Wood Ash Improved Soil Properties and Crop Yield for Nine Years and Saved Fertilizer

Abstract

Wood ash may be used to mitigate soil acidity and improve crop production. We compared effects of wood ash and recommended fertilizers on soil properties of a Gray Luivsol, crop yields and contribution margins in southeast Peace, Alberta, Canada. The CHK (no fertilizer, inoculation or wood ash), FRT (recommended fertilizers or inoculation), ASH (wood ash rate to supply amounts of phosphorus equivalent to the -1 of applied wood ash. Overall, wood ash reduced fertilizer expenditure and improved seed yield, contribution margin and soil properties, with residual effects observed up to seven years and likely for few more years.

Biochemical proxies indicate differences in soil C cycling induced by long-term tillage and residue management in a tropical agroecosystem

“…Such increases in soil C stocks under reduced tillage have been attributed to reduced soil mixing, aeration and slower turnover of SOC that is physically protected in soil aggregates (Chivenge et al 2007;Janzen 2006;Six et al 2000Six et al , 2002, thus leading to an increase in SOC levels, provided similar rates of organic matter (OM) inputs are maintained. However, recent meta-analyses have pointed out that long-term field studies comparing SOC stocks in CA and conventional tillage show variable results, ranging from increases, to no effect, to decreases in SOC (Gill et al 2015;Palm et al 2014;Powlson et al 2016). Understanding the relative importance of different drivers (e.g.…”