Priming effect and C storage in semi-arid no-till spring crop rotations

Adoption of less invasive management practices, such as no-till (NT) and continuous cropping, could reduce CO₂ emissions from agricultural soils by retaining soil organic matter (SOM). We hypothesized that C storage increases as cropping intensity increases and tillage decreases. We also hypothesized that pulsed addition of C increases the mineralization of native SOM. We evaluated C storage at the 0- to 5-cm depth in soils from four crop rotations: winter wheat-fallow, spring wheat-chemical fallow, continuous hard red spring wheat, and spring wheat-spring barley on a Ritzville silt loam (Calcidic Haploxeroll). In two incubation studies using ¹⁴C-labeled wheat straw, we traced the decomposition of added residue as influenced by (1) cropping frequency, (2) tillage, and (3) pulsed additions of C. Differences in ¹⁴C mineralization did not exist among the four rotations at any time throughout the incubations. However, differences in total CO₂ production between the continuous wheat rotations and the fallow rotations point to a priming of native SOM, the degree of which appears to be related to the relative contributions of fungi and bacteria to the decomposition of added residue. Addition of non-labeled wheat straw to select samples in the second incubation resulted in a flush of ¹⁴C-CO₂ not seen in the controls. This priming effect suggests C inputs have a greater effect on mineralization of residual C compared to disturbance and endogenous metabolism appears to be the source of primed C, with priming becoming more pronounced as the fungal:bacterial ratio in the soil increases.