Impact of Long-Term Organic Fertilizer Application on Lignin in Mollisol

Fertilization is one of the essential managements to maintain and increase soil organic carbon (SOC) level in agroecosystems. It has been realized that fertilizer applications influenced the turnover of labile and refractory organic carbon pools in arable soil markedly. However, the dynamic of relatively refractory lignin in response to fertilization is still kept unclear. Therefore, the impact of long-term organic fertilization on the content and degradation degree of lignin in Mollisol was investigated. Lignin monomers were released by alkaline CuO oxidation method and quantified by gas chromatography (GC). At the time scale of decades, lignin was clearly accumulated in soil and the relative accumulation of lignin in SOC was evident after long-term organic fertilizer application. Compared with the unfertilized soil, lower acid to aldehyde ratios of vanillyl and syringyl units induced by organic fertilization suggested a lower degradation degree of lignin incorporated into soil to some extent. It could be concluded that long-term organic fertilization was an effective fertilizer practice for lignin accumulation in soil and SOC sequestration in Mollisol in northeast of China.

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Soil conditions and yield of repeatedly grown apple orchard depending on long-term fertilizer application

Collected Works of Uman National University of Horticulture ◽

10.31395/2415-8240-2021-98-1-34-47 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (98) ◽

pp. 34-47

Author(s):

P. H. Kopytko ◽

◽

R. V. Yakovenko

Keyword(s):

Soil Fertility ◽

Organic Fertilizer ◽

Humus Content ◽

Mineral Fertilizer ◽

Fertilizer Application ◽

Mineral Fertilizers ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Apple Trees ◽

The Impact

The issue of scientifically sound fertilizer application in fruit plantations, which are long-term and re-grown in one place remains insufficiently studied. To solve this problem is possible only in long-term stationary studies, as the impact of different fertilizer systems on changes in soil properties and tree productivity for a long period of their use. The results of researches of long-term fertilizer influence on the main fertility indices of dark gray podzolic heavy loam soil and productivity of repeatedly grown apple trees of Idared varieties on seed and vegetative (M4) rootstocks and Calville snow on seedling rootstock are considered. During the 85-year period of growing the first and second generation of apple trees in the experimental garden, the organic fertilizer (40 t/ha of cattle manure), mineral fertilizer (N120P120K120) and their combination (20 t/ha of manure + N60P60K60) were applied in the old plantation every two years in autumn in plowing in rows at 18–20 cm, and in the new repetition: manure, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers as well, and nitrogen fertilizer in half doses annually in spring for cultivation or disk plowing to a depth of 12–15 cm. As a result of research it was found that organic fertilizer better than mineral fertilizers provided the formation of soil fertility (humus and mobile compounds and forms of nutrients, soil reaction) and yield capacity of experimental apple trees, which for all years of fruiting exceeded the total yield of Calville snow and Idared on seedling and vegetative rootstocks, respectively, by 34.8, 27.7 and 23.4 % compared with the yield of the control non-fertilized areas and 16.0, 15.8 and 13.2 % – on those fertilized with N120Р120К120. Similar parameters of soil fertility indicators are formed by the organo-mineral fertilizer system with systematic long-term application of half the norms of organic and mineral fertilizers of manure 20 t/ha together with N60P60K60. However, the mineral system (N120P120K120) significantly less increases the humus content and content of macronutrients available for plant nutrition and does not enrich the soil with trace elements, acidifies the reaction of the soil environment

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Effect of Long-Term Soil Management Practices on Tree Growth, Yield and Soil Biodiversity in a High-Density Olive Agro-Ecosystem

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11061036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1036

Author(s):

Sauro Simoni ◽

Giovanni Caruso ◽

Nadia Vignozzi ◽

Riccardo Gucci ◽

Giuseppe Valboa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Structure ◽

Soil Management ◽

Carbon Pools ◽

Grass Cover ◽

Soil Biodiversity ◽

Canopy Effect ◽

Soil Organic Carbon Pools

Edaphic arthropod communities provide valuable information about the prevailing status of soil quality to improve the functionality and long-term sustainability of soil management. The study aimed at evaluating the effect of plant and grass cover on the functional biodiversity and soil characteristics in a mature olive orchard (Olea europaea L.) managed for ten years by two conservation soil managements: natural grass cover (NC) and conservation tillage (CT). The trees under CT grew and yielded more than those under NC during the period of increasing yields (years 4–7) but not when they reached full production. Soil management did not affect the tree root density. Collecting samples underneath the canopy (UC) and in the inter-row space (IR), the edaphic environment was characterized by soil structure, hydrological properties, the concentration and storage of soil organic carbon pools and the distribution of microarthropod communities. The soil organic carbon pools (total and humified) were negatively affected by minimum tillage in IR, but not UC, without a loss in fruit and oil yield. The assemblages of microarthropods benefited, firstly, from the grass cover, secondly, from the canopy effect, and thirdly, from a soil structure ensuring a high air capacity and water storage. Feeding functional groups—hemiedaphic macrosaprophages, polyphages and predators—resulted in selecting the ecotonal microenvironment between the surface and edaphic habitat.

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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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