Effects of drying/rewetting on soil aggregate dynamics and implications for organic matter turnover

While several researchers have suggested that soil aggregate turnover is a significant control on organic matter dynamics, the quantification of soil aggregate dynamics has yet to be achieved. Quantification of soil aggregate turnover is essential to testing any hypothesis concerning the relationship between aggregate turnover and organic matter dynamics. The goal of the current work was to propose a modeling approach to the quantification of soil macroaggregate dynamics. The approach taken was to define model compartments representing water-stable soil aggregate size fractions and describing the flows between compartments using first-order kinetics. Soil aggregate data from a 2-yr field study on two contrasting soils were used to calibrate the model and yielded soil aggregate mean residence times ranging from 4 to 95 d, where aggregate dynamics were generally two to three times more rapid in a Gray Luvisol compared to a Black Chernozem. The model was subsequently used to predict the distribution of applied tracer spheres in water-stable aggregate size fractions from an initially free state. The models closely predicted the Dy "mean weight diameters" (Dy-MWD) after two growing seasons. While the models have several limitations, they offer the first attempt to quantitatively describe soil macroaggregate dynamics, which is essential to predicting the response in organic matter dynamics to changes in aggregate dynamics. Key words: Soil aggregation, macroaggregate turnover, tracer, model

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Nutrient and Stoichiometric Characteristics of Aggregates in a Sloping Farmland Area under Different Tillage Practices

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13020890 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 890

Author(s):

Jie Zhang ◽

Yaojun Liu ◽

Taihui Zheng ◽

Xiaomin Zhao ◽

Hongguang Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Size Distribution ◽

Soil Aggregates ◽

Soil Aggregate ◽

Elemental Content ◽

Stoichiometric Ratio ◽

Longitudinal Ridge ◽

Stoichiometric Ratios ◽

Sloping Farmland ◽

Ridge Tillage

Sloping farmland is prevalent in hilly red soil areas of South China. Improper tillage patterns induce decreased soil organic matter, soil aggregate breakdown, and nutrient imbalance, thereby restricting crop production. However, the stoichiometric characteristics could reflect the nutrient availability which was mostly studied on bulk soil. The stoichiometric characteristics of soil aggregates with multiple functions in farmlands has rarely been studied. The study was to reveal the impact of tillage patterns on the size distribution, nutrient levels, and stoichiometric ratios of soil aggregates after 20 years’ cultivation. Soil samples of 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm from five tillage patterns, bare-land control (BL), longitudinal-ridge tillage (LR), conventional tillage + straw mulching (CS), cross-ridge tillage (CR), and longitudinal-ridge tillage + hedgerows (LH) were collected. The elemental content (C, N and P) and soil aggregate size distribution were determined, and the stoichiometric ratios were subsequently calculated. Through our analysis and study, it was found that the nutrient content of >2 mm soil aggregates in all plots was the highest. In the hedgerow plots, >2 mm water-stable soil aggregate content was increased. Therefore, LH plots have the highest content of organic matter and nutrients. After 20 years of cultivation, stoichiometric ratio of each plot showed different changes on soil aggregates at different levels. the C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios are lower than the national average of cultivated land. Among of them, the stoichiometric ratio in the LH plot is closer to the mean and showed better water-stable aggregate enhancement. Therefore, longitudinal-ridge tillage + hedgerows can be recommended as a cultivation measure. This study provides a reference for determining appropriate tillage measures, balancing nutrient ratios, and implementing rational fertilization.

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