Abstract
Maintenance of soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for the long-term productivity of agroecosystems. An investigation was conducted to study the effects of long-term application of inorganic fertilizers and farmyard manure (FYM) on soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrient content, water-stable aggregate distribution, and aggregate-associated carbon in a field experiment started in 1982 in an arid region of northwest China. Application of inorganic fertilizer alone (N, NP, or NPK treatments) did not increase SOC concentrations compared with no application of fertilizers (CK) and SOC concentration was significantly reduced, by 18% on average, compared with the initial value at the beginning of the experiment. Application of imbalanced inorganic fertilizer (N and NP), especially, resulted in a significant decrease in available phosphorus and potassium nutrients at a depth of 20 cm. This indicates that long-term application of inorganic fertilizers were inadequate to maintain levels of SOC and nutrients under conventional management with no aboveground crop residues returning to the soil. Long-term application of FYM alone or combined with inorganic fertilizers (M (FYM), MN, MNPK, or MNPK treatments), however, improved SOC and total nitrogen concentrations from initial values of 12.1 and 0.76 g kg−1, respectively, to 15.46 and 1.28 g kg−1, on average, and also enhanced available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentrations by 47, 50, and 68%, respectively, during the 23-year period. Treatment with FYM resulted in a 0.48 mm greater average mean weight diameter (MWD) of aggregates and a higher percentage of macro-aggregates (>2 mm) and small macro-aggregates (2–0.25 mm) than treatment without FYM. The MWD increased with increasing SOC concentration (R 2=0.75). The SOC concentration was highest in small macro-aggregates, intermediate in macro-aggregates, and lowest in micro-aggregates (0.25–0.05 mm). Approximately 54–60% of total SOC was stored in micro-aggregates (0.25–0.05 mm) and sand+silt fractions (<0.05 mm) after treatment without FYM but 57–64% of total SOC was stored in macro-aggregates (>0.25 mm) after treatment with FYM. MNPK treatment had the greatest effect on improving the levels of SOC and NPK nutrients and in enhancing the formation and stability of macro-aggregates.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amelung W, Zech W (1996) Organic species in ped surface and core fractions along a climosequence in the prairie, North America. Geoderma 74:193–206
Aoyama M, Angers DA, N’Dayegamiye A, Bissonnette N (1999) Protected organic matter in water-stable aggregates as affected by mineral fertilizer and manure applications. Can J Soil Sci 79:419–425
Beare MH, Hendrix PF, Coleman DC (1994) Water stable aggregates and organic matter fractions in conventional tillage and no-tillage soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:777–786
Campell CA, Selles F, Lafond GP, Biederbeck VQ, Zenter RP (2001) Tillage-Fertilizer changes: effect on soil quality attributes under long-term crop rotations in a thin Black Chernozem. Can J Soil Sci 81(10):157–165
Chinese Soil Taxonomy Cooperative Research Group, Institute of Soil Science, Academic Sinica (1995) Chinese soil taxonomy (revised proposal). Chinese Agricultural Science and Technology Press, Beijing China
Dersch G, Böhm K (2001) Effects of agronomic practices on the soil carbon storage potential in arable farming in Austria. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 60:49–55
Dumanski J, Desjardins RL, Tarnocai C, Monreal D, Gregorich EG, Kirlwood V, Campell CA (1998) Possibilities for future carbon sequestration in Canadian agriculture in relation to land use changes. Climate Change 40:81–103
Elliott ET, Cambardella CA (1991) Physical separation of soil organic matter. Agr Ecosyst Environ 34:407–419
Goh KM (2004) Carbon sequestration and stabilization in soils: implications for soil productivity and climate change. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 50:467–476
Gregorich EG, Ellert BH, Drury CF, Liang BC (1996) Fertilization effects on soil organic matter turnover and corn residue C storage. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60:472–476
Halvorson AD, Wienhold BJ, Black AL (2002) Tillage, nitrogen, and cropping system effects on soil carbon sequestration. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:906–912
Hao MD, Fan J, Wei XR, Pen LF, Lai L (2005) Effect of fertilization on soil fertility and wheat yield of dryland in the Loess Plateau. Pedosphere 15(2):189–195
Haynes RJ, Naidu R (1998) Influence of lime, fertilizer and manure applications on soil organic matter content and soil physical conditions: a review. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 51:123–137
Holeplass H, Singh BR, Lal R (2004) Carbon sequestration in soil aggregates under different crop rotations and nitrogen fertilization in an Inceptisol in southeastern Norway. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 70:167–177
Institute of Soil Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (1978) Physical and Chemical Analysis Methods of Soils. Shanghai Science Technology Press, Shanghai, pp 7–59 (in Chinese)
Jiang D, Hengsdijk H, Dai TB, de Boer W, Jiang Q, Cao WX (2006) Long-term effects of manure and inorganic fertilizers on yield and soil fertility foe a winter-maize system in Jiangsu, China. Pedosphere 16(1):25–32
Jiao Y, Whalen JK, Hendershot WH (2005) No-tillage and manure applications increase aggregation and improve nutrient retention in a sandy-loam soil. Geoderma doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2005.08.012
Karlen DL, Mausbach MJ, Doran JW, Cline RG, Harris RF, Schuman GE (1997) Soil quality: an concept, definition, and framework for evaluation. Soil Sci Soc Am J 61:4–10
Kanchikerimath M, Singh D (2001) Soil organic matter and biological properties after 26 years of maize-wheat-cowpea cropping as affected by manure and fertilization in a Cambisol in semiarid region of India. Agr Ecosyst Environ 86:155–162
Lal R (2003) Carbon sequestration in dryland ecosystems. Environ Manag 33:528–544
Meng L, Cai ZC, Ding WX (2005) Carbon contents in soils and crops as affected by long-term fertilization. Acta Pedologica Sinica 42:769–776
Nardi S, Morari F, Berti A, Tosoni M, Giardini L (2004) Soil organic matter properties after 40 years of different use of organic and mineral fertilizers. Eur J Agronomy 21:357–367
Nelson DW, Sommers LE (1982) Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter. In: Page AL et al (eds) Methods of soil analysis, Part 2. 2nd ed. Agron. Monogr. ASA SSSA, Madison WI USA, pp 102–129
Raun WR, Johnson GV, Phillips SB, Westerman RL (1998) Effect of long-term N fertilization on soil organic C and total N in continuous wheat under conventional tillage in Oklahoma. Soil Tillage Res 47:323–330
Rudrappa L, Purakayastha TJ, Dhyan S, Bhadrarary S (2005) Long-term manuring and fertilization effects on soil organic carbon pools in a Typic Haplustept of semi-arid sub-tropical India. Soil Tillage Res 88:180–192
Russell AE, Laid DA, Parkin TB, Mallarino AP (2005) Impact of nitrogen fertilization and cropping system on carbon sequestration in Midwestern Mollisols. Soil Sci Soc Am J 69:413–422
Saroa GS, Lal R (2001) Mulching effect on aggregation and carbon sequestration in a Miamian soil in central Ohio. Land Degrad Dev 14:481–493
Shiran H, Hajabbasi MA, Afyuni M, Hemmat A (2002) Effects of farmyard manure and tillage systems on soil physical properties and corn yield in Central Iran. Soil Tillage Res 68:101–108
Six J, Elliott ET, Paustian K (2000) Soil macroaggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage agriculture. Soil Biol Biochem 32:2009–2013
Suo DR (2005) Effects of combined fertilization of chemical and organic fertilizers in a long-term position experiment. Agric Res Arid Areas 23(2):71–77 (In Chinese with English abstract)
Tisdall JM, Oades JM (1982) Organic Matter and water-stable aggregates in soils. J Soil Sci 62:141–163
Unger PW (1997) Management-induced aggregation and organic carbon concentrations in the surface layer of a torrertic paleustoll. Soil Tillage Res 42:95–113
Whalen JK, Hu Q, Liu A (2003) Manure applications improve aggregate stability in conventional and no-tillage systems. Soil Sci Soc Am J 67:1842–1847
Wright AL, Lons FM (2005) Soil carbon and nitrogen storage in aggregates from different tillage and crop regimes. Soil Sci Soc Am J 69:141–147
Yang XM, Zhang XP, Fang HJ, Zhu P, Ren J, Wang LC (2003) Long-term effects of fertilization on soil organic carbon changes in continuous corn of northeast China: RothC model simulations. Environ Manag 32:459–465
Young LM (2003) Carbon sequestration in agriculture: the U.S. policy in context. Am J Agric Econ 85:1164–1170
Zhang FR (2001) Soil geography. Chinese Agricultural Press, Beijing China, p 57, (In Chinese)
Zotarelli L, Alves BJR, Urquiaga S, Torres E, dos Santos HP, Paustian K, Boddey RM, Six J (2005) Impact of tillage and crop rotation on aggregate-associated carbon in two Oxisols. Soil Sci Soc Am J 69:482–491
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions for revision of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Comprehensive Experiment and Management of Water, Ecology, and Economy in Heihe River Basin II) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40471083).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Su, YZ., Wang, F., Suo, DR. et al. Long-term effect of fertilizer and manure application on soil-carbon sequestration and soil fertility under the wheat–wheat–maize cropping system in northwest China. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 75, 285–295 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-006-9034-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-006-9034-x