ARS | Publication request: Long-Term Tillage Affects on Soil Aggregation and Carbon Sequestration

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 21, 2008
Publication Date: February 5, 2008
Citation: Mikha, M.M., Benjamin, J.G., Vigil, M.F. 2008. Long-Term Tillage Affects on Soil Aggregation and Carbon Sequestration. Meeting Abstract. Presented at the Colorado Conservation Tillage meeting. Feb. 5-6, 2008. Greeley, Colo.

Technical Abstract: Continuous cultivation affects soil structure due to the destruction of soil aggregates and the lost of soil organic carbon (SOC). Different management practices, such as different tillage applications, affect the formation and the stabilization of soil aggregates through management effects on SOC level. Soil aggregation is important in crop production due to the indirect effect on soil structural stability, water holding capacity, and soil aeration. Our study evaluated selected soil properties related to soil quality in research plots established in 1986 on a Weld loam (fine, smectitic, mesic aridic Paleustolls). Winter Wheat-Fallow (W-F) with various tillage practices (no-tillage, NT; conventional tillage, CT; reduce tillage, RT; and plow, P) were measured. We evaluated the effects of different tillage practices on SOC, aggregate-size distribution, and particulate organic matter (POM). Relative to plow treatment, NT and RT significantly increased SOC, soil macroaggregates, and POM. For this soil, twenty years of NT and RT have a positive effect on soil structural stability and soil C storage.