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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 48(5)

Changes in soil organic carbon pool in three long-term fertility experiments with different cropping systems and inorganic and organic soil amendments in the eastern cereal belt of India

Subhadip Ghosh A F , Brian R. Wilson A B , Biswapati Mandal C , Subrata K. Ghoshal D and Ivor Growns E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Agronomy and Soil Science, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

B NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, PO Box U221, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

C Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani, West Bengal 741 235, India.

D Sugarcane Research Station, Government of West Bengal, Bethuadahari, Nadia, West Bengal 741 126, India.

E NSW Department of Water and Energy, PO Box U245, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Email: subhadip00@rediffmail.com

Australian Journal of Soil Research 48(5) 413-420 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR09089
Submitted: 9 May 2009  Accepted: 4 March 2010   Published: 6 August 2010

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) constitutes a significant proportion of the terrestrial carbon (C) store and has a pivotal role in several physical, chemical, and biological soil processes that contribute to soil productivity and sustainability. Applications of inorganic and organic materials are management options that have the potential to increase SOC in agricultural systems. A study was conducted in 3 long-term fertility experiments (Barrackpur, Mohanpur, and Cuttack) on agricultural soils in the eastern cereal belt of India, to examine the effect of cultivation and the application of inorganic and organic amendments on total soil organic carbon (TOC) and on the proportions of soil C fractions at these sites. A supplementary aim of this study was to determine the suitability of the loss-on-ignition (LOI) method to routinely estimate SOC (Walkley and Black, WB) in this region by determining relationships and conversion factors between the WB and LOI techniques. Soil was sampled at 3 depths (0–0.15, 0.15–0.30, and 0.30–0.45 m) from 4 treatments (conventional cultivation, NPK, NPK+FYM, and fallow) of the experimental sites and analysed for TOC and various soil C pools. There were differences in the magnitude of TOC values among the sites. Conventional cultivation had the lowest TOC contents (148 t/ha) and NPK+FYM amended soils the largest (207 t/ha), with intermediate values in the other treatments. The non-labile or residual SOC fraction (Cfrac4) constituted the largest percentage of SOC under all treatments and varied from 35–49%. A higher proportion of the labile Cfrac1 fraction was observed under the fallow, whereas the proportion of Cfrac4 was significantly larger under NPK+FYM. There was a significant decrease in SOC with increasing soil depth. SOC decreased up to 17% at 0.15–0.30 m and declined a further 21% at 0.30–0.45 m. The more labile C fractions (Cfrac1, Cfrac2, Cfrac3) dominated in the near surface soil layers, but decreased significantly in the deeper layers to be dominated by Cfrac4 at 0.30–0.45 m depth. We also observed a strong correlation between the WB and LOI methods (calibrated for each soil) irrespective of soil depths and conclude that this might be a suitable method to estimate SOC where other techniques are not available. We conclude that fertiliser application and especially manure application have the potential to significantly increase SOC in agricultural soils.

Additional keywords: long-term fertility experiment, SOC, TOC, WB, LOI.


Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, for funding the work through the World Bank assisted multi-institutional collaborative National Agricultural Technology Project.


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