Carbon and nitrogen pools in different aggregates of a Chinese Mollisol as influenced by long-term fertilization

• Published in: Journal of soils and sediments 2010-09, Vol.10 (6), p.1018-1026
• Main Authors: Chen, Ying, Zhang, Xudong, He, Hongbo, Xie, Hongtu, Yan, Ying, Zhu, Ping, Ren, Jun, Wang, Lichun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulation; Aggregate; Aggregates; Agricultural land; Carbon; Clay; Continuous cropping; Distribution patterns; Earth and Environmental Science; Environ Risk Assess; Environment; Environmental Physics; fertilization (reproduction); Fertilizer application; Fertilizers; Land resources; Manures; Microorganisms; Mineral fertilizers; Mollisol; Nitrogen; Organic carbon; Organic fertilizers; Organic matter; Organic wastes; Sec 2 Global Change; Silt; Soil aggregates; soil organic carbon; Soil organic matter; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil sciences; Soils; Sustainable Land Use Research Article; Sustainable use; Zea mays
• ISSN: 1439-0108; 1614-7480
• DOI: 10.1007/s11368-009-0123-8

Purpose It is known that soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics are sensitive to fertilizations, but it is different from soil to soil. It is unclear how the long-term applications of organic manure and mineral fertilizers impact the accumulation and distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) especially in soil aggregate fractions of Chinese Mollisols, which have been intensively cultivated for decades under maize monocropping and conventional tillage ways. Thereby, the research of this kind is very important for the sustainable use of agricultural land in China, where land resources are extremely limited for its huge population. The objectives of this study were to identify how the long-term fertilization treatments would affect the aggregate, SOC and TN distribution pattern in the Chinese Mollisol, and how soil aggregation contribute to the storage and stabilization process of SOC and TN. Materials and methods Soils were sampled in April 2005 from a long-term experiment site established in 1979. Six treatments were selected as follows: CK (zero fertilizer), NPK (mineral fertilizers), M1 (organic manure at lower level), M1NPK (combination of M1 and NPK), M2 (organic manure at higher level) and M2NPK (combination of M2 and NPK). Four aggregate fractions, i.e., large macroaggregate (>2,000 µm), small macroaggregate (250-2,000 µm), microaggregate (53-250 µm) and silt + clay fraction (53 µm fractions than in