Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: No-tillage (NT) management in conjunction with crop residue retention on soil has been promoted as a practice capable of enhancing the soil quality as well as offsetting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because of its ability to sequester carbon in soils.Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the long term effects of application wheat (Triticum aestivum) residue mulch under NT and conventional tillage (CT) on GHG emissions, soil physical and chemical properties in an ongoing experiment in Central Ohio.Treatments included three rates of mulch at 0 Mg ha -1 yr -1 (M0), 8 Mg ha -1 yr -1 (M8) and 16 Mg ha -1 yr -1 (M16) without crop cultivation.All treatments were replicated thrice and laid out according to a completely randomized design.The data presented showed that application of straw mulch under NT can reduce GHG emissions compared to CT.The average diurnal CO 2 fluxes were lower under NT (8.58g CO 2 -C m -2 d -1 ) compared to CT (9.69g CO 2 -C m -2 d -1 ).The effects of plowing on N 2 O flux, although not significant, indicated a trend of higher N 2 O fluxes under NT (0.27 mg m -2 d -1 ) than CT (0.21 mg m -2 d -1 ).Similarly, there was no definite trend among tillage treatments with regards to CH 4 flux.However, NT was more of a sink for CH 4 while CT treatments were sources.CO 2 and N 2 O fluxes were significantly affected by mulch treatments, but mulching did not significantly affect CH 4 flux.Furthermore, the application of mulch iii directly influences chemical and physical properties of the soil.The current study shows that the application of mulch conserves soil moisture, reduces bulk density, moderates soil temperature, reduces soil salinity and enhances soil aggregation.Results suggest that mulching in conjunction with NT has positive effects on temperate agricultural soils, yet further research needs to be conducted to provide additional insight on the over-all impact and interactions between management regimes and GHG emissions, especially in relation to soil properties and climate factors.
Author: Merrie Ann Varughese
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2341807547