Effects of Straw Return in Deep Soils with Urea Addition on the Soil Organic Carbon Fractions in a Semi-Arid Temperate Cornfield.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27123594.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0153214 and PMC identifier 4849761.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Returning straw to deep soil layers by using a deep-ditching-ridge-ploughing method is an innovative management practice that improves soil quality by increasing the soil organic carbon (SOC) content. However, the optimum quantity of straw return has not been determined. To solve this practical production problem, the following treatments with different amounts of corn straw were investigated: no straw return, CK; 400 kg ha-1 straw, S400; 800 kg ha-1 straw, S800; 1200 kg ha-1 straw, S1200; and 1600 kg ha-1 straw, S1600. After straw was returned to the soil for two years, the microbial biomass C (MBC), easily oxidized organic C (EOC), dissolved organic C (DOC) and light fraction organic C (LFOC) content were measured at three soil depths (0-10, 10-20, and 20-40 cm). The results showed that the combined application of 800 kg ha-1 straw significantly increased the EOC, MBC, and LFOC contents and was a suitable agricultural practice for this region. Moreover, our results demonstrated that returning straw to deep soil layers was effective for increasing the SOC content.
Medical subject headings
- Carbon
- Plant Stems
- Soil
- Urea
- Zea mays