Effects of different levels of compost application on amounts and distribution of organic nitrogen forms in soil particle size fractions subjected mainly to double cropping

Effects of different levels of compost application on the amounts and percentage distribution of organic N forms in whole soils and particle size fractions were investigated. Soil samples were collected from three plots: (a) F, only chemical fertilizers;(b) F+LC, chemical fertilizers plus low level of compost;(c) F+HC, chemical fertilizers plus high level of compost. Each soil sample was divided into five fractions: coarse sand-sized aggregate (CSA), medium sand-sized aggregate (MSA), fine sand-sized aggregate (FSA), silt-sized aggregate (SIA) and clay-sized aggregate (CLA) fractions. The sand fractions were subdivided into decayed plants (DP) and mineral particles (MP). The amounts of total N and different organic N forms in the whole soils as well as size fractions generally increased with increasing the amount of compost. In the whole soils, percentage distribution of non-hydrolysable-N and amino sugar-N increased by compost application while the distribution values of the hydrolysable ammonium- N and unidentified-N decreased. The application did not affect the distribution degree of amino acid-N. In the size fractions, the distribution values of most organic N forms increased in the CSA-DP, MSA-DP and FSA-DP fractions by compost application. In the CLA fractions, the amounts and percentage distribution of organic N forms were the highest, although the application caused decreases in their distribution values. These findings indicate that the CLA fraction merit close attention as an important reservoir of various organic N.

Assessment of Long-Term Compost Application on Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties, as Well as Fertility, of Soil in a Field Subjected to Double Cropping

The aim of this article was to assess the influence of long-term application of compost on the physical, chemical, and biological properties, as well as the fertility, of soil in a field subjected to double cropping (paddy rice and barley), mainly by integrating previous studies of the effects of compost and manure on soil qualities. Continuous compost application, especially at a high level (30 Mg·ha-1·y-1), into the double cropping soils increased the activities of organic C-, N-, and P-decomposing enzymes and the contents of organic C, total N, and microbial biomass N, as well as the cation exchange capacity, thereby contributing to the enhancement of soil fertility. Also, the compost application increased the degree of water-stable soil macroaggregation (>0.25 mm), which was correlated significantly (r > 0.950, p < 0.05) with the contents of hydrolyzable carbohydrates (with negative charge) and active Al (with positive charge), and resulted in the modification of soil physical properties. Furthermore, the application increased the amount of soil organic matter, including humic acid with a low degree of darkening and fulvic acid, and contributed to C sequestration and storage. Physical fractionation of soil indicated that about 60% of soil organic C was distributed in the silt-sized (2 - 20 μm) aggregate and clay-sized (<2 μm) aggregate fractions, while about 30% existed in the decayed plant fractions (53 - 2000 μm). The results obtained unambiguously indicate that long-term application of compost can improve soil qualities in the field subjected to double cropping, depending on the amount applied.

Quantitative and qualitative changes of humus in whole soils and their particle size fractions as influenced by different levels of compost application

Effect of long-term application (ca. 30 years) of compost at different levels on humus composi-tion of whole soils and their particle size frac-tions in a field subjected mainly to double cropping (barley and paddy rice) was investi-gated. Soil samples were collected from three plots of different types of management: (a) F plot, only chemical fertilizers containing N, P and K were applied;(b) F+LC plot, both chemi-cal fertilizers and a low level of compost were applied;(c) F+HC plot, both chemical fertilizers and a high level of compost were applied (the amount of compost applied in the F+HC plot was three times larger than that applied in the F+LC plot). Each soil sample was divided into coarse sand- (CSA), medium sand-(MSA) and fine sand-(FSA) sized aggregate, silt-sized ag-gregate (SIA) and clay-sized aggregate (CLA) fractions by wet-sieving and sedimentation. In addition, the CSA and MSA fractions were sub-divided into “mineral particles” (MP) and “de-cayed plants” (DP) by a density fractionation. Humus composition was influenced depending upon the level of compost applied. The applica-tion induced an increase in the amounts of total humus (TH), humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) in the whole soil and many size fractions, par-ticularly, SIA fraction. The increase was re-markable in the F+HC plot. In the CSA and MSA fractions, the amounts of TH, HA and FA were much larger in the CSA- and MSA-DP fractions than in the CSA- and MSA-MP fractions. The amounts of TH, HA and FA in the SIA fraction were larger than those in the CLA fraction for the F+HC and F+LC plots, and the reverse was true for the F plot. On the other hand, the de-grees of humification of humic acids in whole soils and many size fractions, particularly SIA fraction, decreased by compost application. The decrease was markedly in the F+HC plot. These findings suggest that the SIA fraction play an important role in the quantitative and qualitative changes of humus, including HA and FA, as in-fluenced by a long-term compost application.