Abstract
Despite increasing application of Chinese milk vetch (MV) and rice straw (RS), their combined effects on soil aggregate structure and nutrient storage are poorly understood. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of co-incorporation of MV and RS on rice yield and soil fertility. Five different fertilization regimes were adopted over a 3-year period. Chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer was applied at a conventional rate (100%N) and a 40% reduced rate alone (60%N) or combined with MV (60%NMV), RS (60%NRS), and MV plus RS (60%NMVRS). Compared with the 100%N treatment, there were no distinct yield losses in the 60%NMV and 60%NMVRS treatments. Incorporation of organic amendments altered the composition of soil aggregates, as indicated by the increase of large (> 2 mm) and small (0.25–2 mm) macroaggregates and decrease of silt and clay (< 0.053 mm). The organic carbon and nitrogen storage were respectively decreased by 9.2% and 13.9% in the 60%N treatment, and this effect was diminished in the 60%NMVRS treatment, rather than the 60%NMV or 60%NRS treatment. The carbon and nitrogen storage in soil macroaggregates increased in response to organic amendments, and their peak values were observed in the 60%NMVRS treatment. Random forest analysis identified carbon and nitrogen storage in soil macroaggregates as the major contributors to rice yield. Continuous co-incorporation of Chinese milk vetch and rice straw maintained rice productivity with reduced nitrogen application as a consequence of improved soil aggregation (> 0.25 mm), increased carbon and nitrogen storage in macroaggregates, and enhanced nutrient availability.
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Data available on request from the authors.
Abbreviations
- MV :
-
Indicate Chinese milk vetch
- RS :
-
Indicate rice straw
- OC :
-
Indicate organic carbon
- N :
-
Indicate nitrogen
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFD01700200), the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province, China (2008085QD165), the Special Fund for Key Program of Science and Technology of Anhui Province, China (202003a06020008), and the Wuhu Science and Technology Plan (2021hg13).
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B.R., W.J., and C.W. conceived and designed the study. B.R., C.W., H.S., H.R., and Z.Q. performed the experiments. B.R., L.M., W.H., and T.S. analyzed the data. B.R., W.J., and C.W. interpreted the results and wrote the paper with input from all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Bu, R., Cheng, W., Han, S. et al. Continuous Co-incorporation of Chinese Milk Vetch and Rice Straw with Reduced Chemical Fertilizer Maintains Rice Yield as a Consequence of Increased Carbon and Nitrogen Storage in Soil Aggregates. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 23, 3361–3372 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-023-01253-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-023-01253-z