Tillage and its temporal effects on soil organic matter and microbial characteristics in the semi-arid central South Africa
P. F. Loke
A * , H. G. Heine A , O. H. J. Rhode B , E. Kotzé A and C. C. Du Preez A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, University of the Free State, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.
B Agricultural Research Council – Grain Crops, Private Bag X1251, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.
Soil Research 60(3) 294-309 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR21141
Submitted: 2 June 2021 Accepted: 31 August 2021 Published: 11 November 2021
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: Tillage has temporal effects on soil organic matter and microbial attributes.
Aim: Three tillage systems (NT, no-tillage; MT, mulch tillage; MP, mouldboard ploughing) were used to assess the impact on soil quality indicators such as gravimetric soil water content (GSWC), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), easily extractable-glomalin (GEE), dehydrogenase (DHA), β-glucosidase (β-glu), urease (URE), acid-(AcP) and alkaline-(AlP) phosphatase over time in a sandy-loam Plinthustalf cropped annually with winter wheat and occasionally oat in eastern Free State.
Methods: Samples were collected during oat (October 2010, November 2010), fallow (February 2011, April 2011, May 2011) and wheat (August 2011, September 2011, October 2011) phases at 0–5 and 5–10 cm depth.
Results: When averaged over sampling dates, GSWC, SOC, TN and enzyme activities were 6–85% higher under NT than in MT and MP in the upper 5 cm soil. Trends changed at the 5–10 cm depth, with 20–32% higher enzyme activities recorded under MT. Soil quality indicators exhibited different trends over time, with GSWC, TN, DHA, AcP and AlP generally increasing during the fallow period and decreasing during oat and wheat phases, while β-glu was higher during both crop phases than at fallowing. URE was 33.6–174.3% higher during the oat phase than at the fallow and wheat phases. The opposite was observed with SOC, C/N ratio and GEE.
Conclusions: Enzyme activities were sensitive indicators, but SOC and TN can be used to assess temporal changes in soil quality in resource-limited countries.
Implications: However, temporal effects on SOC and TN were probably built in the long-term, hence further research focusing on multiple seasons is required.
Keywords: enzyme activities, nutrient cycling, sampling dates, semi-arid agro-ecosystems, soil organic matter, straw management, tillage practices, wheat production.
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