Quantitative soil profile-scale assessment of the sustainability of long-term maize residue and tillage management

Kinoshita, Rintaro; Schindelbeck, Robert R.; Es, Harold M. van

doi:10.1016/j.still.2017.05.010

Cited by 27 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…This finding again highlights short-term influences on soil properties that occur within the longer-term treatment effects on these same properties. In contrast to our results with a CS rotation, additive effects of no-till and residue retention on improved aggregate stability were reported in a continuous corn cropping system [17]. In the soybean phase of field study 2, the cover crop treatment improved EF and MWD about 60% over the base case with residue removed.…”

Section: Field Studycontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…The addition of winter cover crops to vegetable cropping systems was reported to increase FDA hydrolysis activity [46], and we have reported FDA activities decrease with crop residue removal [23]. Other researchers have found that C mineralization activities decrease with corn residue removal [17,47]. In continuous corn, the addition of cover crops to no-till management increased C mineralization activity in an additive fashion in comparison to the tilled, no cover crop treatment [18].…”

Section: Field Studymentioning

confidence: 62%

“…In a global meta-analysis of cropping systems, the addition of both cover crops and crop residue retention, mitigated the negative effects of no-till management on crop yield, with the most dramatic results in dry climates [16]. Regarding soil properties, positive effects of long-term no-till and residue retention on carbon mineralization activity and water stable aggregation were found to be additive in a continuous corn cropping system [17]. Stacking of cover crops onto the long-term no-till management of a continuous corn cropping system increased carbon mineralization activities in an additive or possibly synergistic fashion compared to tilled, no-cover crop treatments [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stacking Agricultural Management Tactics to Promote Improvements in Soil Structure and Microbial Activities

2019

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Linking agricultural management tactics to quantifiable changes in soil health-related properties is a key objective for increasing adoption of the most favorable management practices. We used two long-term, no-till cropping studies to illustrate the variable patterns of response of soil structure indices and microbial activity to additional management tactics, including crop rotational diversity, residue management and cover cropping. We found that observable effects of management tactics on soil properties were often dependent on the current crop phase sampled, even though the treatments were well-established. In some cases, a single additional management tactic produced a response, two tactics each produced a response and sometimes there were interactions between tactics. However, importantly, we never observed a negative effect for any of the response variables when stacking soil health building practices in no-till cropping systems. The collective results from the two field studies illustrate that soil health improvements with stacking management tactics are not always simply additive and are affected by temporal relationships inherent to the treatments. We conclude that the implementation of multiple positive management tactics increases the likelihood that improvements in soil properties can be documented with one or more of the proxy measures for soil health.

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Section: Field Studycontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Field Studymentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stacking Agricultural Management Tactics to Promote Improvements in Soil Structure and Microbial Activities

2019

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“…Reducing tillage intensity can help mitigate soil erosion and generally improves biological and physical soil health. If coupled with cropping system diversification NT can increase SOM, AS, biological activity, connectivity of soil pores and permeability [3,12,15,[20][21][22]. However, those responses are not consistent as reflected in other studies that have reported soil structure degradation under NT.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Tillage Intensity Effects on Soil Structure Indicators—A US Meta-Analysis

2020

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Tillage intensity affects soil structure in many ways but the magnitude and type (+/−) of change depends on site-specific (e.g., soil type) and experimental details (crop rotation, study length, sampling depth, etc.). This meta-analysis examines published effects of chisel plowing (CP), no-tillage (NT) and perennial cropping systems (PER) relative to moldboard plowing (MP) on three soil structure indicators: wet aggregate stability (AS), bulk density (BD) and soil penetration resistance (PR). The data represents four depth increments (from 0 to >40-cm) in 295 studies from throughout the continental U.S. Overall, converting from MP to CP did not affect those soil structure indicators but reducing tillage intensity from MP to NT increased AS in the surface (<15-cm) and slightly decreased BD and PR below 25-cm. The largest positive effect of NT on AS was observed within Inceptisols and Entisols after a minimum of three years. Compared to MP, NT had a minimal effect on soil compaction indicators (BD and PR) but as expected, converting from MP to PER systems improved soil structure at all soil depths (0 to >40-cm). Among those three soil structure indicators, AS was the most sensitive to management practices; thus, it should be used as a physical indicator for overall soil health assessment. In addition, based on this national meta-analysis, we conclude that reducing tillage intensity improves soil structure, thus offering producers assurance those practices are feasible for crop production and that they will also help sustain soil resources.

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“…The mechanisms of deep soil change are not well measured or understood. Possible explanations include leaching of dissolved organic carbon, changes in C input from upper soil, bioturbation caused by earthworms, and changes in root distribution (Kinoshita, Schindelbeck, & Es, 2017;Stewart et al, 2017).…”

Section: F I G U R E 1mentioning

confidence: 99%

A global meta‐analysis of soil organic carbon response to corn stover removal

et al. 2019

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Corn (Zea mays L.) stover is a global resource used for livestock, fuel, and bioenergy feedstock, but excessive stover removal can decrease soil organic C (SOC) stocks and deteriorate soil health. Many site‐specific stover removal experiments report accrual rates and SOC stock effects, but a quantitative, global synthesis is needed to provide a scientific base for long‐term energy policy decisions. We used 409 data points from 74 stover harvest experiments conducted around the world for a meta‐analysis and meta‐regression to quantify removal rate, tillage, soil texture, and soil sampling depth effects on SOC. Changes were quantified by: (a) comparing final SOC stock differences after at least 3 years with and without stover removal and (b) calculating SOC accrual rates for both treatments. Stover removal generally reduced final SOC stocks by 8% in the upper 0–15 or 0–30 cm, compared to stover retained, irrespective of soil properties and tillage practices. A more sensitive meta‐regression analysis showed that retention increased SOC stocks within the 30–150 cm depth by another 5%. Compared to baseline values, stover retention increased average SOC stocks temporally at a rate of 0.41 Mg C ha−1 year−1 (statistically significant at p < 0.01 when averaged across all soil layers). Although SOC sequestration rates were lower with stover removal, with moderate (<50%) removal they can be positive, thus emphasizing the importance of site‐specific management. Our results also showed that tillage effects on SOC stocks were inconsistent due to the high variability in practices used among the experimental sites. Finally, we conclude that research and technological efforts should continue to be given high priority because of the importance in providing science‐based policy recommendations for long‐term global carbon management.

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Quantitative soil profile-scale assessment of the sustainability of long-term maize residue and tillage management

Cited by 27 publications

References 49 publications

Stacking Agricultural Management Tactics to Promote Improvements in Soil Structure and Microbial Activities

Stacking Agricultural Management Tactics to Promote Improvements in Soil Structure and Microbial Activities

Tillage Intensity Effects on Soil Structure Indicators—A US Meta-Analysis

A global meta‐analysis of soil organic carbon response to corn stover removal

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