Leys and soil organic matter: II. The accumulation of nitrogen in soils under different leys

Clement, Charles R.; Williams, Thomas

doi:10.1017/s0021859600016543

Cited by 71 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The decrease in topsoil carbon at Säby also corresponds well with the calculated carbon inputs, which were lowest in the C rotation. However, unlike the results of Clement and Williams (1964), in which an absolute increase in soil carbon due to four years of pasture was reported, the carbon content in the soils included in our study also decreased in the crop rotation that included a perennial ley. These contrasting results could be at least partly due to the lack of manure application.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of crop rotations with and without perennial leys on soil carbon stocks and grain yields of winter wheat

Persson

Bergkvist

Kätterer

2007

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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A change from cultivated land to grassland generally increases soil organic matter (SOM) content and is a potential option to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. We investigated the effects of two-year perennial grass and mixed grass/legume leys in a six-year crop rotation on topsoil (0-0.25 m depth) carbon content and on grain yields of winter wheat over a period of 31 years. Different nitrogen fertilisation regimes were included and no manure was added to the experimental plots. We used data from long-term crop rotation experiments at three sites in southern Sweden: Säby (59°49 0 N/17°42 0 E), Lanna (58°20 0 N/13°07 0 E) and Stenstugu (57°36 0 N/18°26 0 E). At Säby, the reduction in topsoil carbon content was smaller in the ley crop rotations than in the crop rotation with only annual crops. There were no statistically significant effects of crop rotation on topsoil carbon at the other two sites. At Lanna, the grain yield increase in winter wheat over time was higher in the mixed legume/grass ley crop rotation than in the other two rotations. Together, these effects of ley on topsoil carbon and winter wheat yield suggest that replacing annual crops with leys in the crop rotation could reduce losses of soil carbon without decreasing total yield of annual crops on a regional scale. We also applied the Introductory Carbon Balance Model (ICBM) to simulate topsoil carbon content at the three sites. Based on the results, measures to improve the model predictability are proposed.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of crop rotations with and without perennial leys on soil carbon stocks and grain yields of winter wheat

Persson

Bergkvist

Kätterer

2007

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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“…It arises from the difference between the inputs to soil organic N (from plant tissue death and dung) and the output through mineralization. In most systems, the model predicts a gain in soil organic N of a magnitude generally consistent with the results reported by Clement and Williams (1967) for previously arable soils sown to grass. However, under certain conditions of sward age, soil and management, the model predicts a reduction in soil organic N.…”

Section: Changes In Soil Organic Nsupporting

confidence: 83%

A model to predict transformations and losses of nitrogen in UK pastures grazed by beef cattle

Scholefield¹,

et al. 1991

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The model simulates the cycling of N in grassland systems grazed by beef cattle and predicts the annual amount of N in liveweight gain, and the amounts lost through ammonia volatilization, denitrification and leaching, on the basis of fertilizer application and soil and site characteristics. It aims to provide a better understanding of the way in which these various factors interact in their influence on N transformations. The model has been programmed to run on IBM-compatible personal computers and responds rapidly to changes in input parameters.The model has been constructed from the average annual amounts of N passing through various components of the N cycle in ten field systems grazed by beef cattle. The amounts were either measured directly or were calculated from empirical sub-models, assuming a balance between inputs to, and outputs from the soil inorganic N pool. The model is given wide applicability through the inclusion of a mineralization sub-model which is sensitive to soil texture, sward age, previous cropping history, and climatic zone. Another important sub-model determines the partitioning of soil inorganic N to either plant uptake or the processes of loss: the proportion partitioned to plant uptake decreases as the total amount of soil inorganic N increases.Outputs from the model indicate that fertilizer N has a strong influence on ammonia volatilization, denitrification and leaching at a given site but that, over a range of sites with a given rate of fertilizer N, total loss and the proportions lost by the three processes are greatly influenced by the amount of N mineralized by the soil. The model indicates how fertilizer N should be matched with mineralization to limit gaseous and leaching losses and to achieve optimum efficiency of N use in grazing systems.

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“…Greater WSA levels also lead to accumulation of soil organic matter within macroaggregates and protect soil carbon from faunal action and microbial consumption (Beare et al 1994;Six et al 2000). Variations in plant biomass and morphology can also cause the variation in nitrogen accumulation in soil (Clement and Williams 1967). According to Lal (2002), conventional tillage can deplete soil organic matter as a result of accelerated mineralization, leaching and translocation.…”

Section: Soil Carbon and Nitrogenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil quality indicator responses to row crop, grazed pasture, and agroforestry buffer management

et al. 2011

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Soil enzyme activities and water stable aggregates have been identified as sensitive soil quality indicators, but few studies exist comparing those parameters within buffers, grazed pastures and row-crop systems. Our objective was to examine the effects of these land uses on the activities of selected enzymes (b-glucosidase, b-glucosaminidase, fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolase, and dehydrogenase), proportion of water stable aggregates (WSA), soil organic carbon and total nitrogen content. Four management treatments [grazed pasture (GP), agroforestry buffer (AgB), grass buffer (GB) and row crop (RC)] were sampled in 2009 and 2010 at two depths (0 to 10-and 10 to 20-cm) and analyzed. Most of the soil quality indicators were significantly greater under perennial vegetation when compared to row crop treatments. Although there were numerical variations, soil quality response trends were consistent between years. The b-glucosaminidase activity increased slightly from 156 to 177 lg PNP g -1 dry soil while b-glucosidase activity slightly decreased from 248 to 237 lg PNP g -1 dry soil in GB treatment during 2 years. The surface (0-10 cm depth) had greater enzyme activities and WSA than sub-surface (10-20 cm) samples. WSA increased from 178 to 314 g kg -1 in row crop areas while all other treatments had similar values during the 2 year study. The treatment by depth interaction was significant (P \ 0.05) for b-glucosidase and b-glucosaminidase enzymes in 2009 and for dehydrogenase and b-glucosaminidase in 2010. Soil enzyme activities were significantly correlated with soil organic carbon content (r C 0.94, P \ 0.0001). This is important because soil enzyme activities and microbial biomass can be enhanced by perennial vegetation and thus improve several other soil quality parameters. These results also support the hypothesis that positive interactions among management practices, soil biota and subsequent environmental quality effects are of great agricultural and ecological importance.

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Leys and soil organic matter: II. The accumulation of nitrogen in soils under different leys

Cited by 71 publications

References 12 publications

Long-term effects of crop rotations with and without perennial leys on soil carbon stocks and grain yields of winter wheat

Long-term effects of crop rotations with and without perennial leys on soil carbon stocks and grain yields of winter wheat

A model to predict transformations and losses of nitrogen in UK pastures grazed by beef cattle

Soil quality indicator responses to row crop, grazed pasture, and agroforestry buffer management

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