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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Morris, Minnesota » Soil Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #71528
Title: WINTER SOIL CARBON DIOXIDE CONCENTRATIONS IN CONVENTIONAL TILL AND NO-TILL

Author
item Reicosky, Donald
item BARBOUR, JAMES
item Forcella, Frank

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/12/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The soil atmosphere is highly dynamic due to temperature fluctuations, changes in chemical activity, water content and nutritional status in their combined effects on soil biological activity. Normally, little activity is assumed as a result of frozen soil conditions. The objective of this work was to measure the carbon dioxide concentration in the soil under conventional till and no-till systems during winter in West Central Minnesota. Soil CO2 concentrations were measured at six depths to 60 cm sampled weekly or biweekly from November of 1994 through June of 1995. Stainless steel gas sampling tubes were installed and gas-tight glass syringes used to extract gas samples for transport to the lab. The CO2 concentration was measured using a Li-Cor 6262 infrared gas analyzer connected to a computer controlled data acquisition system programmed for rapid sampling and numerical integration. Associated field data included weather data, soil temperatures, soil water content using TDR, and the depth of frozen soil. The soil concentration of CO2 decreased with time to minimum values of 350-500 ppm in the surface layers and 1000-2000 ppm at the deeper depths. There was a general downward trend in CO2 concentration as the soil temperature decreased and then a gradual increase as the soil temperature warmed in the spring as expected related to biological activity. Small differences due to tillage system were unclear due to different preceding crops with soybean on the conventional till and corn on the no-till plot. The variations in CO2 and frozen water problems encountered in collecting reliable samples require further study to better understand winter soil CO2 concentrations as affected by tillage system.