Reduced-tillage management enhances soil properties and crop yields in a alfalfa-corn rotation: Case study of the Songnen Plain, China

AbstractThe reduced-tillage (Rt) has been proposed as a strategy to improve soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen pools. However, little is known of the role of the reduced-tillage compared with the organic (Org) and conventional (Con) management in the Songnen Plain of China. We studied the 4 yr effect of three management strategies (Con, Org and Rt management) on labile soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools, including variation in mineralizable carbon and nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in the rotation of alfalfa-corn established in 2009. Soil characteristics including soil organic carbon (SOC), soil total nitrogen (STN), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) were quantified in samples collected during the 9 yr rotation of 5yr-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) followed by 4 yr corn (Zea mays L.). The mineralizable C was increased in the four years, and although not statistically significant, 12% higher in the fourth year under reduced-tillage than conventional management (268 kg ha−1). Soil organic C was increased by 30% under reduced-tillage compared to conventional management (15.5 Mg ha−1). Three management strategies showed similar labile N pools in the Con and Org management, but differed in the Rt management. Org management showed significantly lesser mineralizable and inorganic N compared to other strategies, but soil microbial community and comparable crop yield across management strategy in year 4, indicating more efficient N use for organic than other management strategy. In our conditions, reduced-tillage for corn cropping after five years of alfalfa grassland can accumulate labile C and N and improve N utilization to for crop yields in the forage-based rotations. These findings suggest an optimal strategy for using Rt management to enhance soil properties and crop yield in plantation soils and provide a new perspective for understanding the potential role of Rt management in plantation soil.

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Microbial properties in European arable soils with different tillage systems

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10240 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Deborah Linsler ◽

Jacqueline Gerigk ◽

Ilka Schmoock ◽

Rainer Georg Jörgensen ◽

Martin Potthoff

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

No Tillage ◽

Biomass Carbon ◽

Site Specific ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Tillage Practices

Reduced tillage is assumed to be a suitable practice to maintain and promote microbial biomass and microbial activity in the soil. The microbial biomass in particular is considered as a sensitive indicator for detecting soil disturbances. The objective of this study was to quantify the influence of different tillage practices on microbial parameters in the soil. Furthermore, we analyzed the relation of those microbial parameters with site-specific conditions.To get a deeper insight in that topic, soils from different fields of agricultural farms with different tillage practices in France (12 fields), Romania (15 fields) and Sweden (17 fields) were examined within the &#8220;SoilMan project&#8221;. The tillage practices were no-tillage (absence of any tillage), minimum tillage (non-inversion tillage for instance by chisel plough or cultivator) and conventional tillage (inversion tillage by ploughing), all of which were carried out for at least five years prior to sampling. Soil samples were taken in spring 2018 from all fields under winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) at three soil depths (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-30 cm). As microbial parameters we measured microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen contents, ergosterol contents (as proxy for fungi) and basal respiration rates. For site-specific conditions we measured soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus contents, texture, pH and the soil water content.Results show that microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were more affected by soil type and soil texture as well as climatic conditions (mean precipitation and temperature) than by tillage practices. For instance, an increased clay content had a positive effect on the microbial biomass and, in addition to the higher average annual temperature, explained the generally low values &#8203;&#8203;in France. The lack of inversion tillage primarily led to stratified levels of soil organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon and ergosterol contents, which can be explained by the lack of crop residue incorporation. There were hardly any differences in microbial indicators between the tillage intensities when looking at the whole of the sampled soil profile (0-30 cm). In France, the microbial biomass carbon / soil organic carbon ratio was lower for no-tillage than for conventional tillage, which may indicate, among other things, that the mechanically ground organic matter incorporated into the soil under conventional tillage was better colonized by microorganisms. However, this effect could not be confirmed in the other countries. The metabolic quotient was generally increased at the lowest sampled depth (20-30 cm), irrespective of the cultivation.We can conclude that the soil tillage intensity influenced the distribution of microbial biomass carbon and soil organic carbon contents more strongly than the total amounts in the sampled soil profile and that the soil texture had a greater impact on microbial soil properties than the agricultural management practice.

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Alteration of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stoichiometry and their related enzymes as affected by increased soil coarseness

10.5194/bg-2016-483 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Ruzhen Wang ◽

Linyou Lü ◽

Courtney A. Creamer ◽

Heyong Liu ◽

Xue Feng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Total Nitrogen ◽

Enzyme Activities ◽

Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽

Soil Parameters ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Acid Phosphomonoesterase

Abstract. Soil coarseness decreases ecosystem productivity, ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks, and soil nutrient contents in sandy grasslands. To gain insight into changes in soil carbon and nitrogen pools, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities in response to soil coarseness, a field experiment of sand addition was conducted to coarsen soil with different intensities: 0 % sand addition, 10 %, 30 %, 50 %, and 70 %. Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen decreased with the intensification of soil coarseness across three depths (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, and 20–40 cm) by up to 43.9 % and 53.7 %, respectively. At 0–10 cm, soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) declined with soil coarseness by up to 44.1 % and 51.9 %, respectively, while microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP) increased by as much as 73.9 %. Soil coarseness significantly decreased the activities of β-glucosidase, N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, and acid phosphomonoesterase by 20.2 %–57.5 %, 24.5 %–53.0 %, and 22.2 %–88.7 %, respectively. Soil coarseness enhanced microbial C and N limitation relative to P, indicated by the ratios of β-glucosidase and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase to acid phosphomonoesterase (and MBC:MBP and MBN:MBP ratios). As compared to laboratory measurement, values of soil parameters from theoretical sand dilution was significantly lower for soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, available phosphorus, MBC, MBN, and MBP. Phosphorus immobilization in microbial biomass might aggravate plant P limitation in nutrient-poor grassland ecosystems as affected by soil coarseness. We conclude that microbial C:N:P and enzyme activities might be good indicators for nutrient limitation of microorganisms and plants.

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Temporal Variation of Earthworm Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon under Different Tillage Systems

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16111908 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. 1908 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yafei Guo ◽

Xiaoping Zhang ◽

Yan Zhang ◽

Donghui Wu ◽

Neil McLaughlin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Inhibitory Effect ◽

Black Soil ◽

Soil Co2 Emissions ◽

Ct System

Previous research has shown the varied effect of earthworms on soil carbon dynamics. We carried out a 180-day incubation experiment with earthworms and maize residue additions under conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT) system conditions to quantify the earthworm effect in the black soil of northeastern China. Earthworms did not affect soil CO2 emissions, while residue addition significantly increased such emissions. The effects of earthworms on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) gradually weakened with time in CT with and without residue addition, but gradually increased with time in NT with residue addition. In the CT system, earthworms accelerated the soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization; and the newly added residue decomposed into SOC. In the NT system, earthworms accelerated the decomposition of native residues increasing the SOC content; this increase in decomposition rates by earthworms was greater than the inhibitory effect imposed by the addition of the new residue. Earthworms and residues combine to play a single role in CT and NT. This result will help in the understanding of the role of earthworms and residue in SOC dynamics, and in the development of management strategies to improve SOC.

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Differences of soil enzyme activities and its influencing factors under different flooding conditions in Ili Valley, Xinjiang

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.8531 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e8531 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yulu Zhang ◽

Dong Cui ◽

Haijun Yang ◽

Nijat Kasim

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Total Phosphorus ◽

Enzyme Activities ◽

Catalase Activity ◽

Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Soil Enzyme ◽

Biomass Carbon

Background A wetland is a special ecosystem formed by the interaction of land and water. The moisture content variation will greatly affect the function and structure of the wetland internal system. Method In this paper, three kinds of wetlands with different flooding levels (Phragmites australis wetland (long-term flooding), Calamagrostis epigeios wetland(seasonal flooding) and Ditch millet wetland (rarely flooded)) in Ili Valley of Xinjiang China were selected as research areas. The changes of microbial biomass carbon, soil physical and chemical properties in wetlands were compared, and redundancy analysis was used to analyze the correlation between soil physical and chemical properties, microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activities (soil sucrase, catalase, amylase and urease). The differences of soil enzyme activities and its influencing factors under different flooding conditions in Ili Valley were studied and discussed. Result The results of this study were the following: (1) The activities of sucrase and amylase in rarely flooded wetlands and seasonally flooded wetlands were significantly higher than those in long-term flooded wetlands; the difference of catalase activity in seasonal flooded wetland was significant and the highest. (2) Redundancy analysis showed that soil organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, total phosphorus and soil microbial biomass carbon had significant effects on soil enzyme activity (p < 0.05). (3) The correlation between soil organic carbon and the sucrase activity, total phosphorus and the catalase activity was the strongest; while soil organic carbon has a significant positive correlation with invertase, urease and amylase activity, with a slight influence on catalase activity. The results of this study showed that the content of organic carbon, total phosphorus and other soil fertility factors in the soil would be increased and the enzyme activity would be enhanced if the flooding degree was changed properly.

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Ratio of soil microbial biomass carbon to soil organic carbon in Himalayan rangeland

Himalayan Journal of Science and Technology ◽

10.3126/hijost.v2i0.25852 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 96-101

Author(s):

Dil Kumar Limbu ◽

Madan Koirala

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Biomass ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Microbial Biomass ◽

Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽

Biomass Carbon ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽

Microbial Carbon

The soil microbial biomass carbon to soil organic carbon ratio is a useful measure to monitor soil organic matter and serves as a sensitive index than soil organic carbon alone. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify and quantify the present status of ratio of soil microbial biomass carbon to soil organic carbon in Himalayan rangeland and to make recommendations for enhancing balance between microbial carbon and organic carbon of the soil. To meet the aforementioned objective, a field study was conducted from 2011 to 2013 following the Walkley-Black, Chromic acid wet oxidation method, and chloroform fumigation method for analysis of microbial carbon and organic carbon respectively. The study showed that the heavily grazed plot had significantly less value of ratio than occasionally grazed and ungrazed plots. The ratio was significantly high on legume seeding plot compared to nonlegume plot, but the ratio was independent of soil depth. Soil microbial biomass appeared to be more responsive than soil organic matter.

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Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Feedbacks on Crop Yields under Climate Change

ael ◽

10.2134/ael2018.05.0026 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 180026 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

B. Basso ◽

B. Dumont ◽

B. Maestrini ◽

I. Shcherbak ◽

G. P. Robertson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen

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Influence of Plastic Mulching on Soil Moisture, Nutrient and Microbial Biomass in Pineapple Cultivation on Undulating Hilly Areas of Nagaland

Agropedology ◽

10.47114/j.agroped.2019.j8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Christy Sangma ◽

◽

A. Thirugnanavel ◽

Ph. Romen Sharma ◽

G. Rajesha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Microbial Biomass ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Moisture Content ◽

Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽

Fertility Level ◽

Biomass Carbon ◽

Available N ◽

Plastic Mulching

The pineapple var. Kew was planted on black polythene film mulching with double hedgerow planting to find out the influence of mulches on soil and plant. The soil samples were collected twice (kharif and rabi) at two different depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm), and the pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, basal respiration and soil microbial biomass carbon were analysed. The data revealed that soil organic carbon and available N, P, and K content were slightly higher in the bottom hill than the top hill. The mulched field had higher nutrients than the non-mulched field. The fertility level varied slightly between the seasons. The biological parameters (microbial biomass carbon) were observed to be significantly higher (P≤0.05) in the bottom hill in both the seasons than the non-mulched field. The soil moisture content ranged from 5.9 % in March to 24.24 % August in the bottom hill (15-30 cm depth). The moisture content in the non-mulched field was lower than the mulched field.

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