Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Distribution of soil carbon and microbial biomass in arable soils under different tillage regimes

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We have measured total soil organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and microbial lipid contents (as indices of microbial biomass and community structure), and their distributions to 60 cm depth in soils from replicated medium-term (2003–2008) experimental arable plots subject to different tillage regimes in Scotland. The treatments were zero tillage (ZT), minimum tillage (MT; cultivation to 7 cm), the conventional tillage (CT) practice of ploughing to 20 cm, and deep ploughing (DP) to 40 cm depth. In the 0–30 cm depth range, SOC content (corrected for bulk density differences between tillage treatments) was greatest under ZT and MT, but over 0–60 cm depth the SOC contents of these treatments were similar to the CT and DP treatments. DOC concentrations declined with increasing depth in ZT and MT above 20 cm, but there were no significant differences with depth in the CT and DP treatments. Beneath 20 cm, there was little change in DOC concentration with depth for all treatments, although for the MT treatment, there was less DOC beneath the depth of cultivation. The total microbial biomass decreased with increasing depth over the 0–60 cm range in the ZT and MT treatments, whereas it decreased with depth only below 30–40 cm in the CT and DP treatments. The microbial biomass was significantly different only between 0–5 cm in the ZT, CT and DP treatments, but not for other depths between all treatments. The bacterial biomass was greater in the ZT treatment than in MT, CT and DP near the soil surface, but not significantly different over the whole profile (0–60 cm). The fungal biomass decreased with depth in the ZT and MT treatments over the whole 0–60 cm depth range, whereas it decreased with depth only below 20 cm in the CT and DP treatments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adu JK, Oades JM (1978) Physical factors influencing decomposition of organic matter in soil aggregates. Soil Biol Biochem 10:89–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahl C, Joergensen RG, Kandeler E, Meyer B, Woehler V (1998) Microbial biomass and activity in silt and sand loams after long-term shallow tillage in central Germany. Soil Till Res 49:93–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angers DA, Eriksen-Hamel NS (2008) Full-inversion tillage and organic carbon distribution in soil profiles: a meta-analysis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 72:1370–1374

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Angers DA, Bolinder MA, Carter MA, Gregorich EG, Drury CF, Liang BC, Voroney RP, Simard RR, Donald RG, Beyaert RP, Martel J (1997) Impact of tillage practices on organic carbon and nitrogen storage in cool, humid soils of eastern Canada. Soil Till Res 41:191–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker JM, Ochsner TE, Venterea RT, Griffis TJ (2007) Tillage and soil carbon sequestration: what do we really know? Agric Ecosys Environ 118:1–5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balota EL, Colozzi-Filho A, Andrade DS, Dick RP (2003) Microbial biomass in soils under different tillage and crop rotation systems. Biol Fertil Soil 38:15–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beare MH, Hendrix PF, Coleman DC (1994) Water-stable aggregates and organic matter fractions in conventional- and no-tillage. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:777–786

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beare MH, Hu S, Coleman DC, Hendrix PF (1997) Influences of mycelial fungi on soil aggregation and organic matter storage in conventional and no-tillage soils. Appl Soil Ecol 5:211–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergstrom DW, Monreal CM, King DJ (1998) Sensitivity of soil enzyme activities to conservation practices. Soil Sci Soc Am J 62:1286–1295

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blanco-Canqui H, Lal R (2008) No-tillage and soil-profile carbon sequestration: an on-farm assessment. Soil Sci Soc Am J 72:693–701

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carter MR (2005) Long-term tillage effects on cool-season soybean in rotation with barley, soil properties and carbon and nitrogen storage for fine sandy loams in the humid climate of Atlantic Canada. Soil & Tillage Res 81:109–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cookson WR, Murphy DV, Roper MM (2008) Characterizing the relationships between soil organic matte components and microbial function and composition along a tillage disturbance gradient. Soil Biol Biochem 40:763–777

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • de Luca TH, Keeney DR (1994) Soluble carbon and nitrogen pools of prairie and cultivated soils: seasonal variation. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:835–840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deen W, Kataki PK (2003) Carbon sequestration in a long-term conventional versus conservation tillage experiment. Soil Till Res 74:143–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding G, Novak JM, Amarasiriwardena D, Hunt PG, Xing B (2002) Soil organic matter characteristics as affected by tillage management. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:421–429

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dong WX, Hu CS, Chen SY, Zhang YM (2009) Tillage and residue management effects on soil carbon and CO2 emission in a wheat-corn double-cropping system. Nutr Cycl Agroecosys 83:27–37

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doran JW (1980) Microbial changes associated with residue management with reduced tillage. Soil Sci Soc Am J 44:518–524

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doran JW (1982) Tilling changes soil. Crop Soil 34:10–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Doran JW, Linn DM (1994) Microbial ecology of conservation management systems. In: Hatfield JL, Stewart BA (eds) Soil biology: effects on soil quality. Advances in soil science. Lewis, Boca Raton, pp 1–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Duiker SW, Beegle DB (2006) Soil fertility distributions in long-term no-till, chisel/disk and moldboard plow/disk systems. Soil Till Res 88:30–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott ET (1986) Aggregate structure and carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in native and cultivated soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 50:627–633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng Y, Motta AC, Reeves DW, Burmester CH, van Santen E, Osborne JA (2003) Soil microbial communities under conventional-till and no-till continuous cotton systems. Soil Biol Biochem 35:1693–1703

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Franchini JC, Crispino CC, Souza RA, Torres E, Hungria M (2007) Microbiological parameters as indicators of soil quality under various soil management and crop rotation systems in southern Brazil. Soil Till Res 92:18–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franzluebbers AJ, Hons FM, Zuberer DA (1994) Long-term changes in soil carbon and nitrogen pools in wheat management systems. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:1639–1645

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frey SD, Elliott ET, Paustian K (1999) Bacterial and fungal abundance and biomass in conventional and no-tillage agro-ecosystems along two climatic gradients. Soil Biol Biochem 31:573–585

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frostegård Å, Bååth E (1996) The use of phospholipid fatty acid analysis to estimate bacterial and fungal biomass in soil. Biol Fertil Soil 22:59–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frostegård Å, Tunlid A, Bååth E (1991) Microbial biomass measured as total lipid phosphate in soils of different organic content. J Microbiol Meth 14:151–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granatstein DM, Bezdicek DF, Cochran VL, Elliott LF, Hammel J (1987) Long-term tillage and rotation effects on soil microbial biomass, carbon and nitrogen. Biol Fertil Soil 5:265–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green VS, Stott DE, Cruz JC, Curi N (2007) Tillage impacts on soil biological activity and aggregation in a Brazilian Cerrado Oxisol. Soil Till Res 92:114–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins DW, Waite IS, McNicol JW, Poulton PR, Macdonald AJ, O’Donnell AG (2009) Soil organic carbon contents in long-term experimental grassland plots in the UK (Palace Leas and Park Grass) have not changed consistently in recent decades. Glob Chg Biol 15:1739–1754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacinthe PA, Dick WA, Owe LB (2002) Overwinter soil denitrification activity and mineral nitrogen pools as affected by management practices. Biol Fertil Soil 36:1–9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson LE, Calderon FJ, Steenwerth KL, Scow KM, Rolston DE (2003) Responses of soil microbial processes and community structure to tillage events and implications for soil quality. Geoderma 114:305–317

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khan AR (1996) Influence of tillage on soil aeration. J Agron Crop Sci 177:253–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2004) Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science 304:1623–1627

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R, Kimble JM (1997) Conservation tillage for carbon sequestration. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 49:243–253

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Larney FJ, Bullock MS (1994) Influence of soil wetness at time of tillage and tillage implement on soil properties affecting wind erosion. Soil Till Res 29:83–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lechevalier H, Lechevalier MP (1988) Chemotaxonomic use of lipids—an overview. In: Ratledge C, Wilkinson SC (eds) Microbial lipids. Academic, London, pp 869–902

    Google Scholar 

  • Leckie SE (2004) Methods of microbial community profiling and their application to forest soils. For Ecol Manag 220:88–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linn DM, Doran JW (1984) Aerobic and anaerobic microbial populations in no-till and plowed soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 48:794–799

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motta ACV, Reeves DW, Feng Y, Burmester CH, Raper RL (2001) Management systems to improve soil quality for cotton production on a degraded silt loam soil in Alabama (USA). In: Garcia-Torres L, Benites J, Martinez-Vilela A (Eds.), Proceedings of 1st World Congress on Conservation Agriculture- Conservation Agriculture, A Worldwide Challenge, Madrid, Spain, pp 219–222

  • Newton AC, Bengough AG, Guy D, McKenzie BM, Thomas WTB, Hallett PD (2010) Interactions between barley cultivars and soil cultivation—effects on yield and disease. In: Wale SJ, Murray S, Newton AC, Heilbronn TD (Eds.), Proceedings of Crop Protection in Northern Britain 2010 (CPNB10), Dundee, United Kingdom (in press).

  • O’Leary WM, Wilkinson SG (1988) Gram-positive bacteria. In: Ratledge C, Wilkindon SC (eds) Microbial lipids. Academic, London, pp 117–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Pankhurst CE, Kirkby CA, Hawke BG, Harch BD (2002) Impact of a change in tillage and crop residue management practice on soil chemical and microbiological properties in a cereal-producing red duplex soil in NSW, Australia. Biol Fertil Soil 35:189–196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen SO, Frohne PS, Kennedy AC (2002) Dynamics of a soil microbial community under spring wheat. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:826–833

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ranneklev SB, Bååth E (2003) Use of phospholipid fatty acids to detect previous self-heating events in stored peat. Appl Environ Microb 69:3532–3539

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rovira AD, Greacen EL (1957) The effect of aggregate disruption on the activity of microorganisms in the soil. Aust J Agric Res 8:659–673

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sá JCM, Cerri CC, Dick WA, Lal R, Filho SPV, Piccolo MC, Feigl BE (2001) Organic matter dynamics and carbon sequestration rates for a tillage chronosequence in a Brazilian oxisol. Soil Sci Soc Am J 65:1486–1499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimel DS, Coleman DC, Horton KA (1985) Soil organic matter dynamics in paired rangeland and cropland toposequences in North Dakota. Geoderma 36:201–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schutter ME, Dick RP (2000) Comparison of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) methods for characterizing microbial communities. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:1659–1668

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simard RR, Angers DA, Lapierre C (1994) Soil organic matte quality as influenced by tillage, lime, and phosphorus. Biol Fertil Soil 18:13–18

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Six J, Elliot ET, Paustian K, Doran JW (1998) Aggregation and soil organic matter accumulation in cultivated and native grassland soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 62:1367–1377

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spedding TA, Hamel C, Mehuys GR, Madramootoo CA (2004) Soil microbial dynamics in maize-growing soil under different tillage and residue management systems. Soil Biol Biochem 36:499–512

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stockfisch N, Forstreuter T, Ehlers W (1999) Ploughing effects on soil organic matter after twenty years of conservation tillage in Lower Saxony, Germany. Soil Till Res 52:91–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venterea RT, Baker JM, Dolan MS, Spokas KA (2006) Soil carbon and nitrogen storage are greater under biennial tillage in a Minnesota corn-soybean rotation. Soil Sci Soc Am J 70:1752–1762

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA (1995) Impacts of disturbance on detritus food webs in agro-ecosystems of contrasting tillage and weed management practices. Adv Ecol Res 26:105–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • West TO, Post WM (2002) Soil organic carbon sequestration rates by tillage and crop rotation: a global data analysis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:1930–1946

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wright AL, Hons FM, Matocha JE (2005) Tillage impacts on microbial biomass and soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics of corn and cotton rotations. Appl Soil Ecol 29:85–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang XM, Wander MM (1999) Tillage effects on soil organic carbon distribution and storage in a silt loam soil in Illinois. Soil Till Res 52:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zelles L (1999) Fatty acid patterns of phospholipids and lipopolysaccharides in the characterisation of microbial communities in soil: a review. Biol Fertil Soil 29:111–129

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the China Scholarship Council which supported Dr Benhua Sun through a Special Western Project and the Scottish Government Rural Environment Research and Analysis Directorate which supports SCRI in part. We also thank Christina Barnett for technical assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, 712100, People’s Republic of China

    Benhua Sun

  2. Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA, UK

    Benhua Sun, Paul D. Hallett, Sandra Caul, Tim J. Daniell & David W. Hopkins

  3. School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK

    David W. Hopkins

Authors
  1. Benhua Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paul D. Hallett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sandra Caul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tim J. Daniell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. David W. Hopkins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David W. Hopkins.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Ingrid Koegel-Knabner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sun, B., Hallett, P.D., Caul, S. et al. Distribution of soil carbon and microbial biomass in arable soils under different tillage regimes. Plant Soil 338, 17–25 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0459-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0459-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation