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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Morris, Minnesota » Soil Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #124968
Title: SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF SHORT-TERM CARBON LOSS AFTER TILLAGE

Author
item Reicosky, Donald
item Lindstrom, Michael
item SCHUMACHER, THOMAS - SD STATE UNIVERSITY
item MALO, D - SD STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/25/2001
Publication Date: 10/25/2001
Citation: REICOSKY, D.C., LINDSTROM, M.J., SCHUMACHER, T.E., MALO, D.D. SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF SHORT-TERM CARBON LOSS AFTER TILLAGE. CD-ROM. MADISON, WI: ASA-CSSA-SSSA. 2001.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil carbon (C) losses and soil translocation from tillage operations have been identified as causes of soil degradation and soil erosion. The objective was to quantify the variability in tillage-induced CO2 loss by moldboard and chisel plowing across an eroded landscape and relate the gaseous C loss to soil properties. The study site was a 4-ha spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) field with three soil types in the Barnes-Langhei complex in west central Minnesota, USA (N. Lat. = 45 deg 41', W. Long. = 95 deg 43'). Soil properties were measured at a 10 m spacing along east-west and north-south transects. Conventional moldboard plow (25 cm deep) and chisel plow (15 cm deep) equipment were used along the pre-marked transects. Gas exchange measurements utilized a large, portable chamber within 2 m of each sample site following tillage. The measured CO2 fluxes were largest with the moldboard plow > chisel plow > not tilled (before tillage). The variation in CO2 flux in the north-south transect was nearly four-fold immediately after plowing and was partially related to soil properties with lower CO2 flux on the severely eroded sites. The CO2 loss partially reflected the degradation of soil properties as a result of wind and water erosion and tillage-induced soil translocation. Extension of the global spatial variation across the landscape suggests non-point sources of soil C loss are complex.