Carbon sequestration and mineralization in soil aggregates under long-term conservation tillage in the North China Plain

Agricultural management, such as tillage and straw-returning, affect soil fertility and nutrient cycling in agroecosystems. With the increasing food demand and challenges imposed by climate change, these effects on soil fertility need to be closely monitored, so that short-term agricultural intensification should not threaten the long-term productivity of the land. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to examine the long-term effects of different management practices on soil aggregate stability and associated organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N) over a 33-year period in the croplands of the North China Plain. Bulk soils from the surface and subsurface layers were fractionated using the wet sieving approach. The results showed that the silt + clay (SC) fractions (<0.053 mm) were predominant, accounting for 32–56% of the mass at the 0–20 cm depth, and accounting for 41–55% of the mass at the 20–40 cm depth. Additionally, long-term (33 years) no-tillage management and straw-returning at different application rates increased the mass of large soil macroaggregates (LMA), the LMA- and macroaggregate-associated OC content, but decreased the SC-associated OC content. Mineral N and P fertilizers had a minor effect on the stabilization of soil aggregates. The treatment with straw significantly increased the mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GWD), compared with the treatment without straw. Our results indicate that carefully regulated management practices would enhance soil aggregate stability, associated OC and N content in the intensive agroecosystem.

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Long-term effects of different organic and inorganic fertilizer treatments on soil organic carbon sequestration and crop yields on the North China Plain

Soil and Tillage Research ◽

10.1016/j.still.2014.06.011 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 146 ◽

pp. 47-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Z.C. Yang ◽

N. Zhao ◽

F. Huang ◽

Y.Z. Lv

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

The North ◽

Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration ◽

The North China Plain ◽

Organic Carbon Sequestration

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Contrasting Impacts of Long-Term Application of Biofertilizers and Organic Manure on Grain Yield of Winter Wheat in North China Plain

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy9060312 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 312 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Amara Cisse ◽

Adnan Arshad ◽

Xiaofen Wang ◽

Fanta Yattara ◽

Yuegao Hu

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Farm Yard Manure ◽

Grain Yields ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

Pig Farm ◽

1000 Grain Weight

The effects of long-term incorporation of organic manure and biofertilizers have been investigated on winter wheat in the North China Plain (NCP). The five-year field experiment (2013–2018) has illustrated the responses of grain yield and yield components. Seven fertilization approaches, included pig farm-yard-manure and biofertilizers amendments combined with five NPK% drop levels of chemical fertilizer ratio + organic fertilizer + biofertilizer (0, C+O+B) 25%, CL4; 50%, CL3; 75%, CL1; and 100%, CL0), without fertilizer as control (CK), in NCP during the years 2013–2018. Results showed that the grain yields of CL1 and CL2 were equivalent to CL0 in all growing seasons except 2014/2015. The grain yields of CL4 were 29.9% to 46.6% lower than that of CL0 during 2014/2015, 2016/2017, and 2017/2018. The valuable spike-number, grain number per-spike, and 1000-grain weight showed significant variations among different growing periods. Regression analysis of grain yield and yield components indicated that number grains per-spike showed significant increase in seed yield formation. The 1000-grain weight was the major parameter that influenced yield of moderate and low yielding periods, respectively. The results revealed that application of 30 m3 ha−1 pig farm-yard-manure and 20 kg ha−1 biofertilizers has reduced at least 50% of the NPK fertilization without dropping grain yields in the North China Plain.

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