Dataset Information

Tillage and nitrogen fertilization enhanced belowground carbon allocation and plant nitrogen uptake in a semi-arid canola crop-soil system.

ABSTRACT: Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) allocation and assimilation are coupled processes, likely influencing C accumulation, N use efficiency and plant productivity in agro-ecosystems. However, dynamics and responses of these processes to management practices in semi-arid agro-ecosystems are poorly understood. A field-based ¹³CO₂ and urea-¹⁵N pulse labelling experiment was conducted to track how C and N allocation and assimilation during canola growth from flowering to maturity were affected by short-term (2-year) tillage (T) and no-till (NT) with or without 100?kg urea-N ha^-1 (T-0, T-100, NT-0, NT-100) on a Luvisol in an Australian semi-arid region. The T-100 caused greater (P?13C retention in aggregate-size fractions. In conclusion, tillage and N fertilization increased belowground C allocation and crop N uptake and yield, possibly via enhancing root-microbial interactions, with minimal impact on soil properties.

SUBMITTER: Sarker JR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5587530 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tillage and nitrogen fertilization enhanced belowground carbon allocation and plant nitrogen uptake in a semi-arid canola crop-soil system.

Sarker Jharna Rani JR Singh Bhupinder Pal BP He Xinhua X Fang Yunying Y Li Guangdi D GD Collins Damian D Cowie Annette L AL

Scientific reports 20170906 1

Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) allocation and assimilation are coupled processes, likely influencing C accumulation, N use efficiency and plant productivity in agro-ecosystems. However, dynamics and responses of these processes to management practices in semi-arid agro-ecosystems are poorly understood. A field-based 13CO2 and urea-15N pulse labelling experiment was conducted to track how C and N allocation and assimilation during canola growth from flowering to matu ...[more]

PMID: 28878351

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Project description:Energy and carbon (C) footprints of agricultural production practices have garnered high attention due to rising energy costs and increasing global warming. However, the contribution of conservation and regenerative farming practices, including cover cropping, on energy and C footprints have not yet been documented for cropping systems in arid and semi-arid regions. This study evaluated the energy and C footprint of cover crop integrated silage maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) production systems in the semi-arid region of the southwestern US. The treatments were mixtures of winter cover crops: i) grasses and legumes (GL), ii) grasses, brassicas, and legumes (GBL), iii) grasses and brassicas (GB), and iv) no cover crops (NCC) control for each crop production system. Results showed cover crops had 24.1-24.5% greater energy input than NCC. In silage maize rotation, energy output was 17-22% greater in GBL and GL than in NCC. In silage sorghum rotation, the energy output was 15-24% greater in all cover crops than in NCC. The resulting net energy was 16-21% greater in GBL and GL than in NCC under silage maize, while it was 18-24% greater in GBL and GB than in NCC under silage sorghum. In the silage maize system, the C-footprint per kg yield was not different among treatments, whereas in silage sorghum, it was 58% greater in GBL than in NCC. The benefit-to-cost ratio was greater than one for all treatments, but the additional revenue through C credit programs could make cover cropping a more feasible and beneficial approach, improving economic and environmental sustainability while producing silage crops. While the C footprint was crop rotation specific, cover cropping should be encouraged over crop-fallow systems to producers in semi-arid environments to reduce energy usage and increase C-credit benefits. Clear national and state policy on the C credit program will also enhance economic and environmental benefits by adopting cover cropping and other regenerative farming practices.

Project description:BackgroundIn the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, overexploitation of fertilizers and extensive irrigation with brackish groundwater have led to soil degradation and large areas of farmland have been abandoned. In order to improve the soil quality of abandoned farmland and make reasonable use of brackish groundwater, we conducted field trials in 2013 and 2014.MethodsIn our study, we used three fertilization modes (CF, chemical fertilizer; OM, organic manure and chemical fertilizer; NF, no fertilizer) and three deficit irrigation levels (I0: 0 mm; I75: 75 mm; I150: 150 mm).ResultsThe results showed that the activities of soil urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, catalase, and dehydrogenase in the OM treatment were significantly improved compared with those in the CF and NF treatments under the three deficit irrigation levels. Compared with NF, the OM treatment significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC), water-soluble carbon (WSC), total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN), and soil respiration rate, and significantly decreased soil C:N and MBC:MBN ratios and the metabolic quotient, thus improving the soil quality of abandoned farmland. Furthermore, the OM treatment increased alfalfa plant height, leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content, and biomass yield. Under the CF and OM fertilization modes, the activities of urease and catalase in I150 were significantly higher than those in I0, whereas irrigating without fertilizer did not significantly increase the activity of these two enzymes. Regardless of fertilization, alkaline phosphatase activity increased with an increase in irrigation amount, whereas invertase activity decreased.DiscussionThe results showed that deficit irrigation with brackish groundwater under the OM treatment can improve soil quality. Over the two years of the study, maximum SOC, total nitrogen, WSC, MBC, and MBN were observed under the OM-I150 treatment, and the alfalfa biomass yield of this treatment was also significantly higher than that of the OM-I0 treatment. Therefore, the OM-I150 treatment could be used as a suitable measure not only to improve the quality of abandoned farmland soil but also to increase the alfalfa biomass yield in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China.

Dataset Information

Tillage and nitrogen fertilization enhanced belowground carbon allocation and plant nitrogen uptake in a semi-arid canola crop-soil system.

Publications

Tillage and nitrogen fertilization enhanced belowground carbon allocation and plant nitrogen uptake in a semi-arid canola crop-soil system.

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