HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Coulter, J. A. Articles by Wander, M. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Coulter, J. A. Articles by Wander, M. M. Agricola Articles by Coulter, J. A. Articles by Wander, M. M. Related Collections Crop Rotation Systems Nitrogen Soil Organic Matter Maize Management

SOIL & CROP MANAGEMENT

Soil Organic Matter Response to Cropping System and Nitrogen Fertilization

^a Dep. of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Univ. of Minnesota, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108
^b Dep. of Crop Sciences
^c Dep. of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801

^* Corresponding author (coult077{at}umn.edu).

Management to improve soil C and N storage is necessary to increase soil quality. Continuous corn (Zea mays L.) (CC) and a corn-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation (CS) in a chisel plow tillage system with six N fertilizer rates in corn were sampled after 8 yr in Illinois. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) varied with cropping system at DeKalb, but not at Dixon Springs or Urbana. At DeKalb, SOC in the 0-to 30-cm depth was 98.6 and 81.4 Mg C ha^–1 following CC and CS, respectively. Similarly, TN to a depth of 30 cm at DeKalb was 7.91 Mg N ha^–1 with CC and 6.91 Mg N ha^–1 with CS. Particulate organic matter (POM) C (POM-C) and POM N (POM-N) were also greater following CC in the 0- to 30-cm depth at DeKalb and in the surface 15 cm at Dixon Springs. At DeKalb, POM-C in the 0- to 30-cm depth was 6.5 Mg C ha^–1 following CC and 5.1 Mg C ha^–1 following CS, while POM-N was 0.41 and 0.34 Mg N ha^–1, respectively. At Dixon Springs, where POM-C was 4.9 Mg C ha^–1 and POM-N was 0.34 Mg N ha^–1 in the 0- to 15-cm depth following CS, POM-C and POM-N were 10 and 9% greater with CC, respectively. These results indicate that cropping system influences soil C and N more than N fertilization, and that this influence is greater in the labile fraction of soil organic matter (SOM) than in total SOM.

Abbreviations: BD, soil bulk density • CC, continuous corn • CS, corn-soybean rotation • DM, dry matter • POM, particulate organic matter • RM, relative maturity • SOC, soil organic carbon • SOM, soil organic matter • TN, total nitrogen

All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Received for publication October 26, 2008.