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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Agroecosystem Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #307400

Title: Short-term stover, tillage, and nitrogen management affect near-surface soil organic matter

Author
item Sindelar, Aaron
item COULTER, JEFFREY - University Of Minnesota
item LAMB, JOHN - University Of Minnesota

Submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/18/2014
Publication Date: 1/13/2015
Citation: Sindelar, A.J., Coulter, J.A., Lamb, J. 2015. Short-term stover, tillage, and nitrogen management affect near-surface soil organic matter. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 79:251-260. DOI: 10.2136/SSSAJ2014.08.0337.

Interpretive Summary: Corn stover (the material remaining after grain harvest) from the Upper Midwest may serve as key source of feedstock for bioenergy production. However, continuous removal can ultimately reduce soil organic matter. Soil organic matter is critical to crop production because it often improves soil quality, which ultimately leads to greater crop yields. Previous work in the region has focused on long-term effects or in corn-soybean rotations. This study focused on how short-term (3 years) stover removal affected soil organic matter in continuous corn rotations when different types of tillage were used. This study found that particulate and total soil organic carbon decreased when stover was removed, and that losses were accelerated when the soil was also tilled. However, this research also concluded that adoption of tillage methods that significantly reduce or eliminate soil disturbance could increase soil carbon when stover is retained. Producers must carefully weigh the economic advantage of harvesting corn stover with its potential for soil degradation.

Technical Abstract: Corn (Zea mays L.) stover removal for biofuel or forage has implications on soil organic C (SOC). The objective of this study was to evaluate short-term (3-yr) stover management (retained or removed [79 removed, across treatments and years]), tillage system (chisel tillage, strip-tillage, and no-till [CT, ST, and NT, respectively]), and fertilizer N (0 and 224 kg N ha-1) effects on particulate and total soil C and N in continuous corn (CC) cropping systems on fine-textured soils in the Upper Midwest. Soil samples were collected at study initiation in 2008 and at its conclusion in 2011. Stover removal decreased SOC in the surface depth (D1) by 15% compared to when it was retained and 11% when compared with the baseline level. In the same depth, SOC with CT was 10 and 9% less than with ST and NT, respectively, and 10% less than the baseline. Particulate organic matter C (POM-C) decreased in D1 between sampling times with stover removal in all tillage systems. When stover was retained, POM-C in D1 increased 36 and 40% over the baseline with ST and NT, respectively, but decreased 18% with CT. Chisel tillage decreased POM-C in the sampled soil profile by 13 and 17% compared with ST and NT, respectively, and by 21% when compared with the baseline. These results demonstrate that annually harvesting the maximum quantities of stover in CC allowable by field-scale machinery can reduce near-surface particulate and total soil organic matter in the Upper Midwest after 3 yr, but losses can be reduced by tillage systems that reduce soil disturbance.