Evaluating Fertilization Effects on Soil Physical Properties Using a Soil Quality Index in an Intensive Rice-Wheat Cropping System

• Published in: Pedosphere 2016-12, Vol.26 (6), p.887-894
• Main Authors: DAS, Bappa, CHAKRABORTY, Debashis, SINGH, Vinod Kumar, AHMED, Mukhtar, SINGH, Amit Kumar, BARMAN, Arijit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural management; Agricultural research; Animal wastes; Bulk density; C input; Cereal crops; Correlation analysis; Crop management; Crop residues; Crop yield; Cropping systems; Crops; Fertilization; Fertilizers; integrated nutrient management; Mathematical models; Physical properties; Quality assessment; Quality control; Regression analysis; Residues; Rice; Soil analysis; Soil conservation; Soil fertility; Soil layers; Soil management; Soil permeability; Soil physical properties; Soil properties; Soil quality; Sustainability; Sustainability management; total organic C; water-holding capacity; water-stable aggregates; Wheat; Zinc; 土壤物理性质; 土壤质量指数; 土壤质量评价; 小麦产量; 施肥; 稻作; 稻麦轮作系统; 集约化
• ISSN: 1002-0160; 2210-5107
• DOI: 10.1016/S1002-0160(15)60093-5

Soil quality assessment has been suggested as an effective tool for evaluating sustainability of soil and crop management practices. The objective of this study was to develop a sensitive soil quality index （SQI） based on bulk density （BD）, water-holding capacity （WHC）, water-stable aggregates （WSA）, aggregate mean weight diameter （AMWD）, total organic C （TOC） and C input to evaluate the important rice-wheat cropping system on an Inceptisol in India. A long-term experiment has been conducted for 18 years at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Modipuram, India. The treatments selected for this study were comprised of a no-fertilizer control and N, P and K fertilizers （NPK） combined with Zn and S fertilizers （NPK ＋ Zn ＋ S）, farmyard manure （NPK ＋ FYM）, green gram residues （NPK ＋ GR） and cereal residues （NPK ＋ CR）, laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for BD, WHC, WSA and TOC. Correlation analysis revealed that both rice and wheat yields significantly increased with the increases in AMWD, TOC and C input, but decreased with the increase in BD. The SQI values were then generated based on regression analysis of BD, WSA, AMWD, TOC and C input with rice and wheat yields for the 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil layers, respectively. Regression analyses between crop yields and SQI values showed a quadratic type of relation with the coefficient of determination （R^2） varying from 0.78 to 0.89. With regard to soil sustainability, applying crop residues to both rice and wheat could maintain soil quality for a longer period, whereas the highest yields of both the crops were recorded in the NPK ＋ Zn ＋ S treatment. The regression equations developed in this study could be used to monitor soil quality in a subhumid tropical rice-wheat cropping system.