. The first gradient comprised a conventionally tilled cropland (CT), mid-succession forest (SF) abandoned from cultivation prior to 1951, and native deciduous forest (DF). The second gradient comprised the CT cropland, early-succession grassland (ES) restored in 1989, and long-term mowed grassland (MG). With succession, the total microbial PLFAs and soil microbial biomass C consistently increased in both gradients. While bacterial rRNA gene diversity remained unchanged, the abundance and composition of many bacterial phyla changed significantly. Moreover, microbial communities in the relatively pristine DF and MG soils were very similar despite major differences in soil properties and vegetation. After >50 years of succession, and despite different vegetation, microbial communities in SF were more similar to those in mature DF than in CT. In contrast, even after 17 years of succession, microbial communities in ES were more similar to CT than endpoint MG despite very different vegetation between CT and ES. This result suggested a lasting impact of cultivation history on the soil microbial community. With conversion of deciduous to conifer forest (CF), there was a significant change in multiple soil properties that correlated with changes in microbial biomass, rRNA gene diversity and community composition. In conclusion, history of land-use was a stronger determinant of the composition of microbial communities than vegetation and soil properties. Further, microbial communities in disturbed soils apparently return to their native state with time.     

Population dynamics of volunteer oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) affected by tillage

Volunteer plants of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) from persistent seeds in soil can affect subsequent crops. Apart from the agricultural disadvantages, the environment and the marketing of the seeds may also be affected, particularly if plants with special ingredients or genetically modified (gm) plants are grown. In order to investigate the influence of soil cultivation and genotype on seed persistence and gene flow via volunteers, a field experiment was set up testing four tillage treatments and two cultivars in a split-plot design. The cultivars tested were near-isogenic to two gm cultivars. To simulate harvesting losses, 10 000 seeds m⁻² were broadcast on a soil in July. The subsequent tillage treatments were combinations of immediate or delayed stubble tillage by a rotary tiller, primary tillage with plough or cultivator, or zero tillage. Over the following year, the fate of the seeds was determined. Immediate stubble tillage with following cultivator or plough resulted in 586 resp. 246 seeds m⁻² in the soil seed bank. After delayed stubble tillage with following plough, 76 seeds m⁻² were found, and no soil seed bank was built up in the zero tillage treatment. Nevertheless, in the zero tillage treatment, several robust volunteer plants survived the herbicide application before the direct drilling in autumn until following spring. In the zero tillage treatment and in the cultivator treatment, 0.19 volunteers m⁻² resp. 0.06 volunteers m⁻² flowered simultaneously to ordinarily sown oilseed rape in the following crop of winter wheat and produced 73 resp. 18 seeds m⁻². Delayed stubble tillage reduced the risk of gene escape via the soil seed bank, while zero tillage resulted in the highest risk of gene escape by pollen and by production of a new generation of seeds. In terms of a labelling threshold for gm food this number of seeds would be below the threshold of 0.9% of transgenic parts in conventially bred food or feed.     

不同耕作方式与秸秆还田对土壤养分及小麦产量和品质的影响

为探寻稻麦两熟区高产优质高效的耕作方式和秸秆还田组合,从2001年开始,在长江中下游稻麦两熟区进行田间连续定位试验。设置稻麦双季免耕与秸秆还田（NTS）、麦季免耕与秸秆减量还田（RNT）、稻季免耕与秸秆减量还田（RCT）、稻麦双季翻耕与秸秆还田（CTS）、稻麦双季少耕与秸秆减量还田（MTS）以及稻麦双季翻耕无秸秆还田（CT,对照）6个处理。分析了不同耕作方式与秸秆还田组合下2009-2018年土壤有机质与全氮含量的变化,进一步明确其对小麦产量与品质的影响。结果表明,连续秸秆还田显著提高耕层土壤养分含量,其中MTS处理下土壤有机质与全氮含量较对照分别增加了29.64%和19.76%,具有明显的养分积累效果;但连续免耕不利于小麦产量的提高,RNT和RCT处理小麦产量较高,分别比NTS处理增加了16.33%和10.34%;同时RNT处理小麦的加工品质及面条质量也有提高趋势。因此,麦季免耕与秸秆还田结合的耕作模式有利于提高中弱筋小麦的产量和品质,可作为该地区发展优质高产高效小麦优先选择的耕作技术组合。     

Earthworm populations and growth rates related to long-term crop residue and tillage management

Conventional tillage creates soil physical conditions that may restrict earthworm movement and accelerate crop residue decomposition, thus reducing the food supply for earthworms. These negative impacts may be alleviated by retaining crop residues in agroecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of various tillage and crop residue management practices on earthworm populations in the field and earthworm growth under controlled conditions. Population assessments were conducted at two long-term (15+ years) experimental sites in Québec, Canada with three tillage systems: moldboard plow/disk harrow (CT), chisel plow or disk harrow (RT) and no tillage (NT), as well as two levels of crop residue inputs (high and low). Earthworm growth was assessed in intact soil cores from both sites. In the field, earthworm populations and biomass were greater with long-term NT than CT and RT practices, but not affected by crop residue management. Laboratory growth rates of Aporrectodea turgida (Eisen) in intact soil cores were affected by tillage and residue inputs, and were positively correlated with the soil organic C pool, suggesting that tillage and residue management practices that increase the soil organic C pool provide more organic substrates for earthworm growth. The highest earthworm growth rates were in soils from RT plots with high residue input, which differed from the response of earthworm populations to tillage and residue management treatments in the field. Our results suggest that tillage-induced disturbance probably has a greater impact than food availability on earthworm populations in cool, humid agroecosystems.