Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1007/s11104-008-9705-2
REGULAR ARTICLE
, C
MB
, and C
L
in organic manure treatments (treatments 1 and 2) were increased by 139.7–260.5%, 136.7–225.7%, and
150.0–240.5%, re- spectively, as compared to the CK treatment. The CMI was found to be a useful index to assess
the changes of soil quality induced by soil management practices due to its significant correlation with soil bulk
density and C fractions. The OM and 1/2OMN treatments were not a feasible option for farmers, but a feasible
option for , C
WS
, C
MB
, C
L
, C
sequestering soil carbon, especially for the OM treat-
mineralization, and CMI, as compared with application
ment. The NPK treatment was important for increasing
of chemical fertilizer alone. For the chemical fertilizer
crop yields, organic material inputs, and soil C fractions, so it could increase the sustainability of cropping system in
the North China Plain.
.
X.-y. Yan (*) State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of
Sciences,
Keywords Long-term fertilization experiment . Organic carbon fractions . Carbon management index . North China
Plain Nanjing 210008, People’s Republic of China e-mail: yanxy@issas.ac.cn
W. Gong
.
J.-y. Wang
.
T.-x. Hu
.
Y.-b. Gong
Introduction
Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Sichuan Agricultural University,
Because of its importance to soil quality and sustaining
Ya’an 625014, People’s Republic of China
the productivity of agroecosystems (Johnston 1986),
maintaining a satisfactory soil organic matter (SOM) level is an integral component of soil management strategy.
The dynamics of the SOM pools depend on the balance between input and output of organic matter. Soil organic
carbon (SOC) has been used in the majority of recent monitoring programs to assess soil resource condition and
trends (Haynes 2000; Sparling et al. 2004) and is a useful surrogate measure that integrates the influence of many
different land man- agement factors. However, the total SOC is not sensitive enough to short- and medium-term
changes because it has large amount of recalcitrant (non-labile) carbon. This non-labile C, by its nature, changes
very slowly. The SOC fractions like water-soluble organic C (C
WS
), microbial biomass C (C
MB
), labile C (C
L
), and mineralizable C are considered as more sensitive indicators of
management-induced changes than total SOC (Saviozzi et al. 2001; Yang et al. 2005; Rudrappa et al. 2006). Blair et
al. (1995) combined labile and non-labile C fractions to derive a carbon management index (CMI). Compared with a
single measure such as SOC, CMI can be used as a more sensitive indicator of the rate of change of SOC in response
to land management changes, and was shown by Whitbread et al. (1998) to be a useful technique for describing the
soil fertility of croplands.
The North China Plain covers an area of 178,700 km2, of which 88,500 km2 is cultivated farmland (Lin et al.
2000). This is a highly productive agricultural area. A double cropping system with winter wheat and summer maize
is adopted as the main cropping system. The sustainable utilization of agricultural soils in this area could affect
China’s food security. For many centuries manure application to the soil has been common practice, but this
traditional manage- ment practice changed since the 1980s due to increasing affordability of chemical fertilizers.
More chemical fertilizers and less organic fertilizer are now being used in the area. So, a long-term experiment was
established in 1989 to study the effects of fertilization change on soil properties. The purpose of this paper is to
investigate how the SOC fractions, namely, C
T
, C
WS
, C
MB
, C
L
, and mineralizable C, have been affected by 18 years’ application of organic manure
and chemical fertilizer under a winter wheat–summer maize cropping system in the North China Plain. The results
will help in the selection of the optimal fertilization management practices for soil quality and C sequestration.
68 Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76
Materials and methods
Site description
The long-term experiment was conducted in a well- drained field with a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum
L.)–summer maize (Zea mays L.) rotation. The field was under winter wheat–summer maize rotation for many years
and was not fertilized in the 3 years prior to the start of the experiment in 1989 to make it more homogeneous. The
site was part of the Fengqiu State Key Agro-Ecological Experimental Station, located in Fengqiu county, Henan
province, China (35°00′ N, 114°24′ E), a region typical of the North China Plain. The 30-year mean annual
temperature was 13.9°C, and the lowest and highest mean monthly temper- atures were −1.0°C in January and
27.2°C in July, respectively. The mean annual precipitation was 615 mm, two-thirds of which fell between June and
September. The soil derived from alluvial sediments of the Yellow River and is classified as an aquic inceptisol. It
has a sandy loam texture and an average pH
H2O of 4.42 g organic 8.65. The 0–20 cm soil layer contained C kg−1, 0.45 g total N kg−1, 0.50 g total P kg−1
and 18.6 g total K kg−1 in September 1989, prior to the start of the experiment.
Experimental design
A randomized block design was used with four replicates of each of the seven treatments to monitor the influence of
the long-term application of organic manure and chemical fertilizers on crop yield and soil properties; each plot
measured 9.5×5 m2 and the experiment commenced in September 1989. The seven treatments were (1) OM:
application of organic manure; (2) 1/2OMN: application of half organic manure plus chemical fertilizer NPK; (3)
NPK: balanced application of chemical fertilizer NPK; (4) NP: application of chemical fertilizer NP; (5) PK:
application of chemical fertilizer PK; (6) NK: application of chemical fertilizer NK; and (7) CK: unfertilized control.
All plots had been used continuously under winter wheat–summer maize rotation since the experiment start.
The chemical nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers used were urea, calcium superphosphate, and
potassium sulfate, respectively. Urea, totaling 150 kg N ha−1, was added in two applications: 60 kg N ha−1 as basal
fertilizer and 90 kg N ha−1 as supplemental
fertilizer for maize, and 90 kg N ha−1 as basal fertilizer and 60 kg N ha−1 as supplemental fertilizer for wheat in the
NPK, NP, and NK treatments. Calcium superphosphate (32.7 kg P ha−1 for wheat and 26.2 kg P ha−1 for maize in
the NPK, NP, and PK treatments) and potassium sulfate (97.6 kg K ha−1 for the NPK, NK, and PK treatments) were
applied as basal fertilizers.
For the OM treatment, organic manure was applied at 2,758 kg ha−1 prior to each cropping season (wheat and
maize) in every year. For the 1/2OMN treatment, organic manure was applied at half the rate for the OM treatment.
The organic manure contained wheat straw, oil rapeseed cake, and cottonseed cake in a ratio of 100:40:45. These
materials were machine- ground into 3–5 mm lengths, mixed completely with a limited amount of water, and
composted for 2 months. The oil rapeseed cake and cottonseed cake were obtained from a commercial cooking-oil
com- pany. The composted organic manure contained 422 g kg−1 C, 54.4 g kg−1 total N, 8.1 g kg−1 total P, and
19.5 g kg−1 total K. Thus, the total P and K contained in the organic manure applied to the OM and 1/ 2OMN
treatments were less than those in the NPK treatment, and the total N contained in the organic manure applied to the
1/2OMN treatment was also less than that in the NPK treatment. To achieve the same levels of total N, P, and K
input as those of the NPK treatment, chemical fertilizers were supplied to the OM and 1/2OMN treatments. For the
1/2OMN treatment, urea was applied at a rate of 75 kg N ha−1 as supplemental fertilizer for maize, 15 kg N ha−1 as
basal fertilizer, and 60 kg N ha−1 as supplemental fertilizer for wheat. For the OM treatment, 10.4 and 3.9 kg P
ha−1 was basal applied to wheat and maize, respectively, and 70.7 kg K ha−1 was basal applied at both seasons. For
1/2OMN treatment, 21.5 and 15 kg P ha−1 was basal applied to wheat and maize, respectively, and 97.6 kg K ha−1
was basal applied at both seasons. All basal fertilizer and organic manure were evenly spread onto the soil surface
by hand and immediately incorporated into the plowed soil by tillage before sowing. Tillage was done to 20 cm
depth by shovel and followed by raker. To reduce ammonia volatilization from the alkaline soil, supplemental urea
was surface applied by hand, and then integrated into the plowed layer with 20 mm of irrigation water, generally in
February for wheat and in July for maize.
Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76 69
Soil sampling and analysis
A composite soil sample for each plot was prepared by mixing five soil cores (5 cm inner diameter and 20 cm
height) collected randomly with a soil core sampler from the surface soil (0–20 cm) after the winter wheat harvest in
2007. Samples were obtained after first removing any undecomposed plant debris from the soil surface. Immediately
after collection, the soil samples were brought to the laboratory for analysis of soil properties. The bulk density was
determined by using soil cores of known volume as described above. Soil cores were dried at 105°C in an oven for
48 h. The bulk density was calculated by dividing the weight of the dried soil by the volume of the core used. The
moist soil was sieved through a 2- mm mesh immediately and used for the soil water- soluble organic C (C
WS
), microbial biomass C (C
MB
), and C mineralization studies. The soil samples were air-dried
and sieved through a 2-mm mesh. Subsam- ples of <2 mm soil were then ground with a porcelain mortar to pass
0.149 and 0.5-mm meshes for determination of total organic C (C
T
) and labile C (C
L
), respectively. C
WS
was extracted from 10 g of moist soil with a soil- to-water ratio of 1:5 at 25°C. After shaking for 0.5 h at a
speed of 250 r min−1, and then centrifuging for 10 min at 15,000 r min−1, the supernatant was filtered using a
0.45-μm membrane filter (Jiang et al. 2006). The filtrate was measured using an automated total organic C analyzer
(TOC-Vcph, Shimadzu, Japan).
C
MB
was estimated using the fumigation–extraction method (Vance et al. 1987). Briefly, the moist soil
(equivalent to 20 g dry weight) was fumigated with chloroform for 24 h. After chloroform in the soil sample was
removed, the sample was promptly extracted with 0.5 mol L−1 K
2
SO
4
at a soil to extractant ratio of 1:2.5. The C concentrations of K
2
SO
4
-extracted solutions for the chloroform-treated and untreated soils were
measured using an automated total organic C analyzer (TOC-Vcph, Shimadzu, Japan). C
MB
was calculated by taking the difference between K
2
SO
4
- extracted C of the chloroform-treated soil and that of
untreated soils, and calibrated using the extraction efficiency factor of 0.38 (Jiang et al. 2006).
C mineralization was measured using a conven- tional laboratory incubation method. The 100 g soil (on an
oven-dried basis) was incubated in 1,000 mL glass jars in the dark at 28°C with 60% water holding
These capacity for 30 days. The evolved CO
2
was trapped in
two indices were used to calculate a CMI as 25
mL of 0.2 N NaOH in a vial inside the jars. The alkali was replaced every 5 days in the incubation
CMI = CPI x LI x 100.
period, at the same time water loss in the jars was
All data were expressed on the basis of oven-dry
replenished. The evolved CO
2
was precipitated by the
weight of soil. addition of BaCl
2
and the unspent alkali was titrated back with standard HCl to estimate the CO
2
–C evolved from soil (Yang et al. 2006).
Statistical analysis
133 C
mmol T
was L−1 determined K
2
Statistical analysis was completed using the SPSS10.0 software package for Windows. Statistically signifi- cant
differences were identified using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Shortest Significant Ranges (SSR) calculations
at the 0.05 probability level. Relationship between soil bulk density, C fractions, and CMI were examined by
calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient with the SPSS 10.0 program.
Results
Effect of different fertilization treatments on total soil organic carbon
Significant differences in C
T
among the soils of different fertilization treatments could be observed after 18 years
of field experiment (Table 1; Fig. 1). The highest C
T
content was observed with the OM treatment, while the CK treatment showed the lowest value.
Application of half organic manure with chemical fertilizer NPK (treatment 2) significantly increased the C
T by the wet oxidation method with at 170–180°C (Bao, in the
soil sample was determined by the 333 2000). mmol L−1
C
L
KMnO
4
Cr
2
O
7
oxidation method as described by Blair et al. (1995), and non-labile C (C
NL ) was calculated from difference between C
T
storage (kg C the m−2) of soil at 0–20 cm depth was calculated on an area basis. The amount of sequestered organic
C (kg C m−2) in 0–20 cm soil depth was estimated after deducting the C
T
and C
L
. C
T
storage in control from other treatments. CMI derived by Blair et al. (1995) was calculated for each of the
treatments using a reference sample value for the calculation. The mean of the four control samples (unfertilized soil
of control plot) was used as the reference in the experiment. Based on changes in C
T
between the reference site and sample site, a carbon pool index (CPI) was calculated as
CPI = ( sample C
T
)/ ( C
T
of reference soil ).
Based on changes in the proportion of C
L
in the soil (lability = L = C
L
/C
NL
), a lability index (LI) was determined as
LI = ( sample lability )/ ( lability of reference soil ).
content in soil over application of chemical fertilizer alone (treatments 3, 4, 5, and 6). For the
chemical fertilizer treatments, the balanced
Table 1 Soil bulk density, total organic C, water-soluble organic C, microbial biomass C, and labile C after 18 years’ different
fertilization treatments (average ± standard deviation; n=4)
Treatment Bulk density
(g cm−3)
C
T
(g kg−1) C
WS
(mg kg−1) C
WS
/C
T
(%) C
MB
(mg kg−1) C
MB
/C
T
(%) C
L
(g kg−1) C
L
/C
T
(%)
OM 1.20±0.05c 9.41±0.45a 552.7±39.7a 5.89±0.49a 135.8±10.7a 1.45±0.12a 1.43±0.09a 15.2±1.24a 1/2OMN 1.26±0.08bc
7.16±0.56b 367.4±21.2b 5.16±0.58b 98.7±5.7b 1.38±0.11ab 1.05±0.06b 14.7±1.74ab NPK 1.29±0.06bc 5.59±0.42c 266.6±26.8c
4.77±0.15bc 74.4±4.7c 1.34±0.10abc 0.78±0.04c 14.1±1.63ab NP 1.30±0.06b 5.21±0.46cd 234.1±20.3cd 4.53±0.62bcd
65.9±3.1c 1.27±0.11abc 0.70±0.05d 13.5±1.69abc PK 1.32±0.08ab 4.85±0.33de 211.3±21.4de 4.35±0.24cd 55.8±6.6d
1.16±0.18bc 0.62±0.03d 12.9±1.32bc NK 1.35±0.02ab 4.23±0.33ef 175.2±20.9ef 4.16±0.66cd 46.8±5.3de 1.11±0.16c
0.50±0.05e 11.8±1.37cd CK 1.40±0.04a 3.92±0.36f 153.3±14.6f 3.93±0.46d 41.7±4.7e 1.08±0.23c 0.42±0.04e 10.6±0.46d
Different letters in the same column are significantly different at P<0.05. C
WS
represent the proportion of C
WS
/C
T
, C
MB
/C
T
and C
L
/C
T , respectively C
T
, C
MB
and C
L
in C
T Total organic C, C
WS
water-soluble organic C, C
MB
microbial biomass C, C
L
labile C
70 Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76
C a
storage C sequestration b
A
c
c
cd d d B
C
CD
CD
D
Fig. 1 Soil carbon storage and sequestration under different fertilization treatments in 0–20 cm. Bars with different letters (lower
case for C storage and upper case for C sequestration) are significantly different at P<0.05
application of chemical fertilizer NPK (treatment 3) showed a significant higher C
T
content over the application of chemical fertilizer PK (treatment 5) and NK
(treatment 6), while there was no significant difference between the NPK and NP treatments for C
T
. All the fertilized soils showed a higher C
T
storage in 0–20 cm soil depth as compared with unfertilized soil. The
C
T
storage in the OM and 1/2OMN treatments was significantly increased by 58.0% and 26.6%,
respectively, over the NPK treatment. The C
T storage in the NPK treatment was 5.9%, 11.7%, and 25.4%
higher than that in the NP, PK, and NK treatments, respectively, while there was no signifi- cant difference among
the NPK, NP, and PK treat- ments. The amount of sequestered organic C was observed highest for OM (1.16 kg
m−2) followed by 1/2OMN (0.71 kg m−2), and both of them were significant higher than NPK (0.33 kg m−2), NP
(0.25 kg m−2), PK (0.18 kg m−2), and NK (0.04 kg m−2), while the balanced application of chemical fertilizer NPK
were not significant higher than the unbalanced use of fertilizers except NK.
Effect of different fertilization treatments on water-soluble organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, and labile
carbon
0
The effects of fertilization on soil C
WS
)
300 g k g m (
250
OM 1/2OMN NPK
*
d e
200
NP
* v l o v e C
150
PK NK CK
*
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Days of incubation
Fig. 2 Cumulative CO
2
*
-
* O C e v i t a l u m u C
100
50
*
, C
MB
, and C
L showed a similar trend to SOC (Table 1). The difference
between the NPK and NP treatments for the increase of C
WS
–C evolved from soil under different fertilization treatments. Symbol (asterisk) denotes significant and C
MB
was also not significant,
differences between the treatments at 0.05 level
Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76 71
)
m g k ( C c i n a g r o l i o S
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
O
M
1
M /2
O
N
N
P
K
N
P
P
K
N
K K
C
was but for the increase of C
L
significant. The content of C
WS
, C
MB
, and C
L
were increased by 260.5%, 225.7%, and 240.5% for the OM treatment, 139.7%, 136.7%,
and 150.0% for the 1/2OMN treatment, and 73.9%, 78.4%, and 85.7% for the NPK treatment, respectively, as
compared to the CK treatment.
The proportions of C
WS
as a percent of C
T
, C
MB
, and C
L were also significantly influenced by fertiliza- tion treatments (Table 1). For the
different treatments, C
WS
, C
MB
, and C
L
accounted for 3.93–5.89%, 1.08– 1.45%, and 10.6–15.2% of C
T
, respectively, and the highest value was observed with the OM treatment while the
CK treatment showed the lowest value.
Effect of different fertilization treatments on soil carbon mineralization
Figure 2 shows the C mineralization of different fertilization treatments. Mineralization rates increased slightly with
incubation time, and thus the cumulative CO
2
–C increased more than linearly with time. All treatment showed similar trend but the difference in cumulative
CO
2
–C of different treatment became more pronounced as the time progressed. The OM treatment
showed the greatest cumulative C mineralization in the whole incubation period, whereas the lowest C
mineralization was observed in the CK treatment. There was a significant increase in C mineralization in the
1/2OMN treatment over the NPK treatment. For the 30 days incubation, the total amounts of C mineralization in the
OM and 1/2OMN treatments were increased by 125.5% and 52.6%, respectively,
and over the NPK treatment, and that in the NPK treatment
correlation between C
MB
C
TM
was greater than
was 34.7%, 51.9%, and 100.1% higher than those in
that between C
MB
and other C fractions; this indicates
the NP, PK, and NK treatments, respectively. The
that C
TM
is mainly dependent on microbial activity
percent of C
T
that was mineralized was highest in the
and microbial biomass. CMI was found significantly OM
(2.69%) treatment followed by the 1/2OMN
correlated with BD, C
T
, C
WS
, C
MB
, C
L
, and C
TM
, and
(2.40%) and NPK (2.01%) treatments, and in the other
the correlation coefficient of CMI with C
T
was lower
treatments ranked NP (1.63%)>PK (1.53%)>NK
than CMI with C
WS
, C
MB
, C
L
, and C
TM
.
(1.33%)>CK(1.20%) during the span of study.
Effect of different fertilization treatments on soil
Discussion carbon management index
SOC play an important role in long-term ecosystem Soil
CPI, L, LI, and CMI were showed in Table 2.
productivity, in the global C cycle, and in maintaining
The effects of fertilization on soil CPI and CMI also
a soil nutrient pool and improving the availability of
showed a similar trend to SOC (Table 1). But for soil
soil nutrients. Fertilizer application generally results L
and LI, both OM and 1/2OMN were not signifi-
in increased crop yield and thus residue production. In
cantly higher than the NPK treatment, and the NPK
a study of crop biomass composition for wheat and
treatment was not significantly higher than unbal-
maize in the same region as this study, Wang et al. anced
use of chemical fertilizers except NK. The CMI
(1988) found ratios of crop yield to crop stubble and in
the OM and 1/2OMN treatments was increased by
of crop yield to root biomass in the top 20 cm to be
84.4% and 34.9%, respectively, over the NPK
1:0.30 and 1:0.48 for wheat and 1:0.26 and 1:0.20 for
treatment, and the CMI in the NPK treatment was
maize, respectively. In the present study, the above-
12.9%, 28.0%, and 62.4% higher than that in the NP,
ground biomass was removed except the crop stubble,
PK, and NK treatments, respectively.
the input of organic matter was through crop stubble, root biomass, and organic manure. Table 4 shows the
Relationships between soil bulk density, carbon
estimated mean annual input of crop stubble and root
fractions, and carbon management index
biomass. Compared with the CK treatment, the increase of C
T
for chemical fertilizer treatments
Statistical analysis confirmed positive correlations
(treatments 3, 4, 5, and 6) is because of greater input
between various soil C fractions and CMI; on the
of crop stubble and root biomass caused by better
contrary, bulk density (BD) negatively correlated with
crop growth. This especially holds for balanced all the C
fractions and CMI under different fertiliza-
application of chemical fertilizer NPK (treatment 3). tion
treatments (Table 3). The C
T
, as an independent
The increase of C
T
for organic manure treatments
variable, showed significant correlation with C
WS
,
(OM and 1/2OMN) was due to both organic amend- C
MB
, C
L
, and total C mineralization (C
TM
). The
ment and better crop growth. The annual organic
Table 2 Soil C pool index, lability, lability index, and C management index after 18 years’ different fertilization treatments
(average ± standard deviation; n=4)
Treatment CPI L LI CMI
OM 2.399±0.116a 0.179±0.017a 1.506±0.147a 360.4±28.5a 1/2OMN 1.827±0.142b 0.173±0.024ab 1.454±0.203ab 263.6±19.6b
NPK 1.426±0.108c 0.164±0.022ab 1.381±0.185ab 195.4±13.4c NP 1.328±0.116cd 0.156±0.022abc 1.313±0.188abc
173.0±14.2cd PK 1.237±0.083d 0.148±0.018bcd 1.241±0.148bcd 152.6±9.5d NK 1.080±0.084e 0.133±0.017cd 1.119±0.149cd
120.3±13.0e CK 1.000±0.092e 0.119±0.006d 1.000±0.046d 100.0±8.9e
Different letters in the same column are significantly different at P<0.05 CPI C pool index, L lability, LI lability index, CMI C
management index
72 Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76
carbon application in soil with the organic manure was 2,328 and 1,164 kg ha−1 in the OM and 1/2OMN treatments,
respectively. This would have resulted in significantly higher C storage and sequestration in the OM and 1/2OMN
treatments than those in the NPK, NP, PK, and NK treatments. The soil contained a very low SOC content (4.42 g C
kg−1) prior to the start of the experiment. From 1989 to 2007, the total SOC contents were increased in the fertilized
treatments except the NK treatment. The results indicate that as long as a certain level of crop yield can be achieved,
application of chemical fertilizer alone can maintain the SOC level, and if organic manure is applied, the SOC level
can be significantly improved. Similar effects of organic manure and chemical fertilizer application on SOC have
also been reported from long-term experiments elsewhere (Potter et al. 1998; Rudrappa et al. 2006).
Soil C
WS
composed mainly of organic acids and water-soluble carbohydrates plays an important role in the
translocation of nutrients and energetic com- pounds (Qualls and Haines 1992), and is considered as an indicator of
soil health and functioning (Saviozzi et al. 2001). C
WS
controls the nutrient turnover and the development of microbial popula- tions
(Dinwoodie and Juma 1988), and the content is often elevated when microbial activity is high (Kaiser et al. 2001).
McDowell and Likens (1988) reported that C
WS
was mainly from old SOM, and it was balanced with the other SOM fractions. Thus, high C
T in soils generally implies high C
WS
. In the present study, the C
WS
is positively and significantly corre- lated with C
T
and C
MB
. In most cases, organic manure treatments (OM and 1/2OMN) showed higher C
WS
Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76 73
Table 3 Linear correlation coefficients (r) between soil bulk density (g cm−3), total organic C (g kg−1), water-soluble organic C
(mg kg−1), microbial biomass C (mg kg−1), labile C (g kg−1), total C mineralization (mg kg−1), and C management index
BD C
T
C
WS
C
MB
C
L
C
TM
CMI
BD 1 C
T
-0.708* 1 C
WS
-0.706* 0.970* 1 C
MB
-0.726* 0.955* 0.973* 1 C
L
-0.701* 0.962* 0.977* 0.968* 1 C
TM
-0.693* 0.976* 0.980* 0.984* 0.982* 1 CMI -0.697* 0.952* 0.973* 0.965* 0.999* 0.977* 1
BD Bulk density, C
T
total organic C, C
WS
water-soluble organic C, C
MB
microbial biomass C, C
L
labile C, C
TM
total C mineralization,
CMI C management index *Significant at 1% level of significance
/C content and C
WS
T
than the chemical fertilizer treatments (NPK, NP, PK, and NK), except that C
WS
/C
T
in the 1/2OMN was not significantly differ- ent from NPK, and NP treatments. The reason might be that the
added organic manure contains much decayed soluble organic matter (Liang et al. 1997).
Soil C
MB
plays an important role in the short-term turnover of nutrients in soils (Alvarez et al. 1998); it generally
accounts for 1–5% of total SOC, and is considered to be an early indicator of changes in soil quality induced by
management practices (Powlson 1994). In addition, the proportion of C
MB
/ C
T
in C
T
(C
MB ) has been used as an indicator for C availability (Yan et al. 2003) and also can provide an effective early
indicator of soil quality (Powlson et al. 1987). Earlier studies have showed that application of manure increases C
MB
. However, the reported effects of chemical fertilizer on C
MB
were inconsistent. Omay
Table 4 Mean annual crop yield and estimate input of stubble and root biomass (from 1990 to 2007) under different fertilization
treatments (average ± standard deviation; n=4)
Treatment Wheat yield
(kg ha−1 year−1)
Maize yield
Estimated input (kg ha−1 year−1)
of stubble and root biomass
OM 3,436±69d 5,994±39d 5,747 1/2OMN 4,484±60b 6,811±60b 6,631 NPK 4,609±29a 6,922±71a 6,779 NP 4,415±19c
6,544±71c 6,454 PK 1,078±38e 1,481±55e 1,522 NK 594±11f 870±25f 863 CK 568±32f 766±55g 795
et al. (1997) reported that the use of chemical fertilizer decreased C
MB
, while Grego et al. (1998) reported that chemical fertilizers was characterized by a small C
MB
—as small as in the control soil. In the present study, both organic manure and chemical fertilizer application
increased C
MB
content and C
MB
/C
T
, as compared to the CK treatment, which is in agreement with
Xue et al. (2006). The fact that chemical fertilizer increased C
MB
in the present study is probably because chemical fertilization resulted in higher organic carbon input
to soils, which implies that microbial biomass is more controlled by substrate supply and less affected directly by
chemical fertilizer.
Soil C
L
is comprised of amino acids, simple carbohydrates, a fraction of microbial biomass, and other simple
organic compounds (Zou et al. 2005), and is a fraction of SOC with a turnover time of less than a few years as
compared to recalcitrant C with a turnover time of several thousand years (Parton et al. 1987). The C
L
can be used effectively to monitor the rate of change in soil C, and therefore has been suggested as
an early indicator of the effects of soil management and cropping systems on SOM quality (Naklang et al. 1999). In
the present study, the organic manure treatments (OM and 1/2OMN) showed higher C
L
content and proportion of C
L
in C
T
(C
L
/C
T
) over the chemical fertilizer treatments (NPK, NP, PK, and NK),
and the C
L
positively and significantly correlat- ed with the C
T
, C
WS
, C
MB
, and C
TM
. Therefore, the left-over crop root and stubble might enter the labile pools of
C, and organic manure application has also contributed to this labile C pool in soil. The C
L
/C
T ranged from 10.6% to 15.2% in the soils of present study.
The values were similar to those reported by Contech et al. (1997) and Rudrappa et al. (2006).
Soil is a potential C sink, and its capacity to store and sequester organic C is determined by a dynamical
equilibrium between C inputs from primary biomass production and organic material application and C outputs by
mineralization (Kögel-Knabner et al. 2008; Li et al. 2006). The higher C mineralization of the fertilized treatments
represents higher losses of organic C and higher rates of organic matter turnover. A larger input over output of
organic matter is the reason for the increase of total SOC and its various fractions in the fertilized treatments. This
implied that a high amount of organic material input through better crop production and/or manure application is
required for increasing the soil organic C pools.
74 Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76
The CMI has been used to assess the capacity of management practices to promote soil quality (Blair et al. 1995;
Vieira et al. 2007). In the present study, the CMI in soils that received fertilizers was higher than in the CK
treatment, and organic manure treatments (OM and 1/2OMN) showed higher CMI over chem- ical fertilizer
treatments (NPK, NP, PK, and NK). The result is in agreement with Blair et al. (2006) who reported that manure and
manure with chemical fertilizer significantly increased CMI compared with any other chemical fertilizer treatments
in a long-term experiment started from 1843. This was because of the increase in annual C addition and the changes
in organic matter quality, thus modifying the lability of C to KMnO
4
oxidation (Tirol-Padre and Ladha 2004). In addition, the CMI significantly correlated with soil bulk
density, C
T
, C
WS
, C
MB
, and C
TM
in our study. These results reinforced the suitability of using labile C for
calculating the CMI and the CMI as a reliable index to assess the quality of soil management systems. Therefore,
application of organic manure (OM and 1/2OMN), especially for the OM treatment, is more appropriate to improve
the soil quality in the wheat–maize cropping system in North China Plain than application of chemical fertilizers
alone.
Conclusions
In a soil with low SOC content and cultivated with wheat–maize rotation in the North China Plain, the long-term
application of organic manure and chem- ical fertilizer increased the content of C
T
, C
WS
, C
MB
, C
L
, C mineralization, and CMI as well as the proportions of C
WS
, C
MB
, and C
L
in C
T
, as compared to the CK treatment. While OM treatment was found to be the
most efficient management system in accumulating as well as sequestering organic C, a large amount of organic C
storage and sequestration could also be achieved by the application of half organic manure with chemical fertilizer
NPK (treat- ment 2). Taken the fertilizer costs (include the preparation), crop yield, and C sequestration into
consideration, organic manure applied at those rates (2,758 and 1,379 kg ha−1 for OM and 1/2OMN, respectively, at
each crop) were not a feasible option for farmers, but a feasible option for sequestering SOC. Balanced chemical
fertilization could get high- est crop yields and thus increased soil C fractions
through stubble and root biomass input, which leads to a more sustainable system. The stimulating effect of
fertilization on C mineralization was due more to substrate increase, and thus the total SOC and its various fractions
were increased. The significant correlation between the CMI and soil bulk density and C fractions suggests that CMI
is a useful index for assessing the changes of soil quality induced by soil management practices.
Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Knowl- edge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Science
(Project No: kzcx2-yw-312, kzcx2-yw-406-2). We would like to thank Professors Shengwu Qin and Qiao Jiang for their
technical assistance.
References
Alvarez CR, Alvarez R, Grigera MS, Lavado RS (1998) Associations between organic matter fractions and the active soil
microbial biomass. Soil Biol Biochem 30:767–773 Bao SD (2000) Soil and agricultural chemistry analysis. China
Agricultural Press, Bejing, pp 30–34, in Chinese Blair GJ, Lefroy RDB, Lisle L (1995) Soil carbon fractions based on their
degree of oxidation, and the development of a carbon management index for agricultural systems. Aust J Agric Res
46:1459–1466 Blair N, Faulkner RD, Till AR, Poulton PR (2006) Long-term management impacts on soil C, N and physical
fertility. Part I: broadbalk experiment. Soil Tillage Res 91:30–38 Contech A, Lefroy RDB, Blair GJ (1997) Dynamics of organic
matter in soils as determined by variation in 13C/12C isotopic ratio and fractionation by ease of oxidation. Aust J Soil Res
35:881–890 Dinwoodie GD, Juma NG (1988) Allocation and microbial utilization of C in two soils cropped to barley. Can J Soil
Sci 68:495–505 Grego S, Marinari S, Moscatelli MC, Badalucco L (1998) Effect of ammonium nitrate and stabilized farmyard
manure on microbial biomass and metabolic quotient of soil under Zea mays. Agric Mediterr 128:132–137 Haynes RJ (2000)
Labile organic matter as an indicator of organic matter quality in arable and pastoral soils in New Zealand. Soil Biol Biochem
32:211–219 Jiang PK, Xu QF, Xu ZH, Cao ZH (2006) Seasonal changes in soil labile organic carbon pools within a
Phyllostachys praecox stand under high rate fertilization and winter mulch in subtropical China. For Ecol Manag 236:30–36
Johnston AE (1986) Soil organic carbon: effects on soils and
crops. Soil Use Manage 2:97–105 Kaiser K, Guggenberger G, Haumaier L, Zech W (2001) Seasonal changes in the
chemical composition of dis- solved organic matter in organic forest floor leachates of old-growth Scots pine (Pinus sylvestries
L.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) stand in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. Biogeochem 55:103–143
Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76 75
Kögel-Knabner I, Ekschmitt K, Flessa H, Guggenberger G, Matzner E, Marschner B et al (2008) An integrative approach of
organic matter stabilization in temperate soils: linking chemistry, physics, and biology. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 171:5–13 Li ZP,
Zhang TL, Chen BY (2006) Changes in organic carbon and nutrient contents of highly productive paddy soils in Yujiang county
of Jiangxi province, China and their environmental application. Agric Sci China 5:522–529 Liang BC, Mackenzie AF, Schnitzer
M, Monreal CM, Voroney PR, Beyaert RP (1997) Management-induced change in labile soil organic matter under continuous
corn in eastern Canadian soils. Biol Fertil Soils 26:88–94 Lin YM, Ren HZ, Yu JJ, Yao ZJ (2000) Balance between land use and
water resources in the north China plain. J Nat Resour 15(3):252–258, in Chinese McDowell WH, Likens GE (1988) Origin,
composition, and flux of dissolved organic carbon in the Hubbard Brook Valley. Ecol Monogr 58:177–195 Naklang K,
Whitbread A, Lefroy R, Blair G, Wonprasaid S, Konboon Y et al (1999) The management of rice straw, fertilisers and leaf litters
in rice cropping systems in Northeast Thailand. 1. Soil carbon dynamics. Plant Soil 209:21–28 Omay AB, Rice CW, Maddux
LD, Gordon WB (1997) Soil microbial and chemical property under long crop rotation and fertilization. Soil Sci Soc Am J
61:1672–1678 Parton WJ, Schimel DS, Cole CV, Ojima D (1987) Analysis of factors controlling soil organic matter levels in
great plains grasslands. Soil Sci Soc Am J 51:1173–1179 Potter KN, Torbert HA, Jones OR, Matoch JE, Morrison JE (1998)
Distribution and amount of soil organic carbon in long term management systems in Texas. Soil Tillage Res 47:309–321
Powlson DS (1994) The soil microbial biomass before, beyond and back. In: Ritz K, Dighton J, Giller KE (eds) Beyond the
biomass. Wiley, Chichester, UK, pp 3–20 Powlson DS, Brookes PC, Christensen BT (1987) Measure- ment of soil microbial
biomass provides an early indica- tion of changes in total soil organic matter due to straw incorporation. Soil Biol Biochem
19:159–164 Qualls RG, Haines BL (1992) Biodegradability of dissolved organic matter in forest through fall, soil solution and
stream water. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56:578–586 Rudrappa L, Purakayastha TJ, Singh D, Bhadraray S (2006) Long-term manuring
and fertilization effects on soil organic carbon pools in a Typic Haplustept of semi-arid sub-tropical India. Soil Tillage Res
88:180–192 Saviozzi A, Levi-Minzi R, Cardelli R, Riffaldi R (2001) A comparison of soil quality in adjacent cultivated, forest
and native grassland soils. Plant Soil 233:251–259 Sparling GP, Schipper LA, Bettjeman W, Hill R (2004) Soil quality
monitoring in New Zealand: practical lessons from a 6-year trial. Agric Ecosyst Environ 104:523–534 Tirol-Padre A, Ladha JK
(2004) Assessing the reliability of permanganate-oxidizable carbon as an index of soil labile carbon. Soil Sci Soc Am J
68:969–978 Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring microbial biomass C. Soil Biol
Biochem 19:703–707 Vieira FCB, Bayer C, Zanatta JA, Dieckow J, Mielniczuk J, He ZL (2007) Carbon management index
based on physical fractionation of soil organic matter in an Acrisol
under long-term no-till cropping systems. Soil Tillage Res 96:195–204 Wang WM, Zhang JQ, Wang WS, Cai DX, Zhang MR
(1988) A study on the organic matter balance in the soil of farmlands in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. Sci Agric Sin 21 (1):19–26,
in Chinese Whitbread AM, Lefroy RDB, Blair GJ (1998) A survey of the impact of cropping on soil physical and chemical
properties in north-western New South Wales. Aust J Soil Res 36:669–681 Xue D, Yao HY, Huang CY (2006) Microbial
biomass, N mineralization and nitrification, enzyme activities, and microbial community diversity in tea orchard soils. Plant Soil
288:319–331
76 Plant Soil (2009) 314:67–76
Yang CM, Yang LZ, Zhu OY (2005) Organic carbon and its fractions in paddy soil as affected by different nutrient and water
regimes. Geoderma 124:133–142 Yang LX, Pan JJ, Yuan SF (2006) Predicting dynamics of soil organic carbon mineralization
with a double exponential model in different forest belts of China. J For Res 17:39–43 Yan T, Yang L, Campbell CD (2003)
Microbial biomass and metabolic quotient of soils under different land use in the three Gorges reservoir area. Geoderma
115:129–138 Zou XM, Ruan HH, Fu Y, Yang XD, Sha LQ (2005) Estimating soil labile organic carbon and potential turnover
rates using a sequential fumigation–incubation procedure. Soil Biol Biochem 37:1923–1928