Long-Term Manure Impacts on Soil Aggregates and Aggregate-Associated Carbon and Nitrogen

Abstract

All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher. Long-Term Manure Impacts on Soil Aggregates and Aggregate-Associated Carbon and Nitrogen Soil & Water Management & Conservation Long-term studies document that soil properties influenced by management practices occur slowly. The objectives of this study were to evaluate 70 yr of manure (M) and commercial fertilizer (f) additions and moldboard plowing on soil organic c (sOc), soil total n (sTn), water-stable aggregates (WsA), and aggregate-associated c and n. The knorr-Holden plots have been in furrow irrigated continuous corn (Zea mays L.) since 1912 on a Tripp sandy loam (coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Haplustoll). soil samples were collected from the 0-to 5-, 5-to 10-, 10-to 15-, and 15-to 30-cm depths in 2011. soils were fractionated by wet sieving into four aggregate-size classes (>1000, 500-1000, 250-500, and 53-250 mm). continuous M amendment increased the sOc in the 0-to 30-cm depth approximately 1.7-fold compared with the f treatment. The combination of f + M further increased sOc in the 0-to 15-cm depth by approximately 36% for the M treatment receiving 90 kg n ha −1 of f (90 + M) and by 16% for the M treatment receiving 180 kg n ha −1 of f (180 + M) compared with the 15-to 30-cm depth. Macroaggregates increased with M and f + M when compared with f with the corresponding increase in microaggregate quantities associated with the f and no-n treatment. In the 0-to 30-cm depth, microaggregates were approximately 1.8 to 4.9 times greater than the macroaggregates. Aggregate-associated c masses were greater in microaggregates than in macroaggregates, which reflects greater amounts of microaggregates present in the soil. A significant, positive correlation was observed between sOc and aggregate-associated c. Overall, the addition of manure-based amendments, with or without f, increased sOc and enhanced aggregate stability. Abbreviations: F, fertilizer; M, manure; SOC, soil organic carbon; SOM, soil organic matter; STN, soil total N; WSA, water-stable aggregates; 0 + M, M treatment with no F added; 90 + M, M treatment receiving 90 kg N ha −1 of F; and 180 + M, M treatment receiving 180 kg N ha −1 of F. T he Knorr-Holden plot was initiated in 1910 in the North Platte Valley of western Nebraska during construction of the first large-scale irrigation projects in the state. The Knorr-Holden continuous corn plot was developed in response to a need to determine the best methods of farming for irrigated lands in the early 1900s. Today, the Knorr-Holden research plot is the oldest long-term irrigated corn plot in North America. The Knorr-Holden continuous corn plot was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places in...

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