Long-term effect of contrasted tillage and crop management on soil carbon dynamics during 41 years

• Published in: Agriculture, ecosystems & environment ecosystems & environment, 2014-04, Vol.188, p.134-146
• Main Authors: Dimassi, Bassem, Mary, Bruno, Wylleman, Richard, Labreuche, Jérôme, Couture, Daniel, Piraux, François, Cohan, Jean-Pierre
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon; Crop management; Crop production; Cropping systems. Cultivation. Soil tillage; Crops; Dynamics; Environmental Sciences; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Life Sciences; Long-term; Management; New technology; Raw materials; Residues; SOC; Soil (material); Soil organic carbon; Soil tillage; Tillage; Tillage. Tending. Growth control; Vegetal Biology
• ISSN: 0167-8809; 1873-2305; 0167-8809
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2014.02.014

•40 years of full inversion, shallow or no-tillage lead to similar SOC stocks over the ploughed layer or down to 60cm.•In the reduced tillage treatments, SOC accumulated in the upper layer (0–10cm) but declined continuously below 10cm.•The amount of C sequestered due to reduced tillage followed a non-monotonic pattern over time.•Changes in SOC over time in the upper layer of no-till were negatively correlated with the water balance.•C sequestration rate was positive in dry periods and negative in wet conditions. Although numerous studies have been conducted on the effect of tillage on soil organic carbon (SOC), there is still no consensus on the importance of sequestration which can be expected from reduced tillage. Most studies have used a synchronic approach in fields or long-term experiments which were often poorly characterized with respect to initial conditions. In this paper, we used a diachronic approach to quantify SOC changes in a 41 years experiment comparing no-till (NT), shallow till (ST) and full inversion tillage (FIT) combined with crop managements (residues removal, rotation and catch crops). It included SOC measurements at time 0 and every 4 years, calculations at equivalent soil mass within or below the old ploughed layer. Results show that tillage or crop management had no significant effect on SOC stocks after 41 years both in the old ploughed layer (ca. 0–28cm) and deeper (ca. 0–58cm). Tillage had no effect on crop yields and residues. In the reduced tillage treatments (ST and NT), SOC accumulated in the surface layer (0–10cm), reaching a plateau after 24 years but declined continuously in the lower layer (10–28cm) at a rate of 0.42–0.44% yr−1. The difference in SOC stocks (ST or NT minus FIT) over the old ploughed layer followed a non-monotonic pattern over time. Reduced tillage caused a rapid SOC sequestration during the first 4 years which remained more or less constant (mean=2.17 and 1.31tha−1, resp.) during the next 24 years and disappeared after 28 years. The drop was attributed to the higher water balance recorded during years 24–28. In the reduced tillage treatments, the changes in SOC over time were negatively correlated with the water balance, indicating that sequestration rate was positive in dry periods and negative in wet conditions. This study highlights the interest of diachronic approaches to understand the effect of tillage and its interaction with environmental and management factors.