Use of solid anaerobic digestate and no-tillage practice for restoring the fertility status of two Mediterranean orchard soils with contrasting properties

Badagliacca, Giuseppe; Petrovičovà, Beatrix; Pathan, Shamina Imran; Roccotelli, Angela; Romeo, Maurizio; Monti, Michele; Gelsomino, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2020.107010

Cited by 39 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Some authors reported that organic wastes enhanced soil organic matter content proportionally to the application doses and/or frequency [11,15,17]. Field studies following a single application of organic waste also revealed an increase in soil organic matter content [5,7]. Our results clearly showed that, irrespective of the EOM type and dose, the accumulation of carbon compounds at the soil depth of 0-25 cm was limited.…”

Section: Exogenous Organic Matter Accumulation Dynamicssupporting

confidence: 58%

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The effect of application of digestate and agro-food industry sludges on Dystric Cambisol porosity

et al. 2020

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The spatial arrangement and pore size distribution play an important role in accumulation and protection of exogenous organic matter (EOM) in the soil, but how different organic materials contribute to modify pore structure is poorly understood. We aimed at exploring possible changes in the complexity of the soil phase during fertilization with different doses of digestate and sludges sourced from the agro-food industry. For this purpose, the shortterm effects-one year, of soil fertilization, were investigated in several sampling periods and within two depths (0-25 cm and 25-40 cm). Changes in the specific surface area (SSA), total pore volume (V MIP), total pore area (S MIP), average pore radius (R MIP) and pore size distribution (PSD) were monitored using N 2 adsorption/desorption (NAD) and mercury porosimetry (MIP) methods. Our results showed that the intensity of observed changes depended on the type and dose of organic material, soil depth and sampling date. Accumulation of EOM increased with soil depth, masking a large proportion of SSA. Deeper soil layer was more susceptible to changes in the pore size distributions due to the formation of new elongated pores. We concluded that this specific structural porosity was related to the decomposition of organic matter during the formation of soil aggregates.

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Section: Exogenous Organic Matter Accumulation Dynamicssupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of application of digestate and agro-food industry sludges on Dystric Cambisol porosity

et al. 2020

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“…Straw retention practices have a major effect on soil water holding capacity and C conservation [21,22]. Moreover, other studies have found that no-tillage and straw retention increases soil microbial biomass, bacterial diversity, and enzymatic activities in soil [19][20][21][22]. The soil chemical properties of the surface layer are generally more favorable under no-tillage than tillage conditions, and the C storage is also improved due to minimal soil disturbance and the slow decomposition of organic C [23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No-tillage is a tillage method that requires no actual tillage of land. Further, in no-tillage systems plant residue is left unharmed in fields so it can naturally decay over time, thus stores more C in soil for long time, rather than breaking it down side faster and letting C escape into the atmosphere [19,20]. Straw mulching or retention consists of placing a uniform layer of straw and incorporating it into the soil [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, in no-tillage systems plant residue is left unharmed in fields so it can naturally decay over time, thus stores more C in soil for long time, rather than breaking it down side faster and letting C escape into the atmosphere [19,20]. Straw mulching or retention consists of placing a uniform layer of straw and incorporating it into the soil [20]. Straw retention practices have a major effect on soil water holding capacity and C conservation [21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long-Term No-Tillage and Straw Retention Management Enhances Soil Bacterial Community Diversity and Soil Properties in Southern China

Luo

Iqbal

et al. 2020

Agronomy

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Conservation farming practices, such as no-tillage and crop residue retention, have been proposed as sustainable management practices. However, it remains unclear how different tillage practices and rice straw retention affect the soil bacterial community (SBC) and the soil C/N ratio in the long term. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in SBC composition and abundance and soil properties (e.g., carbon (C), nitrogen (N)) and determine their relationship to the soil C/N ratio under long-term no-tillage and straw retention techniques. This study investigates the effect of a long-term field experiment begun in 2008 and continued until 2019 to measure the response of the SBC and soil properties and their relation to different tillage practices, including no-tillage (NT), no-tillage and straw mulching (NT-SM), conventional tillage (CT), conventional tillage and straw mulching (CT-SM), and conventional tillage and straw retention (CT-SR). Soil samples were collected at depths of 0–5 cm (A), 5–10 cm (B), and 10–20 cm (C) after rice harvesting in the early and late growing seasons in 2018–2019. The Illumina MiSeq sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology was used to analyze changes in SBC diversity in soil and determined the changes in the soil C/N ratio and their relationship with the SBC diversity. The results showed that the Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Chloroflexi were the dominant phyla in the soil and accounted for 61.26%, 59.39%, and 55.62% of the total bacteria in the A, B, and C soil layers, respectively. The NT treatment increased SBC diversity, the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and the proportion of Proteobacteria across the soil depths. Similarly, straw retention also significantly improved SBC diversity, soil organic C(SOC), total N (TN), soil C/N ratio, and the abundance of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria in the soil layers A and B. The NT-SM treatment increased the SOC, TN, and soil C/N ratio by 30%, 21%, and 6% in 2018 and by 33, 25% and 7% in 2019, respectively, across the seasons and layers compared to the CT treatment. The NT-SM treatment had the highest soil bacterial diversity index, and the CT-SR treatment had the highest soil bacterial abundance and number of OTUs. The redundancy analysis showed that Acidobacteria were highly positively correlated with the soil C/N ratio. The results demonstrate that conservation tillage practices, i.e., no-tillage and straw retention, increase the SBC diversity and soil C/N ratio, thereby enhancing soil organic C and total N and changing soil microbial ecology. As a result, sustainable crop production and profitable agro-ecosystems are ensured.

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Long‐term straw mulching in a no‐till field improves soil functionality and rice yield by increasing soil enzymatic activity and chemical properties in paddy soils

Iqbal

Khan

Green

et al. 2021

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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Background The degradation in soil quality over the last four decades poses a major threat to the sustainability of the puddled transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.) system in southern China. Conservation tillage practices (CTPs) such as no‐tillage and crop straw mulching (SM) are considered effective strategies for achieving sustainable crop production. Aims This study aimed to assess the efficacy of different CTPs on crop yield and soil properties in an ongoing long‐term field experiment (2008–2020), particularly changes in soil chemical properties and enzymatic activities and their relationship with rice grain yield. Methods Five treatments including conventional tillage (CT), CT and straw retention, CT and SM (CT‐SM), no‐tillage (NT), and NT and SM (NT‐SM) were applied at a field scale over a period of 12 years. In Years 11 (2019) and 12 (2020), soil samples were collected at two depths (0–10 cm and 10–20 cm) after rice harvesting. Soil chemical traits, enzymatic activities, and rice production were measured in response to different CTPs treatments, and differences between treatments were assessed. Results Soil pH, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen (N), available N, total phosphorus (P), and available P were significantly higher in CTP treatments, compared with CT. The activities of soil enzymes including invertase, acid phosphatase, urease, catalase, β‐glucosidase, and cellulase were significantly higher in CTP soils, compared with CT soils. A general trend of lower enzyme activity was observed at the deeper soil depth. The NT‐SM treatment fields consistently produced the highest grain yield and larges differences in edaphic properties relative to the CT fields; however, all CTP treatments lead to significant increases in grant yield and edaphic properties relative to CT. A correlation analysis demonstrated that the enhancement in soil enzymatic activities contributed to soil quality and grain yield of rice. Conclusions The results of this long‐term field study indicate that the use of CTPs in paddy soil can benefit farmers in southern China by improving soil functionality and sustainability and the grain yield of rice.

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Use of solid anaerobic digestate and no-tillage practice for restoring the fertility status of two Mediterranean orchard soils with contrasting properties

Cited by 39 publications

References 65 publications

The effect of application of digestate and agro-food industry sludges on Dystric Cambisol porosity

The effect of application of digestate and agro-food industry sludges on Dystric Cambisol porosity

Long-Term No-Tillage and Straw Retention Management Enhances Soil Bacterial Community Diversity and Soil Properties in Southern China

Long‐term straw mulching in a no‐till field improves soil functionality and rice yield by increasing soil enzymatic activity and chemical properties in paddy soils

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