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Least limiting water range and soil pore-size distribution related to soil organic carbon dynamics following zero and conventional tillage of a black soil in Northeast China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2014

X. W. CHEN ,
X. H. SHI ,
A. Z. LIANG ,
X. P. ZHANG ,
S. X. JIA ,
R. Q. FAN  and
S. C. WEI
X. W. CHEN
Affiliation:
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, People's Republic of China
X. H. SHI
Affiliation:
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering, Beijing 100125, People's Republic of China
A. Z. LIANG*
Affiliation:
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, People's Republic of China
X. P. ZHANG
Affiliation:
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, People's Republic of China
S. X. JIA
Affiliation:
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, People's Republic of China
R. Q. FAN
Affiliation:
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, People's Republic of China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
S. C. WEI
Affiliation:
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, People's Republic of China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: liangaizhen@neigae.ac.cn
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Summary

The present work built on a previous study of tillage trials, which found the effectiveness of least limiting water range (LLWR) as an indicator of soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization under different tillage practices in a black soil of Northeast China in 2009. To improve the understanding of soil structure controls over SOC dynamics, a study was conducted to explore the relationship between LLWR, which was calculated based on soil bulk density and soil pore-size distribution, and the effects of LLWR, which was calculated based on soil bulk density and soil pore-size distribution on SOC mineralization following no tillage (NT) and mouldboard ploughing (MP). In contrast to MP, NT had a significantly greater volume of large macropores (>100 μm) at depths of 0–0·05 and 0·2–0·3 m, but a significantly lower volume of small macropores (30–100 μm) at depths of 0–0·05, 0·05–0·1, 0·1–0·2 and 0·2–0·3 m. The volume of meso- (0·2–30 μm) and micro-pores (<0·2 μm) at different depths under the two tillage practices were similar. Tillage-induced changes in soil bulk density and pore-size volumes affected the ability of soil to fulfil essential soil functions in relation to organic matter turnover. Soil pore-size distribution, especially small macropores greatly affected LLWR and there was a significant correlation between LLWR, which was calculated based on soil bulk density, and the proportion of small macropores. The proportion of small macropores were used to calculate LLWR instead of soil bulk density and the values for NT and MP soils ranged from 0·073 to 0·148 m3 water/m3 soil. Using the proportion of small macropores rather than bulk density in the calculation of LLWR resulted in more sensitive indications of SOC mineralization. Variation in the proportion of small macropores can help characterize the impacts of tillage practices on dynamics of LLWR and SOC sequestration.

Type
Crops and Soils Research Papers
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 153 , Issue 2 , March 2015 , pp. 270 - 281
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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