Long-term manuring and fertilization effects on soil organic carbon pools under a wheat-maize cropping system in North China Plain

The effects of organic manure and chemical fertilizer on total soil organic carbon (C T), water-soluble organic C (C WS), microbial biomass C (C MB), labile C (C L), C mineralization, C storage and sequestration, and the role of carbon management index (CMI) in soil quality evaluation were studied u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant and soil 2009-01, Vol.314 (1-2), p.67-76
Main Authors: Gong, Wei, Yan, Xiao-yuan, Wang, Jing-yan, Hu, Ting-xing, Gong, Yuan-bo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural site preparation
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Carbon
Carbon management index
Chemical fertilizers
Corn
Ecology
Fertilizers
Forest soils
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Life Sciences
Long-term fertilization experiment
Manure
Manures
North China Plain
Organic carbon fractions
Organic foods
Organic soils
Plant Physiology
Plant Sciences
Regular Article
Soil biochemistry
Soil microorganisms
Soil organic carbon
Soil quality
Soil Science & Conservation
Soils
Studies
Wheat
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Summary:The effects of organic manure and chemical fertilizer on total soil organic carbon (C T), water-soluble organic C (C WS), microbial biomass C (C MB), labile C (C L), C mineralization, C storage and sequestration, and the role of carbon management index (CMI) in soil quality evaluation were studied under a wheat-maize cropping system in a long-term experiment, which was established in 1989 in the North China Plain. The experiment included seven treatments: (1) OM: application of organic manure; (2) 1/2OMN: application of half organic manure plus chemical fertilizer NPK; (3) NPK: balanced application of chemical fertilizer NPK; (4) NP: application of chemical fertilizer NP; (5) PK: application of chemical fertilizer PK; (6) NK: application of chemical fertilizer NK; and (7) CK: unfertilized control. Application of organic manure (OM and 1/2OMN) was more effective for increasing C T, C WS, C MB, C L, C mineralization, and CMI, as compared with application of chemical fertilizer alone. For the chemical fertilizer treatments, balanced application of NPK (treatment 3) showed higher C T, C WS, C MB, C L, C mineralization, and CMI than the unbalanced use of fertilizers (treatments 4, 5, and 6). The C storage in the OM and 1/2OMN treatments were increased by 58.0% and 26.6%, respectively, over the NPK treatment, which had 5.9-25.4% more C storage than unbalanced use of fertilizers. The contents of C WS, C MB, and C L in organic manure treatments (treatments 1 and 2) were increased by 139.7-260.5%, 136.7-225.7%, and 150.0-240.5%, respectively, as compared to the CK treatment. The CMI was found to be a useful index to assess the changes of soil quality induced by soil management practices due to its significant correlation with soil bulk density and C fractions. The OM and 1/2OMN treatments were not a feasible option for farmers, but a feasible option for sequestering soil carbon, especially for the OM treatment. The NPK treatment was important for increasing crop yields, organic material inputs, and soil C fractions, so it could increase the sustainability of cropping system in the North China Plain.
ISSN:0032-079X
1573-5036
DOI:10.1007/s11104-008-9705-2