Please wait a minute...
Journal of Arid Land  2018, Vol. 10 Issue (1): 129-139    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-017-0019-1
Orginal Article     
Effects of long-term cultivation practices and nitrogen fertilization rates on carbon stock in a calcareous soil on the Chinese Loess Plateau
Miao CAI1,2, Zhujun CHEN1,*(), Jianbin ZHOU1, Jichang HAN2, Qianyun SHI1
1 College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China;
2 Shaanxi Provincial Land Engineering Construction Group, Xi’an 710075, China;
Download: HTML     PDF(274KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      

Abstract  

Soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) are important C pools in the Loess Plateau of Northwest China, however, variations of SOC and SIC stocks under different cultivation practices and nitrogen (N) fertilization rates are not clear in this area. A long-term field experiment started in June 2003 was conducted to investigate the SOC and SIC stocks in a calcareous soil of the Chinese Loess Plateau under four cultivation practices, i.e., fallow (FA), conventional cultivation (CC), straw mulch (SM), and plastic film-mulched ridge and straw-mulched furrow (RF), in combination with three N fertilization rates, i.e., 0 (N0), 120 (N120), and 240 (N240) kg N/hm2. Results indicate that the crop straw addition treatments (SM and RF) increased the contents of soil microbial biomass C (SMBC) and SOC, and the SOC stock increased by 10.1%-13.3% at the upper 20 cm soil depth in comparison to the 8-year fallow (FA) treatment. Meanwhile, SIC stock significantly increased by 19% at the entire tested soil depth range (0-100 cm) under all crop cultivation practices in comparison to that of soil exposed to the long-term fallow treatment, particularly at the upper 60 cm soil depth. Furthermore, moderate N fertilizer application (120 kg N/hm2) increased SOC stock at the upper 40 cm soil depth, whereas SIC stock decreased as the N fertilization rate increased. We conclude that the combined application of crop organic residues and moderate N fertilization rate could facilitate the sequestrations of SOC and SIC in the calcareous soil.



Key wordscalcareous soil      cultivation practices      N application rate      soil C stock      Loess Plateau     
Received: 21 April 2016      Published: 10 February 2018
Corresponding Authors:
Cite this article:

Miao CAI, Zhujun CHEN, Jianbin ZHOU, Jichang HAN, Qianyun SHI. Effects of long-term cultivation practices and nitrogen fertilization rates on carbon stock in a calcareous soil on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Journal of Arid Land, 2018, 10(1): 129-139.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-017-0019-1     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2018/V10/I1/129

[1] Alvarez R.2005. A review of nitrogen fertilizer and conservation tillage effects on soil organic carbon storage. Soil Use Management, 21(1): 38-52.
[2] Barber S A.1979. Corn residue management and soil organic matter. Agronomy Journal, 71(4): 625-627.
[3] Batjes N H.1996. Total carbon and nitrogen in the soils of the world. European Journal of Soil Science, 47(2): 151-163.
[4] Blake L, Goulding K W T.2002. Effects of atmospheric deposition, soil pH and acidification on heavy metal contents in soils and vegetation of semi-natural ecosystems at Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK. Plant and Soil, 240(2): 235-251.
[5] Bu Y S, Shao H L, Wang J C, et al.2010. Dynamics of soil carbon and nitrogen in plowed layer of spring corn and spring wheat fields mulched with straw and plastic film. Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture, 18(2): 322-326. (in Chinese)
[6] Capo R C, Chadwick O A.1999. Sources of strontium and calcium in desert soil and calcrete. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 170(1-2): 61-72.
[7] Chang R Y, Fu B J, Liu G H, et al.2012. The effects of afforestation on soil organic and inorganic carbon: A case study of the Loess Plateau of China. Catena, 95: 145-152.
[8] Chen H Q, Hou R X, Gong Y S, et al.2009. Effects of 11 years of conservation tillage on soil organic matter fractions in wheat monoculture in Loess Plateau of China. Soil and Tillage Research, 106(1): 85-94.
[9] Christopher S F, Lal R.2007. Nitrogen management affects carbon sequestration in North American cropland soils. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 26(1): 45-64.
[10] Cui S H, Shi Y L, Groffman P M, et al.2013. Centennial-scale analysis of the creation and fate of reactive nitrogen in China (1910-2010). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(6): 2052-2057.
[11] Dong Y J, Cai M, Zhou J B.2013. The stocks and characteristics of organic and inorganic carbon in Lou soil in Yangling, Shaanxi.Journal of Northwest A&F University (Natural Science Edition), 41(2): 150-158. (in Chinese)
[12] Dreimanis A.1962. Quantitative gasometric determination of calcite and dolomite by using Chittick apparatus. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 32(3): 520-529.
[13] Entry J A, Sojka R E, Shewmaker G E.2004. Irrigation increases inorganic carbon in agricultural soils. Environmental Management, 33(S1): S309-S317.
[14] Eswaran H, Vandenberg E, Reich P.1993. Organic carbon in soils of the world. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 57(1): 192-194.
[15] Ghimire R, Adhikari K R, Chen Z S, et al.2012. Soil organic carbon sequestration as affected by tillage, crop residue, and nitrogen application in rice-wheat rotation system. Paddy and Water Environment, 10(2): 95-102.
[16] Gocke M, Pustovoytov K, Kuzyakov Y.2012. Pedogenic carbonate formation: Recrystallization versus migration—Process rates and periods assessed by 14C labeling. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 26(1): GB1018.
[17] Gong Z T, Zhang G L, Luo G B.1999. Diversity of anthrosols in China. Pedosphere, 9(3): 193-204.
[18] Guo J H, Liu X J, Zhang Y, et al.2010. Significant acidification in major Chinese croplands. Science, 327(5968): 1008-1010.
[19] Gwenzi W, Gotosa J, Chakanetsa S, et al.2008. Effects of tillage systems on soil organic carbon dynamics, structural stability and crop yields in irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) rotation in semi-arid Zimbabwe. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 83: 211.
[20] Hernandez-Ramirez G, Brouder S M, Smith D R, et al.2009. Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in an eastern Corn Belt soil: Nitrogen source and rotation. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 73(1): 128-137.
[21] Holeplass H, Singh B R, Lal R.2004. Carbon sequestration in soil aggregates under different crop rotations and nitrogen fertilization in an inceptisol in southeastern Norway. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 70(2): 167-177.
[22] Hurisso T T, Norton J B, Norton U.2013. Soil profile carbon and nitrogen in prairie, perennial grass-legume mixture and wheat-fallow production in the central High Plains, USA. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 181: 179-187.
[23] Ju X T, Xing G X, Chen X P, et al.2009. Reducing environmental risk by improving N management in intensive Chinese agricultural systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(9): 3041-3046.
[24] K?rner C, Arnone J A.1992. Responses to elevated carbon dioxide in artificial tropical ecosystems. Science, 257(5077): 1672-1675.
[25] Khan S A, Mulvaney R L, Ellsworth T R, et al.2007. The myth of nitrogen fertilization for soil carbon sequestration. Journal of Environmental Quality, 36(6): 1821-1832.
[26] Lal R.2004. Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. Geoderma, 123(1-2): 1-22.
[27] Lal R.2007. Carbon management in agricultural soils. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 12(2): 303-322.
[28] Lemke R L, VandenBygaart A J, Campbell C A, et al.2010. Crop residue removal and fertilizer N: Effects on soil organic carbon in a long-term crop rotation experiment on a Udic Boroll. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 135(1-2): 42-51.
[29] Li S X, Wang Z H, Li S Q, et al.2013. Effect of plastic sheet mulch, wheat straw mulch, and maize growth on water loss by evaporation in dryland areas of China. Agricultural Water Management, 116: 39-49.
[30] Li X H, Wang Z H, Hao M D, et al.2010. Evaluation on soil carbon contents under different cropping systems on dryland in Loess Plateau. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, 26: 325-330. (in Chinese)
[31] Li X Y, Gong J D.2002. Effects of different ridge: furrow ratios and supplemental irrigation on crop production in ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting system with mulches. Agricultural Water Management, 54(2): 243-254.
[32] Li Y S, Wu L H, Zhao L M, et al.2007. Influence of continuous plastic film mulching on yield, water use efficiency and soil properties of rice fields under non-flooding condition. Soil and Tillage Research, 93(2): 370-378.
[33] Liang Q, Chen H Q, Gong Y S, et al.2012. Effects of 15 years of manure and inorganic fertilizers on soil organic carbon fractions in a wheat-maize system in the North China Plain. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 92(1): 21-33.
[34] Magaritz M, Amiel A J.1981. Influence of intensive cultivation and irrigation on soil properties in the Jordan Valley, Israel: Recrystallization of carbonate minerals. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 45(6): 1201-1205.
[35] Mikhailova E A, Post C J.2006. Effects of land use on soil inorganic carbon stocks in the Russian Chernozem. Journal of Environmental Quality, 35(4): 1384-1388.
[36] Neff J C, Townsend A R, Gleixner G, et al.2002. Variable effects of nitrogen additions on the stability and turnover of soil carbon. Nature, 419(6910): 915-917.
[37] Pausch J, Tian J, Riederer M, et al.2013a. Estimation of rhizodeposition at field scale: upscaling of a 14C labeling study. Plant and Soil, 364(1-2): 273-285.
[38] Pausch J, Zhu B, Kuzyakov Y, et al.2013b. Plant inter-species effects on rhizosphere priming of soil organic matter decomposition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 57: 91-99.
[39] Prescott C E.2010. Litter decomposition: what controls it and how can we alter it to sequester more carbon in forest soils? Biogeochemistry, 101(1-3): 133-149.
[40] Rasmussen P E, Allmaras R R, Rohde C R, et al.1980. Crop residue influences on soil carbon and nitrogen in a wheat-fallow system. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44(3): 596-600.
[41] Regmi A P, Ladha J K, Pathak H, et al.2002. Yield and soil fertility trends in a 20-year rice-rice-wheat experiment in Nepal. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 66(3): 857-867.
[42] Sainju U M, Singh B P, Whitehead W F.1998. Cover crop root distribution and its effects on soil nitrogen cycling. Agronomy Journal, 90(4): 511-518.
[43] Sainju U M, Whitehead W F, Singh B P.2005. Carbon accumulation in cotton, sorghum, and underlying soil as influenced by tillage, cover crops, and nitrogen fertilization. Plant and Soil, 273(1-2): 219-234.
[44] Sanderman J.2012. Can management induce changes in the carbonate system drive soil carbon sequestration? A review with particular focus on Australia. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 155: 70-77.
[45] Schlesinger W H.1982. Carbon storage in the caliche of arid soils: a case study from Arizona. Soil Science, 133(4): 247-255.
[46] Schlesinger W H.1985. The formation of caliche in soils of the Mojave Desert, California. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 49(1): 57-66.
[47] Smith W N, Grant B B, Campbell C A, et al.2012. Crop residue removal effects on soil carbon: measured and inter-model comparisons. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 161: 27-38.
[48] Sombroek W G, Nachtergaele F O, Hebel A.1993. Amounts, dynamics and sequestering of carbon in tropical and subtropical soils. Ambio, 22(7): 417-426.
[49] Song Q H, Li F M, Jun W, et al.2002. Effect of various mulching durations with plastic film on soil microbial quantity and plant nutrients of spring wheat field in semi-arid Loess Plateau of China. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 22(12): 2125-2132. (in Chinese)
[50] Tan W F, Zhang R, Cao H, et al.2014. Soil inorganic carbon stock under different soil types and land uses on the Loess Plateau region of China. Catena, 121: 22-30.
[51] Vance E D, Brookes P C, Jenkinson D S.1987. An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 19(6): 703-707.
[52] Walkley A, Black I A.1934. An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science, 37(1): 29-38.
[53] Wang X L, Li F M, Jia Y, et al.2005. Increasing potato yields with additional water and increased soil temperature. Agricultural Water Management, 78(3): 181-194.
[54] Wang Z P, Han X G, Chang S X, et al.2013. Soil organic and inorganic carbon contents under various land uses across a transect of continental steppes in Inner Mongolia. Catena, 109: 110-117.
[55] Wu H B, Guo Z T, Gao Q, et al.2009. Distribution of soil inorganic carbon storage and its changes due to agricultural land use activity in China. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 129(4): 413-421.
[56] Yang Y H, Fang J Y, Ji C J, et al.2012. Widespread decreases in topsoil inorganic carbon stocks across China's grasslands during 1980s-2000s. Global Change Biology, 18(12): 3672-3680.
[57] Zeng J, Guo T W, Bao X G, et al.2008. Effects of soil organic carbon and soil inorganic carbon under long-term fertilization. Soil and Fertilizer Sciences, (2): 11-14. (in Chinese)
[58] Zhang F, Wang X J, Guo T W, et al.2015. Soil organic and inorganic carbon in the loess profiles of Lanzhou area: implications of deep soils. Catena, 126: 68-74.
[59] Zhang W F, Dou Z X, He P, et al.2013. New technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogenous fertilizer in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(21): 8375-8380.
[60] Zhou J B, Wang C Y, Zhang H, et al.2011. Effect of water saving management practices and nitrogen fertilizer rate on crop yield and water use efficiency in a winter wheat-summer maize cropping system. Field Crops Research, 122(2): 157-163.
[61] Zhu X M. 1964. Lou Soil. Beijing: Chinese Agriculture Press, 4-9. (in Chinese)
[1] WANG Jing, WEI Yulu, PENG Biao, LIU Siqi, LI Jianfeng. Spatiotemporal variations in ecosystem services and their trade-offs and synergies against the background of the gully control and land consolidation project on the Loess Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(1): 131-145.
[2] MA Xinxin, ZHAO Yunge, YANG Kai, MING Jiao, QIAO Yu, XU Mingxiang, PAN Xinghui. Long-term light grazing does not change soil organic carbon stability and stock in biocrust layer in the hilly regions of drylands[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(8): 940-959.
[3] ZHANG Yixin, LI Peng, XU Guoce, MIN Zhiqiang, LI Qingshun, LI Zhanbin, WANG Bin, CHEN Yiting. Temporal and spatial variation characteristics of extreme precipitation on the Loess Plateau of China facing the precipitation process[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(4): 439-459.
[4] SUN Liquan, GUO Huili, CHEN Ziyu, YIN Ziming, FENG Hao, WU Shufang, Kadambot H M SIDDIQUE. Check dam extraction from remote sensing images using deep learning and geospatial analysis: A case study in the Yanhe River Basin of the Loess Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(1): 34-51.
[5] LIU Yulin, LI Jiwei, HAI Xuying, WU Jianzhao, DONG Lingbo, PAN Yingjie, SHANGGUAN Zhouping, WANG Kaibo, DENG Lei. Carbon inputs regulate the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in temperate forests[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(9): 1055-1068.
[6] WANG Yaobin, SHANGGUAN Zhouping. Formation mechanisms and remediation techniques for low-efficiency artificial shelter forests on the Chinese Loess Plateau[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(8): 837-848.
[7] WANG Fengjiao, FU Bojie, LIANG Wei, JIN Zhao, ZHANG Liwei, YAN Jianwu, FU Shuyi, GOU Fen. Assessment of drought and its impact on winter wheat yield in the Chinese Loess Plateau[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(7): 771-786.
[8] SUN Dingzhao, LIANG Youjia, PENG Shouzhang. Scenario simulation of water retention services under land use/cover and climate changes: a case study of the Loess Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(4): 390-410.
[9] LI Panpan, WANG Bing, YANG Yanfen, LIU Guobin. Effects of vegetation near-soil-surface factors on runoff and sediment reduction in typical grasslands on the Loess Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(3): 325-340.
[10] WU Huining, CUI Qiaoyu. High-frequency climatic fluctuations over the past 30 ka in northwestern margin of the East Asian monsoon region, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(12): 1331-1343.
[11] LING Xinying, MA Jinzhu, CHEN Peiyuan, LIU Changjie, Juske HORITA. Isotope implications of groundwater recharge, residence time and hydrogeochemical evolution of the Longdong Loess Basin, Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2022, 14(1): 34-55.
[12] CHEN Shumin, JIN Zhao, ZHANG Jing, YANG Siqi. Soil quality assessment in different dammed-valley farmlands in the hilly-gully mountain areas of the northern Loess Plateau, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(8): 777-789.
[13] HUANG Laiming, ZHAO Wen, SHAO Ming'an. Response of plant physiological parameters to soil water availability during prolonged drought is affected by soil texture[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(7): 688-698.
[14] PEI Yanwu, HUANG Laiming, SHAO Ming'an, ZHANG Yinglong. Responses of Amygdalus pedunculata Pall. in the sandy and loamy soils to water stress[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(5): 791-805.
[15] GONG Yidan, XING Xuguang, WANG Weihua. Factors determining soil water heterogeneity on the Chinese Loess Plateau as based on an empirical mode decomposition method[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(3): 462-472.