Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of irrigation management during the rice growing season on soil organic carbon pools

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

Abstract

Objectives

When addressing water shortage in rice production, we need to consider the influence of water-saving irrigation methods on soil organic carbon stocks (SOC).

Methods

A typical rice–rapeseed rotation was irrigated using 3 different strategies in rice growing season over a 3 year period: continuous flooding (CF), alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWD), and rain-fed with irrigation only during drought periods (RFL). Soil samples were separated into fractions of different stability using sequentially fractionation methods.

Results

Compared with CF, AWD had no influence on C concentrations in physicochemically protected particulate organic matter in microaggregates (iPOM) at the 0–20 cm soil depth; however, it significantly increased the iPOM percentage in the bulk soil mass at the 5–10 cm soil depth. The RFL method lowered C stocks in iPOM at 0–20 cm soil depth, in comparison with CF and AWD, which was mainly due to its significant reduction in C concentrations in iPOM and the iPOM proportion in the bulk soil mass. The different water regimes had no effect on C stocks protected in silt and clay in microaggregates and unprotected free light POM. However, when considering the whole soil profile (0–20 cm), RFL significantly decreased total SOC stock, whereas there was no difference between CF and AWD.

Conclusions

A moderate reduction in irrigation water under AWD strategy had little impact on SOC pools, thus, it could be considered an alternative water regime in balancing saving water and maintaining SOC stability.

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
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baisden WT, Amundson R, Cook AC, Brenner DL (2002) Turnover and storage of C and N in five density fractions from California annual grassland surface soils. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 16:64–1–64–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Bao SD (2000) Analytical method for soil and agricultural chemistry. Chinese Agriculture Press, Beijing (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown KH, Bach EM, Drijber RA, Hofmockel KS, Jeske ES, Sawyer JE, Castellano MJ (2014) A long-term nitrogen fertilizer gradient has little effect on soil organic matter in a high-intensity maize production system. Glob Chang Biol 20:1339–1350

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Castellano MJ, Kaye JP, Lin H, Schmidt JP (2012) Linking carbon saturation concepts to nitrogen saturation and retention. Ecosystems 15:175–187

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen BT (2001) Physical fractionation of soil and structural and functional complexity in organic matter turnover. Eur J Soil Sci 52:345–353

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cotrufo MF, Wallenstein MD, Boot CM, Denef K, Paul E (2013) The microbial efficiency-matrix stabilization (MEMS) framework integrates plant litter decomposition with soil organic matter stabilization: do labile plant inputs form stable soil organic matter? Glob Chang Biol 19:988–995

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deangelis KM, Silver WL, Thompson AW, Firestone MK (2010) Microbial communities acclimate to recurring changes in soil redox potential status. Environ Microbiol 12:3137–3149

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeGryze S, Six J, Paustian K, Morris SJ, Paul EA, Merckx R (2004) Soil organic carbon pool changes following land-use conversions. Glob Chang Biol 10:1120–1132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dou XL, Xu X, Shu X, Zhang QF, Cheng XL (2016) Shifts in soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics for afforestation in central China. Ecol Eng 87:263–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2014) FAO statistical databases. FAO, Rome http://faostat.fao.org

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernández JM, López-de-Sá EG, Polo A, Plaza C (2014) Short-term stabilization of organic matter in physically, chemically, and biochemically protected pools in soils amended with municipal wastes. Clean: Soil, Air, Water 42:487–493

    Google Scholar 

  • Fierer N, Allen AS, Schimel JP, Holden PA (2003) Controls on microbial CO2 production: a comparison of surface and subsurface soil horizons. Glob Chang Biol 9:1322–1332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Follett RF, Kimble JM, Pruessner EG, Samson-Liebig S, Waltman S (2009) Soil organic carbon stocks with depth and land use at various U.S. sites. Soil carbon sequestration and the greenhouse effect, 2nd edn. SSSA special Publication 57, Madison, pp 29–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Gartzia-Bengoetxea N, González-Arias A, Merino A, de Arano IM (2009) Soil organic matter in soil physical fractions in adjacent semi-natural and cultivated stands in temperate Atlantic forests. Soil Biol Biochem 41:1674–1683

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grandy AS, Robertson GP (2007) Land-use intensity effects on soil organic carbon accumulation rates and mechanisms. Ecosystems 10:59–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gulde S, Chung H, Amelung W, Chang C, Six J (2008) Soil carbon saturation controls labile and stable carbon pool dynamics. Soil Sci Soc Am J 72:605–612

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gunina A, Kuzyakov Y (2014) Pathways of litter C by formation of aggregates and SOM density fractions: implications from 13C natural abundance. Soil Biol Biochem 71:95–104

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gunina A, Ryzhova I, Dorodnikov M, Kuzyakov Y (2015) Effect of plant communities on aggregate composition and organic matter stabilisation in young soils. Plant Soil 387:265–275

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Helfrich M, Ludwig B, Potthoff M, Flessa H (2008) Effect of litter quality and soil fungi on macroaggregate dynamics and associated partitioning of litter carbon and nitrogen. Soil Biol Biochem 40:1823–1835

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang S, Peng XX, Huang QR, Zhang WJ (2010) Soil aggregation and organic carbon fractions affected by long-term fertilization in a red soil of subtropical China. Geoderma 154:364–369

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang S, Sun YN, Zhang WJ (2012) Changes in soil organic carbon stocks as affected by cropping systems and cropping duration in China’s paddy fields: a meta-analysis. Clim Chang 112:847–858

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang S, Pan XH, Guo J, Qian CR, Zhang WJ (2014) Differences in soil organic carbon stocks and fraction distributions between rice paddies and upland cropping systems in China. J Soils Sediments 14:89–98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kato Y, Okami M (2011) Root morphology, hydraulic conductivity and plant water relations of high-yielding rice grown under aerobic conditions. Ann Bot 108:575–583

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kimura M, Murase J, Lu Y (2004) Carbon cycling in rice field ecosystems in the context of input, decomposition and translocation of organic materials and the fates of their end products (CO2, and CH4). Soil Biol Biochem 36:1399–1416

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kögel-Knabner I, Amelung W, Cao Z, Fiedler S, Frenzel P, Jahn R, Kalbitz K, Kölbl A, Schloter M (2010) Biogeochemistry of paddy soils. Geoderma 157:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2002) Soil carbon sequestration in China through agricultural intensification, and restoration of degraded and desertified ecosystems. Land Degrad Dev 13:469–478

    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 

  • Luo LJ (2010) Breeding for water-saving and drought-resistance rice (WDR) in China. J Exp Bot 61:3509–3517

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miniotti EF, Romani M, Said-Pullicino D et al (2016) Agro-environmental sustainability of different water management practices in temperate rice agro-ecosystems. Agric Ecosyst Environ 222:235–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mora J, Lázaro R (2014) Seasonal changes in bulk density under semiarid patchy vegetation: the soil beats. Geoderma 235:30–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nascente AS, Li YC, Crusciol CAC (2013) Cover crops and no-till effects on physical fractions of soil organic matter. Soil Tillage Res 130:52–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O'Brien SL, Jastrow JD (2013) Physical and chemical protection in hierarchical soil aggregates regulates soil carbon and nitrogen recovery in restored perennial grasslands. Soil Biol Biochem 61:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oorts K, Bossuyt H, Labreuche J, Merckx R, Nicolardot B (2007) Carbon and nitrogen stocks in relation to organic matter fractions, aggregation and pore size distribution in no-tillage and conventional tillage in northern France. Eur J Soil Sci 58:248–259

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peng SZ, Hou HJ, JZ X, Mao Z, Abudu S, Luo YF (2011) Nitrous oxide emissions from paddy fields under different water managements in southeast China. Paddy Water Environ 9:403–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro EFM, Campos DVB, Balieiro FC, Anjos LHC, Pereira MG (2015) Tillage systems effects on soil carbon stock and physical fractions of soil organic matter. Agric Syst 132:35–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plaza C, Courtier-Murias D, Fernández JM, Polo A, Simpson AJ (2013) Physical, chemical, and biochemical mechanisms of soil organic matter stabilization under conservation tillage systems: a central role for microbes and microbial by-products in C sequestration. Soil Biol Biochem 57:124–134

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rumpel C, Kögel-Knabner I (2010) Deep soil organic matter—a key but poorly understood component of terrestrial C cycle. Plant Soil 338(1–2):143–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Sacco D, Cremon C, Zavattaro L, Grignani C (2012) Seasonal variation of soil physical properties under different water managements in irrigated rice. Soil Tillage Res 118:22–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shang Q, Yang X, Gao C, Wu P, Liu J, Xu Y, Shen Q, Zou J, Guo S (2011) Net annual global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity in Chinese double rice-cropping systems: a 3-year field measurement in long-term fertilizer experiments. Glob Chang Biol 17:2196–2210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Six J, Elliott ET, Paustian K, Doran J (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 

  • Six J, Elliott ET, Paustian K (2000) Soil macroaggregate turnover and microaggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage agriculture. Soil Biol Biochem 32:2099–2103

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Six J, Conant RT, Paul EA, Paustian K (2002) Stabilization mechanisms of soil organic matter: implications for C-saturation of soils. Plant Soil 241:155–176

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sollins P, Homann P, Caldwell BA (1996) Stabilization and destabilization of soil organic matter: mechanisms and controls. Geoderma 74:65–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sollins P, Kramer MG, Swanston C, Lajtha K, Filley T, Aufdenkamp AK, Wagai R, Bowden RD (2009) Sequential density fractionation across soils of contrasting mineralogy: evidence for both microbial-and mineral-controlled soil organic matter stabilization. Biogeochemistry 96:209–231

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart CE, Paustian K, Conant RT, Plante AF, Six J (2007) Soil carbon saturation: concept, evidence and evaluation. Biogeochemistry 86:19–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tanji KK, Gao S, Scardaci SC, Chow AT (2003) Characterizing redox status of paddy soils with incorporated rice straw. Geoderma 114:333–353

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tian J, Dippold M, Pausch J, Blagodatskaya E, Fan M, Li X, Kuzyakov Y (2013a) Microbial response to rhizodeposition depending on water regimes in paddy soils. Soil Biol Biochem 65:195–203

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tian J, Pausch J, Fan M, Li X, Tang Q, Kuzyakov Y (2013b) Allocation and dynamics of assimilated carbon in rice-soil system depending on water management. Plant Soil 363:273–285

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tian K, Zhao Y, Xu X, Hai N, Huang B, Deng W (2015) Effects of long-term fertilization and residue management on soil organic carbon changes in paddy soils of China: a meta-analysis. Agric Ecosyst Environ 204:40–50

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • von Lützow M, Kögel-Knabner I, Ekschmitt K, Matzner E, Guggenberger G, Marschner B, Flessa H (2006) Stabilization of organic matter in temperate soils: mechanisms and their relevance under diferent soil conditions - a review. Eur J Soil Sci 57:426–445

  • von Lützow M, Kögel-Knabner I, Ekschmitt K, Flessa H, Guggenberger G, Matzner E, Marschner B (2007) SOM fractionation methods: relevance to functional pools and to stabilization mechanisms. Soil Biol Biochem 39:2183–2207

  • Weller S, Janz B, Jörg L, Kraus D, Racela HS, Wassmann R, Butterbach-Bahl K, Kiese R (2016) Greenhouse gas emissions and global warming potential of traditional and diversified tropical rice rotation systems. Glob Chang Biol 22:432–448

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wright AL, Dou F, Hons FM (2007) Crop species and tillage effects on carbon sequestration in subsurface soil. Soil Sci 172:124–131

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong W, Holman I, Lin E, Conway D, Jiang J, Xu Y, Li Y (2010) Climate change, water availability and future cereal production in China. Agric Ecosyst Environ 135:58–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Y, Ge JZ, Tian SY, Li SY, Nguy-Robertson AL, Zhan M, Cao CG (2015) Effects of water-saving irrigation practices and drought resistant rice variety on greenhouse gas emissions from a no-till paddy in the central lowlands of China. Sci Total Environ 505:1043–1052

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Y, Zhan M, Cao CG, Tian SY, Ge JZ, Li SY, Wang MY, Yuan GY (2016) Improved water management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in no-till rapeseed–rice rotations in Central China. Agric Ecosyst Environ 221:87–98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan Y, Tian J, Fan M, Zhang F, Li X, Christie P, Chen H, Lee J, Kuzyakov Y, Six J (2012) Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in intensively managed arable soils. Agric Ecosyst Environ 150:102–110

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan X, Zhou H, Zhu QH, Wang XF, Zhang YZ, Yu XC, Peng X (2013) Carbon sequestration efficiency in paddy soil and upland soil under long-term fertilization in southern China. Soil Tillage Res 130:42–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang C, Yang L, Zhu O (2005) Organic carbon and its fractions in paddy soil as affected by different nutrient and water regimes. Geoderma 124:133–142

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yao FX, Huang JL, Cui KH, Nie LX, Xiang J, Liu XJ, Wu W, Chen MX, Peng SB (2012) Agronomic performance of high-yielding rice variety grown under alternate wetting and drying irrigation. Field Crop Res 126:16–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu HY, Ding WX, Luo JF, Geng RL, Cai ZC (2012) Long-term application of organic manure and mineral fertilizers on aggregation and aggregate-associated carbon in a sandy loam soil. Soil Tillage Res 124:170–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang QF (2007) Strategies for developing green super rice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:16402–16409

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang M, He Z (2004) Long-term changes in organic carbon and nutrients of an Ultisol under rice cropping in southeast China. Geoderma 118:167–179

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Y, De Maio M, Vidotto F, Sacco D (2015) Influence of wet-dry cycles on the temporal infiltration dynamic in temperate rice paddies. Soil Tillage Res 154:14–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou JW, Huang Y, Zheng XH, Wang YS (2007) Quantifying direct N2O emissions in paddy fields during rice growing season in mainland China: dependence on water regime. Atmos Environ 41:8030–8042

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project Nos. 41101280 and 31571622), and the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest of China (Project No. 201503122). The authors would like to thank Mr. Liesheng Zheng and Mrs. Haixia Li for their help in laboratory assistance and Mr. Zhongbin Zhai for his help in managing the experiment fields.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Xu, Ming Zhan, Cougui Cao, Shaoyang Tian & Mingli Cai

  2. Hubei Key Laboratory of Waterlogging Disaster and Agriculture Use of Wetland/Engineering Research Center of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education/College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434023, People’s Republic of China

    Ying Xu

  3. College of Agronomy and Resources and Environment, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, 300384, People’s Republic of China

    Junzhu Ge

  4. Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Rongzhong Ye

Authors
  1. Ying Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ming Zhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Cougui Cao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Junzhu Ge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rongzhong Ye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Shaoyang Tian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Mingli Cai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ming Zhan.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this article.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Ute Skiba

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 667 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xu, Y., Zhan, M., Cao, C. et al. Effects of irrigation management during the rice growing season on soil organic carbon pools. Plant Soil 421, 337–351 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3467-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3467-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation