Crop rotations differ in soil carbon stabilization efficiency, but the response to quality of structural plant inputs is
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Crop rotations differ in soil carbon stabilization efficiency, but the response to quality of structural plant inputs is ambiguous Alison E. King & Katelyn A. Congreves & Bill Deen & Kari E. Dunfield & Myrna J. Simpson & R. Paul Voroney & Claudia Wagner-Riddle Received: 23 June 2020 / Accepted: 27 September 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Aims Evaluate crop rotation diversity, perenniality, carbon (C) inputs, and C input quality as predictors of soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration and aggregate mean weight diameter (MWD). Methods At a crop rotation trial in its 37th year in Ontario, Canada, species in rotations included corn (C, Zea mays L.), alfalfa (A, Medicago sativa L.), soybean (S, Glycine max (L.) Merr.), winter wheat (W, Triticum Responsible Editor: Simon Jeffery. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04728-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. A. E. King (*) : K. E. Dunfield : R. P. Voroney : C. Wagner-Riddle School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada e-mail: [email protected] A. E. King Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, 200 West Lake Street, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1499, USA K. A. Congreves Department of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A8, Canada
aestivum L.), and red clover (rc, Trifolium pratense L.). Rotations were: CC, CCAA, CCSS, CCSW, CCSWrc, AA. Soils (0–20 cm) were analyzed for aggregate MWD, aggregate C, and SOC concentrations. We estimated C inputs from historical yields and C input quality (C:N, lignin: N, or NMR-derived index) from structural plant tissues. C stabilization efficiency was estimated as the ratio of SOC stock per unit total or root C input. Results Crop rotation diversity failed to increase SOC concentrations or aggregate MWD. Perennialized rotations (CCSWrc, CCAA, AA) maintained the numerically highest SOC concentrations, and root C input increased SOC concentration. Out of 12 statistical tests relating C input quality to C stabilization efficiency, only 3 indicated a positive effect and 6 tests indicated a negative effect. Conclusions Including a perennial forage such as alfalfa and limiting soybean frequency promotes aggregate MWD and SOC concentration more so than optimizing crop rotation diversity. Quality of structural plant inputs does not explain differences in C stabilization efficiency, possibly due to overriding influence of living root inputs. Keywords Soil carbon . Aggregates . Soil health . Crop rotation diversity . Soil carbon stabilization
B. Deen Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
Introduction
M. J. Simpson Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada
A key aim of agroecosystem design is
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