Influence of organic and mineral fertilisation on organic matter fractions of a Brazilian Acrisol under maize/common bean intercrop
L. F. C. Leite A D , E. S. Mendonça B and P. L. O. A. Machado CA Embrapa Middle-North, Caixa Postal 01, Teresina 64006-220, PI, Brazil.
B Departamento de Solos, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36571-000 Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
C Embrapa Rice and Beans, Caixa Postal 179, 75375-000 Santo Antônio de Goiás, GO, Brazil.
D Corresponding author. Email: luizf@cpamn.embrapa.br
Australian Journal of Soil Research 45(1) 25-32 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR06029
Submitted: 23 March 2006 Accepted: 5 December 2006 Published: 14 February 2007
Abstract
In 1984, a field experiment was initiated in Coimbra, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, involving the combination of 3 levels of mineral fertilisers at control (0); 10 kg N/ha, 15 kg P/ha, and 17 kg K/ha (MF1); 20 kg N/ha, 30 kg P/ha, and 34 kg K/ha (MF2); and 2 levels of organic compost at control (0) and 40 m3/ha (OC) in a maize/common bean intercrop. Soil samples were collected (0–0.10 and 0.10–0.20 m) in 2000 to evaluate the impact of mineral and organic compost on total carbon (TOC) and nitrogen (TN) stocks and on organic carbon pools of a Ferric Acrisol (Chromosol in the Australian Soil Classification). Additional soil samples were collected from an adjacent site covered by secondary Atlantic Forest as a reference. The conversion of forest to agriculture caused a reduction in most of TOC, TN, and microbial biomass carbon, free-light fraction carbon (CLF), and non-labile carbon. The carbon pools in cultivated plot were enhanced by the addition of compost alone. At both depths, TOC and TN stocks were higher (P < 0.05) in the MF2 + OC than MF2 treatment. Compared to soils that have received mineral fertiliser alone or combined with compost, the stocks of labile organic carbon, TN, and CLF were significantly affected (P < 0.05) by the sole application of compost.
Additional keywords: Tropical ecosystems, microbial biomass, light fraction carbon, humic substances, labile organic carbon, carbon index.
Anderson TH, Domsch KH
(1989) Ratios of microbial biomass carbon to total organic carbon in arable soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 21, 471–479.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Balota EL,
Colozi-Filho A,
Andrade DS, Dick RP
(2004) Long-term tillage and crop rotation effects on microbial biomass and C and N mineralization in a Brazilian Oxisol. Soil and Tillage Research 77, 137–145.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Blair GJ,
Lefroy RDB, Lisle L
(1995) Soil carbon fractions based on their degree of oxidation, and development of a carbon management index for agricultural systems. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 46, 1459–1466.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Carter MR,
Gregorich EG,
Angers DA,
Donald RG, Bolinder MA
(1998) Organic C and N storage, and organic fractions, in adjacent cultivated and forested soils of eastern Canada. Soil and Tillage Research 47, 253–261.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Drinkwater LE,
Wagoner P, Sarrantonio M
(1998) Legume-based cropping systems have reduced carbon and nitrogen losses. Nature 396, 262–265.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ellert BH,
Janzen HH, Entz T
(2002) Assessment of a method to measure temporal change in soil carbon storage. Soil Science Society of America Journal 66, 1687–1695.
Fortuna A,
Harwood RR, Paul EA
(2003) The effects of compost and crop rotations on carbon turnover and the particulate organic matter fraction. Soil Science 168, 434–444.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Freixo AA,
Machado PLOA,
Santos HP,
Silva CA, Fadigas FS
(2002) Soil organic carbon and fractions of a Rhodic Ferralsol under the influence of tillage and crop rotation systems in southern Brazil. Soil and Tillage Research 64, 221–230.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Graham MH,
Haynes RJ, Meyer JH
(2002) Soil organic matter content and quality: effects of fertilizer applications, burning and trash retention on a long-term sugarcane experiment in South Africa. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 34, 93–102.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Islam KR, Weil RR
(1998) Microwave irradiation of soil for routine measurement of microbial biomass carbon. Biology and Fertility of Soils 27, 408–416.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Islam KR, Weil RR
(2000) Land use effects on soil quality in a tropical forest ecosystem of Bangladesh. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 79, 9–16.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kanchikerimath M, Singh D
(2001) Soil organic matter and biological properties after 26 years of maize–wheat–cowpea cropping as affected by manure and fertilization in a Cambissol in semiarid region of India. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 86, 155–162.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Leite LFC,
Mendonça ES,
Machado PLOA, Matos ES
(2003) Total C and N storage and organic C pools of a Red-Yellow Podzolic under conventional and no tillage at the Atlantic Forest Zone, Southeastern Brazil. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 717–730.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mendham DS,
O’Connell AMO, Grove TS
(2002) Organic matter characteristics under native forest, long-term pasture, and recent conversion to Eucalyptus plantations in Western Australia: microbial biomass, soil respiration, and permanganate oxidation. Australian Journal of Soil Research 40, 859–872.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Nardi S,
Morari F,
Berti A,
Tosoni M, Giardini L
(2004) Soil organic matter properties after 40 years of different use of organic and mineral fertilizers. European Journal of Agronomy 21, 357–367.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Natarajan M, Wiley RW
(1980) Sorghum-pigeonpea intercropping and the effects of plant population density – 2: resource use. Journal of Agricultural Science 95, 59–65.
Oelbermann M,
Voroney RP, Gordon AM
(2004) Carbon sequestration in tropical and temperate agroforestry systems: a review with examples from Costa Rica and Southern Canada. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 104, 359–377.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Rosa MEC,
Olszevski N,
Mendonça ES,
Costa LM, Correia JR
(2003) Formas de carbono em Latossolo Vermelho Eutroférrico sob plantio direto no sistema biogeográfico do Cerrado. Revista Brasileira Ciência Solo 27, 911–923.
Roscoe R, Buurman P
(2003) Tillage effects on soil organic matter in density fractions of a Cerrado Oxisol. Soil and Tillage Research 70, 107–119.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shang C, Tiessen H
(1997) Organic matter lability in a tropical oxisol: evidence from shifting cultivation, chemical oxidation, particle size, density, and magnetic fractionations. Soil Science 162, 795–807.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sisti CPJ,
Santos HP,
Kochhann R,
Alves BJR,
Urquiaga S, Boddey RM
(2004) Change in carbon and nitrogen stocks in soil under 13 years of conventional or zero tillage in southern Brazil. Soil and Tillage Research 76, 39–58.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Skjemstad JO,
Swift RS, McGowan JA
(2006) Comparison of the particulate organic carbon and permanganate oxidation methods for estimating labile soil organic carbon. Australian Journal of Soil Research 44, 255–263.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sohi S,
Mahieu N,
Arah JRM,
Polwson DSP,
Madari B, Gaunt JL
(2001) A procedure for isolating soil organic matter fractions suitable for modeling. Soil Science Society of America Journal 65, 1121–1128.
Sparling GP
(1992) Ratio of microbial biomass carbon to soil organic carbon as a sensitive indicator of changes in soil organic matter. Australian Journal of Soil Research 30, 195–207.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sparling GP, West AW
(1988) A direct extraction method to estimate soil microbial C:Calibration in situ using microbial respiration and 14C labelled cells. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 20, 337–343.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tarré R,
Macedo R,
Cantarutt RB,
Rezende C de P,
Pereira JM,
Ferreira E,
Alves BJR,
Urquiaga S, Boddey RM
(2001) The effect of the presence of a forage legume on nitrogen and carbon levels in soils under Brachiaria pastures in the Atlantic forest region of the South of Bahia, Brazil. Plant and Soil 234, 15–26.
| Crossref |
Vance ED,
Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS
(1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 19, 703–707.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wang W,
Dalal RC, Moody PW
(2001) Evaluation of the microwave irradiation method for measuring soil microbial biomass. Soil Science Society of America Journal 65, 1697–1703.
Whitbread A,
Lefroy RDB, Blair GJ
(1998) A survey of the impact of cropping on soil physical and chemical properties in north-western New South Wales. Australian Journal of Soil Research 36, 669–681.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Whitbread A,
Blair G,
Yothin K,
Lefroy R, Naklang K
(2003) Managing crop residues, fertilizers and leaf litters to improve soil C, nutrient balances, and the grain yield of rice and wheat cropping systems in Thailand and Australia. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 100, 251–263.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wu T,
Schorneau JJ,
Fengmin L,
Quian P,
Malhi SS,
Shi Y, Xu F
(2004) Influence of cultivation and fertilization on total organic carbon and carbon fractions in soils from the Loess Plateau of China. Soil and Tillage Research 77, 59–68.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Yeomans JC, Bremner JM
(1988) A rapid and precise method for routine determination of organic carbon in soil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 19, 1467–1476.
Zinn YL,
Lal R, Resck VS
(2005) Changes in soil organic carbon stocks under agriculture in Brazil. Soil and Tillage Research 84, 28–40.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
