Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Raleigh, North Carolina » Plant Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313003
Title: Soil microbial biomass and mineralizable carbon as a function of crop rotation and soil acidity amendment in a no-tillage system in Brazil

Author
item FERRARI NETO, JAYME - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)
item COSTA CRUSCIOL, CARLOS - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP)
item Franzluebbers, Alan

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Tropical climate and weathered soil conditions create significant challenges for increasing soil organic matter content. However, crop management strategies could affect short-term dynamics of active fractions of soil organic matter. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the microbial biomass and mineralizable carbon in the profile of a Rhodic Hapludox as a function of crop rotation system and surface application of soil amendments to alleviate acidity constraints. This experiment was set up in October 2006 in Botucatu, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. A randomized block design consisted of four production systems, varying by the type of crop during the dry season, i.e. forage crop, grain-producing crop, cover crop, or bare fallow. The main crop was soybean, maize, rice, or common bean, with the same crop within a year during the rotation. Split-plots were two sources of soil amendment and a control (i.e. limestone, silicate, and no amendment) for a total of 12 treatments with four replications. Soil samples were collected in 2013 at depths of 0-5, 5-10, and 10-20 cm for evaluation of microbial biomass (chloroform fumigation-incubation) and mineralizable carbon (aerobic incubation at 50% water-filled pore space and 25 °C for 24 days). In general, soil microbial biomass to a depth of 10 cm was greater when forage was in the crop rotation, while mineralizable carbon was similar among crop rotations at all depths. Particularly at a depth of 0-5 cm, soil microbial biomass and mineralizable carbon were greater with application of limestone than with no amendment. Further analyses will help us evaluate the short-term effectiveness of crop rotation and soil acidity correction to alter the active fractions of soil organic matter.