Effects of alternative fertilization practices on components of the soil organic carbon pool and yield stability in rain-fed maize production on the Loess Plateau

doi:10.11686/cyxb2020187

Abstract

Abstract: This research quantified and explored the sustainability status of various soil carbon fractions under different fertilization regimes in land used for rain-fed maize production on the Loess Plateau in Gansu province, China. Sustainability of crop yield and of soil carbon pools are key considerations in the selection of fertilization practices in rain-fed agricultural areas on the Loess Plateau that are both economical and environmentally friendly. A long-term experiment was set up in 2012 on maize-production farmland in the dry farming area of the Loess Plateau in central Gansu. Yield stability and sustainability, soil organic carbon (SOC), free particulate organic carbon (FPOC), occluded particulate organic carbon (OPOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), mineral-associated organic carbon (MOC) and carbon pool stability were compared for 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm and 10-30 cm soil depths under five treatments, as follows: no fertilization (CK), nitrogen fertilizer (NF), organic fertilizer (OM), straw (ST) and organic fertilizer combined with nitrogen fertilizer (OMNF). It was found that: 1) The average yield and water use efficiency from 2014 to 2018 differed significantly (P<0.05) under different fertilization practices. OMNF had the highest average yield and water use efficiency (42.75% and 108.73%, respectively, higher than CK). OMNF also had the highest yield stability index (0.34) and sustainability index (0.43), with a high potential for yield increase. 2) Compared with CK, the various fertilization treatments significantly increased the organic carbon content in the measured soil layers to 30 cm depth by between 6.80%-18.81% (P<0.05). For all three measured soil layers, all treatments (ST, OM and OMNF) significantly improved the FPOC, OPOC, POC and MOC (P<0.05). For the 0-30 cm soil depth, the increase range across fertilization treatments for FPOC, OPOC, POC and MOC was, respectively 5.24%-57.05%, 4.31%-20.69%, 4.72%-25.17% and 6.58-7.95%. With increasing soil depth, the levels of soil organic carbon, FPOC, OPOC and POC all decreased under all fertilization treatments, while MOC increased. 3) The dominant component of soil organic carbon was MOC (range across fertilization regimes 55.60%-67.51%), and the main component of POC was OPOC (range 19.14%-22.50%). In the 0-10 cm soil layer, OMNF and NF treatments conferred high stability of the soil carbon pool, while ST, OM and OMNF treatments promoted soil carbon pool activity, and patterns of variation of other soil layers were inconsistent. With increasing soil depth, the stability of carbon storage increased under ST, OM and OMNF treatments. Overall, OMNF increased crop yield, enhanced soil vitality and promoted soil carbon sequestration, making this treatment a better agricultural production scenario providing both economic benefit in terms of yield and environmentally friendly maize production in the Loess Plateau arid region.

Key words: crop yield, soil organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, mineral-associated organic carbon, rainfed farmland, fertilization measures

WANG Xiao-jiao, QI Peng, CAI Li-qun, CHEN Xiao-long, XIE Jun-hong, GAN Hui-jiong, ZHANG Ren-zhi. Effects of alternative fertilization practices on components of the soil organic carbon pool and yield stability in rain-fed maize production on the Loess Plateau[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2020, 29(10): 58-69.

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