Rotation and manure amendment increase soil macro-aggregates and associated carbon and nitrogen stocks in flue-cured tobacco production

Congming Zou, Yan Li, Wei Huang, Gaokun Zhao, Guorui Pu, Jiaen Su, Mark S. Coyne, Yi Chen, Longchang Wang, Xiaodong Hu, Yan Jin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Scopus citations

Abstract

Flue-cured tobacco production in China is typically over-fertilised and mono-cropped. To understand how this agronomic management affects soil structure and organic matter, this study investigated the effect of rotation, fertilizer rate, and manure amendment on the proportion of water stable aggregates and aggregate-associated soil organic carbon (SOC) and total soil nitrogen (TSN) concentrations and stocks in tobacco production. Two tobacco management systems (Tobacco monoculture and Tobacco-rice rotation) with four fertilizer treatments (0, 75, and 112 kg N/ha, and 60 kg N/ha + manure) were established in 1998. After 18 years, soil aggregation and aggregate-associated SOC and TSN were significantly affected by rotation and fertilizer management. Compared to tobacco monoculture and current fertilizer management, rotation and manure amendment increased macroaggregate (>250 μm) proportion and geometric mean diameter and decreased the proportion of microaggregates and silt-clay sized fractions (<250 μm). Simultaneously, rotation and manure amendment increased macroaggregate-associated SOC and TSN stocks at the expense of the microaggregate and silt-clay size class and their associated SOC and TSN stocks. Rotation and/or manure treatment can maintain satisfactory physico-chemical soil properties through macroaggregate stabilization in tobacco production, which contributes to conserving SOC and TSN stocks.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)49-58
Number of pages10
JournalGeoderma
Volume325
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Authors

Keywords

  • Flue-cured tobacco
  • Manure
  • Rotation
  • Water-stable aggregate
  • Yunnan

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Soil Science

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