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Soil organic carbon active fractions as early indicators for total carbon change under straw incorporation

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Abstract

Changes in total organic C (C T), water-soluble organic C (C WS), microbial biomass C (C MB), C mineralization, particulate organic C (C P), labile organic C (C L), C management index (CMI), and C storage in surface Hapli-Ustic Cambisol (0–20 cm) under straw incorporation after both 2- and 10-year durations were investigated in a maize (Zea mays L.) field experiment in northeast China, in order to examine the effectiveness of these active C fractions and CMI as early indicators for total C change. The treatments included straw removal (0%S), 50% of straw incorporation (50%S), and 100% of straw incorporation (100%S). Under the straw incorporation, C T concentration and C storage did not significantly change under 2-year duration, while were significantly increased under 10-year duration. However, C MB, total C mineralization (C TM), C P, and C L, and CMI were significantly increased under the straw incorporation even after only 2-year duration, and the responses were more significant after 10-year duration. There were positive correlations between all these C indicators with each other. Our findings demonstrate that the measured active C fractions (except for C WS) and CMI can provide an early indication of change in total soil organic C induced by straw incorporation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program (2011CB100501) and the National Science Foundation of China (40871148, 40901141, and 41001175).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Crop Nutrition and Fertilization, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Minggang Xu & Yilai Lou

  2. Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Xiaolin Sun

  3. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Wei Wang

  4. Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Muhammad Baniyamuddin

  5. Chaoyang Center for Agricultural Technology Service, Chaoyang, 100049, China

    Kai Zhao

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  1. Minggang Xu
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  2. Yilai Lou
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  3. Xiaolin Sun
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  4. Wei Wang
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  5. Muhammad Baniyamuddin
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Correspondence to Minggang Xu.

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Xu, M., Lou, Y., Sun, X. et al. Soil organic carbon active fractions as early indicators for total carbon change under straw incorporation. Biol Fertil Soils 47, 745–752 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-011-0579-8

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