Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties

During the last century mankind has been able to boost food production with fertilization and improved cultivation techniques. Crop biomass production has been increased both, above and below ground. Due to this fact it is expected that highly yielding crops may also influence the soil organic ca...

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Autor principal: Schön, Martina
Formato: Second cycle, A2E
Lenguaje:sueco
Inglés
Publicado: 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/3263/
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author Schön, Martina
author_browse Schön, Martina
author_facet Schön, Martina
author_sort Schön, Martina
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description During the last century mankind has been able to boost food production with fertilization and improved cultivation techniques. Crop biomass production has been increased both, above and below ground. Due to this fact it is expected that highly yielding crops may also influence the soil organic carbon pool in the subsoil through increasing root production. The goal of this thesis was to investigate the impact of low and high yields (no N vs high N fertilization) on (1) the soil organic matter pool (2) soil stability and (3) related chemical and physical interactions. Soils of three Swedish long-term field experiments (Fors, Kungsängen and Örja) were sampled to a depth of 0.40 m and analyzed. The organic carbon content decreased with depth at all three sites. Nitrogen addition through organic manure and inorganic fertilizer slightly increased the soil organic carbon content (SOC) in the topsoil, but in the subsoil (0.30-0.40 m) only the soil from Fors showed higher SOC contents in N fertilized treatments. Nitrogen fertilization (organic and inorganic) resulted in lower pH values compared to control without fertilization at all three experimental sites. Manure had an important influence on aggregate stability at the site Fors. The soil treated with manure showed a higher soil aggregate stability (SAS) and a lower amount of readily dispersible clay (RDC) than no manure treatment. At Kungsängen, the soil stability was governed by the high clay content of 56%. No stabilizing effect of fertilization was detected. The acidifying effect of biological N fixation was observed in Örja soil. Samples with lower pH showed lower stability. Inorganic N fertilizer significantly stabilized the Örja surface soil layer (0- 0.20 m). Multiple regressions revealed that the factor clay seems to have the most impact on soil stability. In conclusion, it has been shown that small differences in soil management practices (organic and/or inorganic fertilization, cultivation of N fixing plants) have an impact on soil properties in the long-term with a much greater degree in the topsoil than in the subsoil.
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institution Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
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Inglés
publishDate 2011
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spelling RepoSLU32632012-10-06T15:50:56Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/3263/ Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties Schön, Martina Fertilizing Soil science and management Soil chemistry and physics During the last century mankind has been able to boost food production with fertilization and improved cultivation techniques. Crop biomass production has been increased both, above and below ground. Due to this fact it is expected that highly yielding crops may also influence the soil organic carbon pool in the subsoil through increasing root production. The goal of this thesis was to investigate the impact of low and high yields (no N vs high N fertilization) on (1) the soil organic matter pool (2) soil stability and (3) related chemical and physical interactions. Soils of three Swedish long-term field experiments (Fors, Kungsängen and Örja) were sampled to a depth of 0.40 m and analyzed. The organic carbon content decreased with depth at all three sites. Nitrogen addition through organic manure and inorganic fertilizer slightly increased the soil organic carbon content (SOC) in the topsoil, but in the subsoil (0.30-0.40 m) only the soil from Fors showed higher SOC contents in N fertilized treatments. Nitrogen fertilization (organic and inorganic) resulted in lower pH values compared to control without fertilization at all three experimental sites. Manure had an important influence on aggregate stability at the site Fors. The soil treated with manure showed a higher soil aggregate stability (SAS) and a lower amount of readily dispersible clay (RDC) than no manure treatment. At Kungsängen, the soil stability was governed by the high clay content of 56%. No stabilizing effect of fertilization was detected. The acidifying effect of biological N fixation was observed in Örja soil. Samples with lower pH showed lower stability. Inorganic N fertilizer significantly stabilized the Örja surface soil layer (0- 0.20 m). Multiple regressions revealed that the factor clay seems to have the most impact on soil stability. In conclusion, it has been shown that small differences in soil management practices (organic and/or inorganic fertilization, cultivation of N fixing plants) have an impact on soil properties in the long-term with a much greater degree in the topsoil than in the subsoil. 2011-09-19 Second cycle, A2E NonPeerReviewed application/pdf swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/3263/1/schon_m_110919.pdf Schön, Martina, 2011. Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties : soil organic matter and aggregate stability. Second cycle, A2E. Uppsala: (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Soil and Environment <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-435.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-623 eng
spellingShingle Fertilizing
Soil science and management
Soil chemistry and physics
Schön, Martina
Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties
title Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties
title_full Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties
title_fullStr Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties
title_full_unstemmed Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties
title_short Impact of N fertilization on subsoil properties
title_sort impact of n fertilization on subsoil properties
topic Fertilizing
Soil science and management
Soil chemistry and physics
url https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/3263/
https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/3263/