Carbon mineralization in subtropical alluvial arable soils amended with sugarcane bagasse and rice husk biochars

Subtropical recent alluvial soils are low in organic carbon(C).Thus,increasing organic C is a major challenge to sustain soil fertility.Biochar amendment could be an option as biochar is a C-rich pyrolyzed material,which is slowly decomposed in soil.We investigated C mineralization(CO_(2)-C evolution)in two types of soils(recent and old alluvial soils)amended with two feedstocks(sugarcane bagasse and rice husk)(1%,weight/weight),as well as their biochars and aged biochars under a controlled environment(25±2℃)over 85 d.For the recent alluvial soil(charland soil),the highest absolute cumulative CO_(2)-C evolution was observed in the sugarcane bagasse treatment(1140 mg CO_(2)-C kg^(-1)soil)followed by the rice husk treatment(1090 mg CO_(2)-C kg^(-1)soil);the lowest amount(150 mg CO_(2)-C kg^(-1)soil)was observed in the aged rice husk biochar treatment.Similarly,for the old alluvial soil(farmland soil),the highest absolute cumulative CO_(2)-C evolution(1290 mg CO_(2)-C kg^(-1)soil)was observed in the sugarcane bagasse treatment and then in the rice husk treatment(1270 mg CO_(2)-C kg^(-1)soil);the lowest amount(200 mg CO_(2)-C kg^(-1)soil)was in the aged rice husk biochar treatment.Aged sugarcane bagasse and rice husk biochar treatments reduced absolute cumulative CO_(2)-C evolution by 10%and 36%,respectively,compared with unamended recent alluvial soil,and by 10%and 18%,respectively,compared with unamended old alluvial soil.Both absolute and normalized C mineralization were similar between the sugarcane bagasse and rice husk treatments,between the biochar treatments,and between the aged biochar treatments.In both soils,the feedstock treatments resulted in the highest cumulative CO_(2)-C evolution,followed by the biochar treatments and then the aged biochar treatments.The absolute and normalized CO_(2)-C evolution and the mineralization rate constant of the stable C pool(K_(s))were lower in the recent alluvial soil compared with those in the old alluvial soil.The biochars and aged biochars had a negative priming effect in both soils,but the effect was more prominent in the recent alluvial soil.These results would have good implications for improving organic matter content in organic C-poor alluvial soils.

Reduced tillage with residue retention improves soil labile carbon pools and carbon lability and management indices in a seven-year trial with wheat-mung bean-rice rotation

Soil total organic carbon(TOC)is a composite indicator of soil quality with implications for crop production and the regulation of soil ecosystem services.Research reports on the dynamics of TOC as a consequence of soil management practices in subtropical climatic conditions,where microbial carbon(C)loss is high,are very limited.The objective of our study was to evaluate the impact of seven years of continuous tillage and residue management on soil TOC dynamics(quantitative and qualitative)with respect to lability and stratification under an annual wheat-mung bean-rice cropping sequence.Composite soil samples were collected at 0-15 and 15-30 cm depths from a three-replicate split-plot experiment with tillage treatment as the main plots and crop residue levels as the sub-plots.The tillage treatments included conventional tillage(CT)and strip tillage(ST).Residue levels were high residue level(HR),30%of the plant height,and low residue level(LR),15%.In addition to TOC,soil samples were analyzed for particulate organic C(POC),permanganate oxidizable C(POXC),basal respiration(BR),specific maintenance respiration rate(qCO_(2)),microbial biomass C(MBC),potentially mineralizable C(PMC),and TOC lability and management indices.The ST treatment significantly increased the TOC and labile C pools at both depths compared with the CT treatment,with the effect being more pronounced in the surface layer.The HR treatment increased TOC and labile C pools compared with the LR treatment.The ST+HR treatment showed significant increases in MBC,metabolic quotient(qR),C pool index(CPI),C lability index(CL_(I)),and C management index(CMI),indicating improved and efficient soil biological activities in such systems compared with the CT treatment.Similarly,the stratification values,a measure of soil quality improvement,for POC and MBC were>2,indicating improved soil quality in the ST+HR treatment compared with the CT treatment.The ST+HR treatment not only significantly increased the contents of TOC pools,but also their stocks.The CMI was correlated with qCO_(2),BR,and MBC,suggesting that these are sensitive indicators of early changes in TOC.The qCO_(2) was significantly higher in the CT+LR treatment and negatively correlated with MBC and CMI,indicating a biologically stressed soil condition in this treatment.Our findings highlight that medium-term reduced tillage with HR management has profound consequences on soil TOC quality and dynamics as mediated by alterations in labile C pools.