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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Auburn, Alabama » Soil Dynamics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #279546
Title: No-till with high biomass cover crops and invasive legume mulches increased total soil carbon after three years of collard production

Author
item MULVANEY, MICHAEL - Virginia Polytechnic Institution & State University
item WOOD, CHARLES - Auburn University
item Balkcom, Kipling
item SHANNON, DENNIS - Auburn University
item KEMBLE, JOSEPH - Auburn University

Submitted to: Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/12/2016
Publication Date: 9/20/2016
Citation: Mulvaney, M.J., Wood, C.W., Balkcom, K.S., Shannon, D.A., Kemble, J.M. 2016. No-till with high biomass cover crops and invasive legume mulches increased total soil carbon after three years of collard production. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 41(1)30-45. DOI: 10.1080/21683565.2016.1236766.

Interpretive Summary: A great deal of literature has found that conversion to conservation tillage from conventional tillage does not increase total soil organic carbon (SOC) significantly in the short term (<5 yrs), particularly for limited-input producers. While no-till increases total SOC in the medium to long term, scientists with Auburn Univ. in cooperation with researchers from USDA-ARS located at the National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, AL hypothesized that the inclusion of high biomass cover crops and organic mulches should increase total SOC in the short term. Conversion to notill with no mulch (control treatment) significantly increased SOC at 0-5 cm from 0.77% to 1.4% in three yrs, whereas inclusion of in situ invasive leguminous mulches increased SOC to 2.3%. However, treatments did not affect collard yield, which averaged 17,863 kg ha-1 yr-1. This work represents a novel limited-input farming system that may help control on-farm invasive species while simultaneously increasing SOC in the short term on a productive field.

Technical Abstract: A great deal of literature has found that conversion to conservation tillage from conventional tillage does not increase total soil organic carbon (SOC) significantly in the short term (<5 yrs), particularly for limited-input producers. While no-till increases total SOC in the medium to long term, we hypothesized that the inclusion of high biomass cover crops and organic mulches should increase total SOC in the short term. The objective of this study was to quantify the changes in total SOC due to organic mulches and forage soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Derry) as a summer cover crop after conversion to no-till during limited-input fall collard (Brassica oleracea L. cv. Champion) production in central eastern Alabama, using winter rye (Secale cereale L.) as a winter cover crop. Conversion to notill with no mulch (control treatment) significantly increased SOC at 0-5 cm from 0.77% to 1.4% in three yrs, whereas inclusion of in situ invasive leguminous mulches increased SOC to 2.3%. However, treatments did not affect collard yield, which averaged 17,863 kg ha-1 yr-1. This work represents a novel limited-input farming system that may help control on-farm invasive species while simultaneously increasing SOC in the short term on a productive field.