Comparative soil quality in maize rotations with high or low residue diversity

This study assessed differences in soil quality linked to differences in the diversity of residues returned to the soil in nine pairs of farm fields in central Michigan. To assure that management was the main difference within pairs, study sites were selected that mapped to the same soil series. Analysis of variance using subsamples as replicates for all nine comparisons revealed significantly higher maize (Zea mays L.) yield and total and mineralizable N for the high-diversity fields. Manuring history reported by farmers was difficult ro reconcile with levels of total C and extractable P. To account for uncertainty in manuring histories, comparisons were separated into four subsets on the Basis of residue diversity (DVS) and extractable P (high DVS high P, low DVS low P, high DVS low P, and low DVS high P). For these segregates, analysis of variance (ANOVA) using subsamples as replicates revealed significant improvements in 6 of 21 soil quality indices in the high-DVS-P subset. For all nine comparisons, correlation analysis revealed moderately strong relationships between total C, extractable P, as well as their ratio (C_tot/P_ext), and both bulk density and log(infiltration time). When the data were segregated as before, these relationships were much stronger for the high-DVS high-P subset, and their slopes differed significantly from those of the other subsets, indicating that the data points originated from different populations. These results suggest a strong interaction between residue diversity, and P likely applied in manure, that influenced soil quality.