Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China

Zhang, Shixiu; Li, Qi; Lü, Ying; Sun, Xiaoming; Jia, Shengyong; Zhang, Xiaoping; Liang, Wenju

doi:10.1016/j.still.2015.01.001

Cited by 64 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…Yasushi et al [8] found that soil macropores could increase plant biomass two-fold and significantly increase soil carbon content. Previous studies have suggested that ridge tillage could improve sunlight reception, soil quality, soil water environment and help to control soil erosion [9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Effects of Mulch and Tillage on Soil Hydrothermal Conditions under Drip Irrigation in Hetao Irrigation District, China

Zhang

Zhou

et al. 2016

Water

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Soil hydrothermal condition is one of the most important factors affecting crop growth in arid regions. This study aimed to investigate the effect of mulching and tillage on moisture and temperature variations in soil under drip irrigation in the arid Hetao Irrigation District, northwest China. Four treatments were included: (1) alternating ridges (40 cm wide and 20 cm high) and furrows (40 cm wide) with plots fully mulched with plastic film (RFM); (2) alternating ridges (40 cm wide and 20 cm high) and furrows (40 cm wide) with partial film mulch (only the plant rows mulched) (RPM); (3) flat tillage with plots fully mulched with plastic film (FFM); and (4) flat tillage with partial film mulch (only the plant rows mulched) (FPM). The ridge tillage and plastic film increased soil temperature and significantly conserved soil water, and thus increased the maize yield and water use efficiency (WUE). The RFM treatment had a greater effect than the RPM, FFM, and FPM treatments on the soil moisture and water storage over 0-70 cm in depth during the entire growing period in 2014 and 2015, indicating that full transparent plastic film mulch increased soil water status and promoted deep water percolation, and ridge tillage further enhanced water redistribution to deep soils. Furthermore, RFM proportionally increased soil temperature by 0.36 • C, 1.49 • C, and 1.27 • C above the temperatures under RPM, FPM, and FFM, respectively, in 2014 and by 1.19 • C, 1.62 • C, and 0.35 • C, respectively, in 2015. During the drought year of 2014, tillage influenced temperature more than mulching; however, mulching played a more important role in preserving thermal conditions than tillage during the humid year of 2015. Consequently, RFM increased the maize yield and WUE significantly. We conclude that a combined system of full plastic film mulch and ridge tillage creates beneficial soil hydrothermal conditions under drip irrigation and thus promotes the growth and performance of field crops.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined Effects of Mulch and Tillage on Soil Hydrothermal Conditions under Drip Irrigation in Hetao Irrigation District, China

Zhang

Zhou

et al. 2016

Water

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“…For example, Forge et al (2015) showed that in comparison with conventional tillage, no-tillage or reduced tillage significantly decreased Pratylenchus neglectus populations. Zhang et al (2015a) showed that the response of nematode trophic diversity was sensitive to the residue and tillage effects. Crop rotation sequences including different crop varieties can also influence nematode abundance, diversity and community structure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of soil nematode community composition and diversity to different crop rotations and tillage in the tropics

Zhong

Zeng

Jin

2016

Applied Soil Ecology

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“…Conventional tillage breaks crop residues into smaller pieces and redistributes them throughout the plowed layer. Contrary to conventional tillage, no-till does not disrupt existing soil food webs, leading to increasing soil microbial diversity and activity [18]. It has been argued that increased soil microbial diversity will increase the potential of an ecosystem to function more efficiently under a variety of environmental conditions [19,20], suggesting greater resilience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Conservation Agriculture and Fertilization on Soil Microbial Diversity and Activity

Habig

Swanepoel

2015

Environments

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Soil microbial communities perform critical functions in ecosystem processes. These functions can be used to assess the impact of agricultural practices on sustainable crop production. In this five-year study, the effect of various agricultural practices on soil microbial diversity and activity was investigated in a summer rainfall area under South African dryland conditions. Microbial diversity and activity were measured in the 0-15 cm layer of a field trial consisting of two fertilizer levels, three cropping systems, and two tillage systems. Using the Shannon-Weaver and Evenness diversity indices, soil microbial species richness and abundance were measured. Microbial enzymatic activities: β-glucosidase, phosphatase and urease, were used to evaluate ecosystem functioning. Cluster analysis revealed a shift in soil microbial community diversity and activity over time. Microbial diversity and activity were higher under no-till than conventional tillage. Fertilizer levels seemed to play a minor role in determining microbial diversity and activity, whereas the cropping systems played a more important role in determining the activity of soil microbial communities. Conservation agriculture yielded the highest soil microbial diversity and activity in diversified cropping systems under no-till.

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Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China

Cited by 64 publications

References 50 publications

Combined Effects of Mulch and Tillage on Soil Hydrothermal Conditions under Drip Irrigation in Hetao Irrigation District, China

Combined Effects of Mulch and Tillage on Soil Hydrothermal Conditions under Drip Irrigation in Hetao Irrigation District, China

Response of soil nematode community composition and diversity to different crop rotations and tillage in the tropics

Effects of Conservation Agriculture and Fertilization on Soil Microbial Diversity and Activity

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