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The effects of long-term fertilization on the accumulation of organic carbon in the deep soil profile of an oasis farmland

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Abstract

Background and aims

Deeper soils represent a poorly understood, but potentially important, sink for carbon sequestration. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of long-term fertilization on soil organic carbon (SOC), its labile fractions and aggregate-associated carbon throughout a 0–3 m soil profile.

Methods

The investigation was conducted in a field experiment started in 1990 in an oasis farmland cropped with winter wheat. The following treatments were compared with the desert from which the oasis was created: CK (no fertilizer), NPK, N2P2K, NPKR, and N2P2R2 (“2” for double fertilizer and “R” for straw residue)

Results

SOC contents increased by 14–56 % in the topsoil (0–0.2 m), but decreased by 15–22 % in the subsoil (0.2–0.6 m) under all fertilizer treatments. In the deep layer (0.6–3 m) there were significant differences between the treatments: SOC decreased by 5–9 % in treatments without straw, but increased by 4–9 % in treatments with straw. Labile fractions (particulate organic carbon and light fraction organic carbon) also showed similar trends. Both the fertilizer and CK treatments led to an increase in the amount of macro-aggregates (>0.25 mm), especially small macro-aggregates (0.25–2 mm), throughout the soil profile. SOC content was highest in the macro-aggregates, intermediate in the silt + clay fraction (<0.053 mm), and lowest in the micro-aggregates (0.25–0.053 mm). However, 44–87 % of total SOC was stored in the silt + clay fraction, especially in the deep layer (at least 80 %).

Conclusions

After 20 years of fertilizer applications, difference in SOC mainly occurred in the deep layer, and preservation of SOC in the silt + clay fraction appeared to be a prerequisite for soil-carbon sequestration. Applying inorganic fertilizer alone decreased SOC content in the silt + clay fraction in the deep layer, while the combined applications with straw resulted in higher SOC content in the silt + clay fraction in that layer, which turned out to be the main mechanism for increasing SOC content. Our study indicated that applying straw with inorganic fertilizer is the best practice for carbon sequestration, which occurred mainly in the deep soil layer.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB825102), the Western Light Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XBBS200909), “Strategic Priority Research Program Climate Change: Carbon Budget and Relevant Issues” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA05050405), and International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (2010DFA92720). We thank all staff at the Fukang Station of Desert Ecology and Kang Jinhua for their assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China

    Chenhua Li, Yan Li & Lisong Tang

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  1. Chenhua Li
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  2. Yan Li
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  3. Lisong Tang
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Correspondence to Chenhua Li.

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Responsible Editor: Per Ambus.

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Li, C., Li, Y. & Tang, L. The effects of long-term fertilization on the accumulation of organic carbon in the deep soil profile of an oasis farmland. Plant Soil 369, 645–656 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1605-4

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