Physical, biochemical, and microbial controls on amino sugar accumulation in soils under long-term cover cropping and no-tillage farming

A better understanding of the effect of long-term tillage management on soil properties and yield is essential for sustainable food production. This research aimed to evaluate the 37-year impact of different tillage systems and cover cropping on soil hydro-physical properties at 0–15 and 15–30 cm, as well as on soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] yield. The long-term experiment was located in Jackson, TN, and the different treatments involved in this study were no-tillage (NT), disk (DP), chisel (CP), moldboard plow (MP), and no-tillage with winter wheat [Triticum aestivum (L.)] cover crop (NTW). Forty-five days after the tillage operation, MP showed a comparable bulk density (BD) with NT, NTW, and CP at 0–15 cm depth. At surface depth, No-tillage systems increased cone penetration resistance (PR) by 12% compared with the reduced tillage systems, and 47% relative to MP. Wet aggregate stability (WAS) at surface depth was 27% and 36% greater for NT systems than for reduced and conventional tillage systems, respectively. Similarly, the geometric mean diameter (GMD) of aggregates was significantly higher under NT and NTW. However, water infiltration and field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) did not differ significantly among tillage systems. The greatest soybean yield was obtained from CP and DP, producing 10% higher yield than NTW. Overall, 37 years of no-tillage, with or without simplified cover cropping did not result in a consistent improvement in soybean yield and soil physical properties with the exception of having improved soil aggregation.

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Crop residue application at low rates could improve soil phosphorus cycling under long-term no-tillage management

Biology and Fertility of Soils ◽

10.1007/s00374-020-01531-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 499-511

Author(s):

Guohui Wu ◽

Kai Wei ◽

Zhenhua Chen ◽

Dongqi Jiang ◽

Hongtu Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crop Residue ◽

Soil Phosphorus ◽

Phosphorus Cycling ◽

No Tillage

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Divergent Accumulation of Microbial Residues and Amino Sugars in Loess Soil after Six Years of Different Inorganic Nitrogen Enrichment Scenarios

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11135788 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (13) ◽

pp. 5788

Author(s):

Dominic Kwadwo Anning ◽

Zhilong Li ◽

Huizhen Qiu ◽

Delei Deng ◽

Chunhong Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Biomass ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Amino Sugar ◽

N Fertilization ◽

Biochemical Properties ◽

Sugar Accumulation ◽

Amino Sugars ◽

N Enrichment ◽

Over Time ◽

Microbial Residues

Amino sugars are key microbial biomarkers for determining the contribution of microbial residues in soil organic matter (SOM). However, it remains largely unclear as to what extent inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilization can lead to the significant degradation of SOM in alkaline agricultural soils. A six-year field experiment was conducted from 2013 to 2018 to evaluate the effects of chronic N enrichment on microbial residues, amino sugars, and soil biochemical properties under four nitrogen (urea, 46% N) fertilization scenarios: 0 (no-N, control), 75 (low-N), 225 (medium-N), and 375 (high-N) kg N ha−1. The results showed that chronic N enrichment stimulated microbial residues and amino sugar accumulation over time. The medium-N treatment increased the concentration of muramic acid (15.77%), glucosamine (13.55%), galactosamine (18.84%), bacterial residues (16.88%), fungal residues (11.31%), and total microbial residues (12.57%) compared to the control in 2018; however, these concentrations were comparable to the high-N treatment concentrations. The ratio of glucosamine to galactosamine and of glucosamine to muramic acid decreased over time due to a larger increase in bacterial residues as compared to fungal residues. Microbial biomass, soil organic carbon, and aboveground plant biomass positively correlated with microbial residues and amino sugar components. Chronic N enrichment improved the soil biochemical properties and aboveground plant biomass, which stimulated microbial residues and amino sugar accumulation over time.

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Effects of Management and Hillside Position on Soil Organic Carbon Stratification in Mediterranean Centenary Olive Grove

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11040650 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 650

Author(s):

Jesús Aguilera-Huertas ◽

Beatriz Lozano-García ◽

Manuel González-Rosado ◽

Luis Parras-Alcántara

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Management ◽

Olive Grove ◽

No Tillage ◽

Short Term ◽

Degradation Degree

The short- and medium—long-term effects of management and hillside position on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes were studied in a centenary Mediterranean rainfed olive grove. One way to measure these changes is to analyze the soil quality, as it assesses soil degradation degree and attempts to identify management practices for sustainable soil use. In this context, the SOC stratification index (SR-COS) is one of the best indicators of soil quality to assess the degradation degree from SOC content without analyzing other soil properties. The SR-SOC was calculated in soil profiles (horizon-by-horizon) to identify the best soil management practices for sustainable use. The following time periods and soil management combinations were tested: (i) in the medium‒long-term (17 years) from conventional tillage (CT) to no-tillage (NT), (ii) in the short-term (2 years) from CT to no-tillage with cover crops (NT-CC), and (iii) the effect in the short-term (from CT to NT-CC) of different topographic positions along a hillside. The results indicate that the SR-SOC increased with depth for all management practices. The SR-SOC ranged from 1.21 to 1.73 in CT0, from 1.48 to 3.01 in CT1, from 1.15 to 2.48 in CT2, from 1.22 to 2.39 in NT-CC and from 0.98 to 4.16 in NT; therefore, the soil quality from the SR-SOC index was not directly linked to the increase or loss of SOC along the soil profile. This demonstrates the time-variability of SR-SOC and that NT improves soil quality in the long-term.

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Long-term effects of no tillage and Ca-amendment on the activity of soil proteases and β-glucosidase in a Mediterranean agricultural field

European Journal of Soil Biology ◽

10.1016/j.ejsobi.2019.103135 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 95 ◽

pp. 103135 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Eduardo Vazquez ◽

Marta Benito ◽

Alberto Masaguer ◽

Rafael Espejo ◽

Eugenio Díaz-Pinés ◽

...

Keyword(s):

No Tillage ◽

Agricultural Field ◽

Long Term Effects

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Phosphorus mobility and degree of saturation in oxisol under no-tillage after long-term dairy liquid manure application

Soil and Tillage Research ◽

10.1016/j.still.2017.11.014 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 177 ◽

pp. 45-53 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Felipe Youssef Abboud ◽

Nerilde Favaretto ◽

Antonio Carlos Vargas Motta ◽

Gabriel Barth ◽

Gabriel Democh Goularte

Keyword(s):

Degree Of Saturation ◽

No Tillage ◽

Liquid Manure ◽

Manure Application

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Geostatistical analysis of crop yield maps in a long term no tillage system

Bragantia ◽

10.1590/s0006-87052010000500003 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 69 (suppl) ◽

pp. 9-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Osvaldo Guedes Filho ◽

Sidney Rosa Vieira ◽

Marcio Koiti Chiba ◽

Célia Regina Grego

Keyword(s):

Crop Yield ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Spherical Model ◽

Exponential Model ◽

Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽

No Tillage ◽

Yield Data ◽

The North ◽

Tillage System

It is known, for a long time, that crop yields are not uniform at the field. In some places, it is possible to distinguish sites with both low and high yields even within the same area. This work aimed to evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of some crop yields and to identify potential zones for site specific management in an area under no-tillage system for 23 years. Data were analyzed from a 3.42 ha long term experimental area at the Centro Experimental Central of the Instituto Agronômico, located in Campinas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The crop yield data evaluated included the following crops: soybean, maize, lablab and triticale, and all of them were cultivated since 1985 and sampled at a regular grid of 302 points. Data were normalized and analyzed using descriptive statistics and geostatistical tools in order to demonstrate and describe the structure of the spatial variability. All crop yields showed high variability. All of them also showed spatial dependence and were fitted to the spherical model, except for the yield of the maize in 1999 productivity which was fitted to the exponential model. The north part of the area presented repeated high values of productivity in some years. There was a positive cross correlation amongst the productivity values, especially for the maize crops.

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