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Dryland soil nitrogen cycling influenced by tillage, crop rotation, and cultural practice

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Abstract

Management practices may influence dryland soil N cycling. We evaluated the effects of tillage, crop rotation, and cultural practice on dryland crop biomass (stems and leaves) N, surface residue N, and soil N fractions at the 0–20 cm depth in a Williams loam from 2004 to 2008 in eastern Montana, USA. Treatments were two tillage practices (no-tillage [NT] and conventional tillage [CT]), two crop rotations (continuous spring wheat [Triticum aestivum L.] [CW] and spring wheat-barley [Hordeum vulgaris L.] hay-corn [Zea mays L.]-pea [Pisum sativum L.] [W-B-C-P]), and two cultural practices (regular [conventional seed rates and plant spacing, conventional planting date, broadcast N fertilization, and reduced stubble height] and ecological [variable seed rates and plant spacing, delayed planting, banded N fertilization, and increased stubble height]). Nitrogen fractions were soil total N (STN), particulate organic N (PON), microbial biomass N (MBN), potential N mineralization (PNM), NH4–N, and NO3–N. Crop biomass N was 30 % greater in W-B-C-P than in CW in 2005. Surface residue N was 30–34 % greater in NT with the regular and ecological practices than in CT with the regular practice. The STN, PON, and MBN at 10–20 and 0–20 cm were 5–41 % greater in NT or CW with the regular practice than in CT or CW with the ecological practice. The PNM at 5–10 cm was 22 % greater in the regular than in the ecological practice. The NH4–N and NO3–N contents at 10–20 and 0–20 cm were greater in CT with W-B-C-P and the regular practice than with most other treatments in 2007. Surface residue and soil N fractions, except PNM and NO3–N, declined from autumn 2007 to spring 2008. In 2008, NT with W-B-C-P and the regular practice gained 400 kg N ha−1 compared with a loss of 221 kg N ha−1 to a gain of 219 kg N ha−1 in other treatments. No-tillage with the regular cultural practice increased surface residue and soil N storage but conventional tillage with diversified crop rotation and the regular practice increased soil N availability. Because of continuous N mineralization, surface residue and soil N storage decreased without influencing N availability from autumn to the following spring.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely acknowledge the help provided by Joy Barsotti, Chris Russell, and Johnny Rieger for collection and analysis of surface residue and soil samples in the field and laboratory and Michael Johnson and Mark Gaffri for management of field plots for tilling, planting, herbicide and pesticide application, and harvest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, 1500 North Central Avenue, Sidney, MT, 59270, USA

    Upendra M. Sainju, Andrew W. Lenssen, Thecan Caesar-TonThat, Jalal D. Jabro, Robert T. Lartey, Robert G. Evans & Brett L. Allen

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  1. Upendra M. Sainju
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  2. Andrew W. Lenssen
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  3. Thecan Caesar-TonThat
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  4. Jalal D. Jabro
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  6. Robert G. Evans
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  7. Brett L. Allen
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Correspondence to Upendra M. Sainju.

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Sainju, U.M., Lenssen, A.W., Caesar-TonThat, T. et al. Dryland soil nitrogen cycling influenced by tillage, crop rotation, and cultural practice. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 93, 309–322 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9518-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9518-9

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