Plant Soil Environ., 2018, 64(7):338-343 | DOI: 10.17221/195/2018-PSE

Fertilizer impacts on soil aggregation and aggregate-associated organic componentsOriginal Paper

Zhanhui ZHAO1,2,†, Congzhi ZHANG2,†, Jiabao ZHANG*,2, Changhua LIU1, Qicong WU2
1 School of Surveying and Land Information Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, P.R. China
2 State Experimental Station of Agro-Ecosystem in Fengqiu, State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, P.R. China

A 5-year (2012-2016) field experiment was conducted to investigate the impacts of different fertilizer treatments (no fertilizer, mineral and organic fertilizer) on organic carbon and soil water-stable aggregates in a North China Plain Vertisol. Compared with no fertilizer (control), single mineral fertilizer did not significantly (P < 0.01) affect organic carbon content or aggregate mass proportion in bulk soil. Small and large macroaggregate mass proportions increased, but applying organic manure significantly decreased the silt + clay fraction and microaggregates. Organic manure amendment significantly enhanced organic carbon concentrations in aggregates (large macroaggregates, > 2000 μm; small macroaggregates, 2000-250 μm; microaggregates, 53-250 μm; and free silt + clay fraction, < 53 μm) and aggregate subfractions, including intraparticulate organic matter and silt + clay subfractions (< 53 μm). Single mineral fertilizer amendment increased organic carbon concentrations in macroaggregates, particularly intraparticulate organic matter. The results indicated that the organic carbon increase in organic manure-amended soil were possibly due to enhanced silt + clay subfractions, which then promoted macroaggregates formation. Applying organic manure could improve organic carbon sequestration and maintain its stability in aggregates, whereas mineral fertilizer only enhanced organic carbon in large macroaggregates, but with low stability.

Keywords: soil quality; wet-sieving; residue layer; soil nutrients; soil structure

Published: July 31, 2018  Show citation

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ZHAO Z, ZHANG C, ZHANG J, LIU C, Qicong W. Fertilizer impacts on soil aggregation and aggregate-associated organic components. Plant Soil Environ. 2018;64(7):338-343. doi: 10.17221/195/2018-PSE.
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