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Assessing soil quality indices based on soil organic carbon fractions in different long‐term wheat systems under semiarid conditions
Author(s) -
Duval Matias E.,
Martinez Juan M.,
Galantini Juan A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/sum.12532
Subject(s) - soil carbon , tillage , conventional tillage , monoculture , zoology , soil water , chemistry , total organic carbon , agronomy , organic matter , environmental science , biology , soil science , environmental chemistry , organic chemistry
The literature shows a great number of soil quality indices ( SQ I ) based on organic matter and its fractions. Our objectives were to determine the changes in soil organic carbon ( SOC ), carbon fractions and SQ I in three production systems based on winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). The three production systems involved wheat monoculture under conventional tillage and no‐tillage ( WW CT and WW NT , respectively) and traditional management, wheat under conventional tillage and grazing of natural grasses, alternated one year each ( WG CT ). In turn, each treatment was divided into N‐P‐fertilized (f) and non‐fertilized (nf). We analysed SOC , labile fractions and their ratios ( SQ I ) at 0–5, 5–10 and 10–20 cm soil depths. SOC was significantly higher in WW NT ‐f than in WW CT ‐f and WG CT ‐f at 0–5 and 0–20 cm range. Conversely, the lowest concentration was found in WW NT and WW CT in non‐fertilized plots. Particulate organic C ( POC , 105–2,000 μm) was significantly affected by tillage at 0–5 cm with the greatest concentrations found in WW NT (mean = 3.2 g kg −1 ) followed by WG CT and WW CT (mean = 2.0 g kg −1 ). Soils under CT showed the lowest lability index ( LI ) values, whereas the conversion to NT increased it (0.74–1.28). Carbon management index ( CMI ) increased significantly at the 0–20 cm seven years after NT establishment compared to WW CT . SQ I such as LI , CMI and SOC /silt+clay were more sensitive for differentiating production systems, whereas C pool index and C/N were more sensitive for differentiating the fertilizer application effect. Considering improvement in SQ I and carbon fractions as indicators of better soil quality, adoption of NT improved the soil quality in the semiarid rainfed conditions in the short term.