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Title: STOCK AND DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL AND CORN-DERIVED SOIL ORGANIC CARBON IN AGGREGATE AND PRIMARY PARTICLE FRACTIONS FOR DIFFERENT LAND USE AND SOIL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Journal Article · · Soil Science

Land use, soil management, and cropping systems affect stock, distribution, and residence time of soil organic carbon (SOC). Therefore, SOC stock and its depth distribution and association with primary and secondary particles were assessed in long-term experiments at the North Appalachian Experimental Watersheds near Coshocton, Ohio, through *13C techniques. These measurements were made for five land use and soil management treatments: (1) secondary forest, (2) meadow converted from no-till (NT) corn since 1988, (3) continuous NT corn since 1970, (4) continuous NT corn-soybean in rotation with ryegrass since 1984, and (5) conventional plow till (PT) corn since 1984. Soil samples to 70-cm depth were obtained in 2002 in all treatments. Significant differences in soil properties were observed among land use treatments for 0 to 5-cm depth. The SOC concentration (g C kg*1 of soil) in the 0 to 5-cm layer was 44.0 in forest, 24.0 in meadow, 26.1 in NT corn, 19.5 in NT corn-soybean, and 11.1 i n PT corn. The fraction of total C in corn residue converted to SOC was 11.9% for NT corn, 10.6% for NT corn-soybean, and 8.3% for PT corn. The proportion of SOC derived from corn residue was 96% for NT corn in the 0 to 5-cm layer, and it decreased gradually with depth and was 50% in PT corn. The mean SOC sequestration rate on conversion from PT to NT was 280 kg C ha*1 y*1. The SOC concentration decreased with reduction in aggregate size, and macro-aggregates contained 15 to 35% more SOC concentration than microaggregates. In comparison with forest, the magnitude of SOC depletion in the 0 to 30-cm layer was 15.5 Mg C/ha (24.0%) in meadow, 12.7 Mg C/ha (19.8%) in NT corn, 17.3 Mg C/ha (26.8%) in NT corn-soybean, and 23.3 Mg C/ha (35.1%) in PT corn. The SOC had a long turnover time when located deeper in the subsoil.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
15016905
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-45233; SOSCAK; KP1202020; TRN: US200516%%1200
Journal Information:
Soil Science, Vol. 170, Issue 4; ISSN 0038-075X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English