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Effects of Substituting Manure for Fertilizer on Aggregation and Aggregate Associated Carbon and Nitrogen in a Vertisol
Author(s) -
Zhao Zhanhui,
Zhang Congzhi,
Zhang Jiabao,
Liu Changhua,
Wu Qicong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj2018.03.0150
Subject(s) - fertilizer , manure , agronomy , vertisol , chemistry , soil fertility , soil carbon , nitrogen , total organic carbon , organic fertilizer , soil water , environmental science , environmental chemistry , soil science , biology , organic chemistry
Core Ideas Manure improved soil aggregate‐associated C and N sequestration. Fertilizer substituted with manure in increasing C and N concentrations used. Manure improved water stable soil aggregate stability.Fertilizer management influences the accumulation of soil organic C and N in agricultural soils. The combined use of chemical and organic fertilizers is considered a good method to enhance soil fertility, but it is still unclear about the effects of substituting manure for fertilizer on aggregation and aggregate associated organic C and N. We selected a 4‐yr‐old soil fertility experiment to examine the aggregation and aggregate associated organic C and N in response to substituting manure for fertilizer. In comparison to control, no fertilizer added (CK); substituting manure for fertilizer significantly increased organic C and N by 11.61 to 47.97% and 21.05 to 32.63% in 0‐ to 20‐cm bulk soil, respectively. It promoted organic C in the silt + clay fraction, microaggregates, small macroaggregates, and large macroaggregates by 3.17 to 17.15%, 12.94 to 34.09%, 10.99 to 50.20%, and 25.32 to 52.09%, respectively. Aggregate associated N also presented significant increases under substituting manure for fertilizer compared to CK. The mass distribution of small and large macroaggregates were 8.16 to 15.54% and 8.89 to 49.51% higher in the manure‐substituted plots than CK, respectively. Organic C and labile C were generally greater in macro‐ than microaggregates in the manure‐substituted plots; redundancy analysis confirmed that macroaggregates had positive effects on organic C and N sequestration in bulk soil and aggregates. Based on these results we suggested that substituting manure increases macroaggregate associated organic C and N, and the formation of small and large macroaggregates is accelerated by organic amendment in the test soil compared to CK.