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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Agroecosystem Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #378917
Research Project: Evaluating Management Strategies to Increase Agroecosystem Productivity, Resilience, and Viability

Location: Agroecosystem Management Research

Title: Long-term crop rotation effects on soil carbon changes

Author
item Schmer, Marty
item Jin, Virginia
item Wienhold, Brian
item VARVEL, GARY - Former ARS Employee

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/18/2020
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Understanding the impacts of long-term rotation diversity and fertilizer management on soil C is important under a changing climate. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of N fertilizer level and crop rotation diversity on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes from a 34-yr study located in eastern Nebraska. Seven crop rotations (three continuous cropping systems; two 2-yr crop rotations; and two 4-yr crop rotations) and three N levels were compared. Soil samples from 1998 and 2016 were compared based on equivalent soil mass. Soil depths analyzed were 0-30 cm, 0-60 cm, and 0-90 cm. From 1998 to 2016, SOC increased by 12% across all crop rotations at the 0-90 soil depth. Nitrogen fertilizer rates did not impact SOC changes over time. A crop rotation x time interaction was found mainly from continuous soybean showing lower SOC increases over time compared with other crop rotations. Overall, SOC was highest under the 4-year rotations and the corn (Zea mays) -soybean (Glycine max) rotation.