Abstract
Sandy soil often has low soil organic matter (SOM) content, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and water storage levels. Sandy soil requires specific management techniques to improve soil quality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate chemical characteristics and microbial activity of sandy soil, as well as the effects of different rotation systems on crop yield in these environments. The treatments consisted of cultivation with cover crops in the off-season. The following cover crop treatments were used: fallow, a single grass species (SG), two grass species (G + G), mixture of three or more crop species (MIX), and a grass and legume combination (G + L). Corn and sorghum yields were highest with the fallow treatment. Cotton yield was highest with fallow and G + G treatments. Soybean yield was lowest with the SG treatment. The use of SG resulted in the highest SOM content in the 0–10 cm layer. Phosphorus (P) content was highest in treatments with the lowest biomass content (fallow and G + L); potassium content and CEC levels were highest in treatments with cover crops. The G + L resulted in levels of dehydrogenase and enzyme activity (DEA) that were 50% higher than the fallow. When compared with the fallow, the MIX increased microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) by 66 and 90%, respectively. The implementation of cover crop systems in sandy soil under no-till improved microbial soil activity even in the first year, but benefits to yield and soil chemistry occurred only after the third year of cultivation.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available in the main body of the paper. Raw data can also be provided (on request) from the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Lopes, B.P., Batista, G.D., Rodrigues, D.R. for their assistance to sampling and field and laboratory evaluations. To APPA (São Paulo Cotton Grower’s Association for research fundings. Fabio Fernando Araujo would like to thank CNPq-Brazil for their research fellowship (Grants 310222/2020-6).
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Carlos Felipe dos Santos Cordeiro: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, data curation, formal analysis, writing (original draft), and writing (review and editing). Fábio Rafael Echer: conceptualization, project administration, resources, supervision, writing (original draft), and writing (review and editing). Fabio Fernando Araujo: resources, writing (original draft), and writing (review and editing).
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dos Santos Cordeiro, C.F., Echer, F.R. & Araujo, F.F. Cover Crops Impact Crops Yields by Improving Microbiological Activity and Fertility in Sandy Soil. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 21, 1968–1977 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00494-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00494-0