Abstract
Tropical agricultural soils have been claimed as a source of carbon. As agricultural systems in the tropics are highly diverse, it is useful to study soil organic C (SOC) of different agricultural systems. We quantified the SOC fractions, available nutrients, and aggregate stability in eight different tropical agricultural systems, including annual crops under different management scenarios, such as organic, inorganic, and combined fertilizer applications. Annual crops treated with organic fertilizer only (A–OF), inorganic fertilizer only (A–IF), both organic and inorganic fertilizers (A–O/IF), perennial crops (PC), home gardens (HG), and abandoned home gardens (AHG) in Eutrustox soils and annual crops with organic fertilizer only (A–OFS) and uncultivated land on Quartzipsamments soil (USR) were studied. The links between SOC fractions, available nutrients, and aggregate stability in these soils were analyzed. Regression models were fitted for SOC fractions and available nutrients. Our results indicated that the different land use types exhibited significant variations in organic carbon fractions, aggregate stability, and available nutrients in soils. The available macro and micronutrients, except for nitrogen, showed a significant positive correlation with either total organic C (TOC) or carbon fractions indicating the synergy between them. The differences in soil C stocks clearly reflected the differences in litter fall and soil disturbance, as indicated by the highest C stocks in AHG. The dry weight of collected litter showed that AHG accumulated the highest litter content (97.38 g/m2) compared to the lowest (37.63 g/m2) in A–I/F. Organic matter addition to soil also increased the C stocks, even in annual crops. Aggregate stability showed a positive correlation with C fractions. The regression models developed in this study can be used to predict available nutrients by measuring TOC or C fractions in similar land use types in the tropics. This study confirmed that tropical agricultural systems that include annual crops have potential for storing and maintaining C in soils, if appropriately managed. The beneficial influence of SOC on available nutrients and aggregate stability could be a driving force to increase carbon stock in tropical agricultural systems.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
A. Campbell, F. Selles, G. P. Lafond, V. O. Biederbeck, and R. P. Zentner, “Tillage-fertilizer changes: effect on some soil quality attributes under long-term crop rotation in a thin Black Chernozem,” Can. J. Soil Sci. 81, 157–165 (2001).
A. D. Ghani, M. Dexter, and K. W. Perrott, “Hot water extractable carbon in soils, a sensitive measurement determining impacts of fertilization, grazing and cultivation,” Soil Biol. Biochem. 35, 1231–1243 (2003).
B. Alexandra and J. Benites, The Importance of Soil Organic Matter: Key to Drought-resistant Soil and Sustained Food Production, FAO Soils Bulletin no. 80 (Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, 2005).
B. Govaerts, N. Verhulst, A. Castellanos-Navarrete, K. D. Sayre, J. Dixon, and L. Dendooven, “Conservation agriculture and soil carbon sequestration: between myth and farmer reality,” Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 28, 97–122 (2009).
A. Bot and J. Benites, The Importance of Soil Organic Matter: Key to Drought-resistant Soil and Sustained Food Production (Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, 2005).
D. A. Martens, “Plant residue biochemistry regulates soil carbon cycling and carbon sequestration,” Soil Biol. Biochem. 32, 361–369 (2000).
D. K. Benbi and J. S. Brar, “A 25-year record of carbon sequestration and soil properties in intensive agriculture,” Agron. Sustainable Dev. 29, 257–265 (2009).
D. K. Benbi, K. Bra, A. S. Toor, P. Singh, and H. Singh, “Soil carbon pools under poplar-based agroforestry, rice-wheat, and maize-wheat cropping systems in semi-arid India,” Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosyst. 92, 107–118 (2012).
D. K. Benbi, K. Brar, A. S. Toor, and P. Singh, “Total and labile pools of soil organic carbon in cultivated and undisturbed soils in northern India,” Geoderma 237, 149–158 (2015).
D. Murty, M. U. Kirschbaum, R. E. Mcmurtrie, and H. Mcgilvray, “Does conversion of forest to agricultural land change soil carbon and nitrogen? A review of the literature,” Global Change Biol. 8, 105–123 (2002).
E. D. Vance, P. C. Brookes, and D. S. Jenkinson, “An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass carbon,” Soil Biol. Biochem. 19, 703–707 (1987).
E. Facelli and J. M. Facelli, “Soil phosphorus heterogeneity and mycorrhizal symbiosis regulate plant intra-specific competition and size distribution,” Oecologia 33, 54–61 (2002).
E. P. Robert, “Organic matter, humus, humate, humic acid, fulvic acid and humin: Their importance in soil fertility and plant health,” in Proceedings of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS)2014 (Quebec City, 2014), pp. 1–5.
F. Caravaca, T. Hernandez, C. Garcıa, and A. Roldan, “Improvement of rhizosphere aggregate stability of afforested semiarid plant species subjected to mycorrhizal inoculation and compost addition,” Geoderma 108, 133–144 (2002).
F. R. Moormann and C. R. Panabokke, “A new approach to the identification and classification of the most important soil groups of Ceylon,” in Soils of Ceylon (Department of Agriculture, Peradeniya, 1961). pp. 33–37.
F. S. Watanabe and S. R. Olsen, “Test of an ascorbic acid method for determining phosphorus in water and NaHCO3 extracts from soil,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 29, 677–678 (1965).
Plant Nutrition for Food Security: A Guide for Integrated Nutrient Management, FAO Fertilizer and Plant Nutrition Bulletin No. 16 (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, 2006).
G. R. Blake and K. H. Hartge, “Bulk density,” in Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1: Physical and Mineralogical Methods, SSSA Book Series 5.1, Ed. by A. Klute (American society of Agronomy, Madison, 1982), pp. 374–390.
G. W. Gee and J. W. Bauder, “Particle size analysis,” in Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1: Physical and Mineralogical Methods, SSSA Book Series 5.1, Ed. by A. Klute (American Society of Agronomy, Madison, 1986), pp. 383–411.
H. Shaheen, Y. Saeed, M. K. Abbasi, and A. Khaliq, “Soil carbon stocks along an altitudinal gradient in different land-use categories in Lesser Himalayan foothills of Kashmir,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 50, 432–437 (2017).
J. A. Baldock and P. N. Nelson, “Soil organic matter,” in Handbook of Soil Science, Ed. by E. M. Sumner (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2000), pp. B25–B84.
J. A. E. T. Six, E. T. Elliott, and K. Paustian, “Soil macro aggregate turnover and micro aggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage agriculture,” Soil Biol. Biochem. 32, 2099–2103 (2000).
J. C. Carlyle, “Organic carbon in forested sandy soils: properties, processes, and the impact of forest management,” N. Z. J. Sci. 23, 390–402 (1993).
J. J. Hutchinson, C. A. Campbell, and R. L. Desjardins, “Some perspectives on carbon sequestration in agriculture,” Agric. For. Meteorol. 142, 288–302 (2007).
J. L. Havlin, J. D. Beaton, S. L. Tisdale, and W. L. Nlson, Soil Fertility and Fertilizers: An Introduction to Nutrient Management (Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2005).
J. L. McIntosh, “Bray and Morgan soil test extractants modified for testing acid soils from different parent materials,” J. Agron. 61, 259–265 (1969).
J. Lehmann, D. Kern, J. German, G. C. Martins, and A. Moreira, “Soil fertility and production potential,” in Amazonian Dark Earths, Ed. by J. Lehmann, D. Kern, B. Glaser, and W.I. Woods (Springer-Verlag, Dordrecht, 2003), pp. 105–124.
J. M. Anderson and J. S. L. Ingram, Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility: A Handbook of Methods (CAB International, Wallingford, 1993).
J. Wu, “Carbon accumulation in paddy ecosystems in subtropical China: evidence from landscape studies,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 46, 579–586 (2011).
K. Coleman and D. S. Jenkinson, “RothC-26.3—A model for the turnover of carbon in soil,” in Evaluation of Soil Organic Matter Models (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1996).
K. F. Baker, “The determination of organic carbon in soil using a probe-colorimeter,” Lab. Pract. 25, 82–83 (1976).
K. Y. Chan and D. P. Heenan, “Lime-induced loss of soil organic carbon and effect on aggregate stability,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 63, 1841–1844 (1999).
L. Weng, E. J. Temminghoff, S. Lofts, E. Tipping, and W. H. Riemsdijk, “Complexation with dissolved organic matter and solubility control of heavy metals in a sandy soil,” Environ. Sci. Technol. 36, 4804–4810 (2002).
L. B. Guo and R. M. Gifford, “Soil carbon stocks and land use change: a meta-analysis,” Glob. Change Biol. 8, 345–360 (2002).
M. Gao, J. Yang, Y. Li, L. Ning, L. Na, H. Yuqian, L. Peiyu, and H. Xiaori, “Characteristics of organic carbon changes in brown Earth under 37-year long-term fertilization,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 51, 1172–1180 (2018).
M. Kumari, D. Chakraborty, M. K. Gathala, H. Pathak, B. S. Dwivedi, R. K. Tomar, and J. K. Ladha, “Soil aggregation and associated organic carbon fractions as affected by tillage in a rice–wheat rotation in North India,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75, 560–567 (2011).
M. T. Barral, M. Arias, and J. Guerif, “Effects of iron and organic matter on the porosity and structural stability of soil aggregates,” Soil Tillage Res. 46, 261–272 (1998).
N. C. Brady and R. R. Weil, “Nitrogen and sulfur economy of soils,” in Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils (Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2002), pp. 584–662.
National Atlas for Sri Lanka, Survey Department of Sri Lanka (Colombo, 2007).
P. A. Shary and D. L. Pinskii, “Statistical evaluation of the relationships between spatial variability in the organic carbon content in gray forest soils, soil density, concentrations of heavy metals, and topography,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 46, 1076–1087 (2013).
P. M. Soltanpour and A. P. Schwab, “A new soil test for simultaneous extraction of macroand micronutrients in alkaline soils,” Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 8, 195–207 (1977).
R. Derpsch and K. Moriya, “Implications of no-tillage versus soil preparation on sustainability of agricultural production,” Adv. Geoecol. 31, 1179–1186 (1998).
R. J. Haynes, “Labile organic matter fractions as central components of the quality of agricultural soils: an overview,” Adv. Agron. 85, 221–268 (2005).
R. Lal, “Agroforestry systems and soil surface management of a tropical alfisol,” Agr. Syst. 8, 1–6 (1989).
R. Lal, “Enhancing crop yields in the developing countries through restoration of the soil organic carbon pool in agricultural lands,” Land Degrad. Dev. 17, 197–209 (2006).
R. Lal, “Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change,” Geoderma 123, 1–22 (2004).
R. Lal, “Soil management and restoration for C sequestration to mitigate the accelerated greenhouse effect,” Prog. Environ. Sci. 1, 307–326 (1999).
R. Lal and J. P. Bruce, “The potential of world cropland soils to sequester C and mitigate the greenhouse effect,” Environ. Sci. Policy 2, 177–185 (1999).
R. Leemans, Land-Use Change and the Terrestrial Carbon Cycle (International Council of Scientific Unions, Paris, 1999), pp. 24–26.
R. Mageswaran and S. Mahalingam, “Nitrate nitrogen content of well water and soil from selected areas in Jaffna peninsula,” J. Natl. Sci. Found. Sri Lanka 11, 269–275 (1983).
R. R. Ratnayake, B. M. A. C. Perera, R. P. S. K. Rajapaksha, E. M. H. G. S. Ekanayake, R. K. G. K. A. Kumara, and H. M. A. C. Gunaratne, “Soil carbon sequestration and nutrient status of tropical rice based cropping systems: rice-rice, rice-soya, rice-onion and rice tobacco in Sri Lanka,” Catena 150, 17–23 (2017).
R. R. Ratnayake, G. Seneviratne, and S. A. Kulasooriya, “Effect of soil carbohydrates on nutrient availability in natural forests and cultivated lands in Sri Lanka,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 46, 579–586 (2013).
R. R. Ratnayake, T. Kugendren, and N. Gnanavelrajah, “Changes in soil carbon stocks under different agricultural management practices in North Sri Lanka,” J. Natl. Sci. Found. Sri Lanka 42, 37–44 (2014).
R. R. Weil, K. R. Islam, M. A. Stine, L. B. Gruver, and S. E. Samson-Liebig, “Estimating active carbon for soil quality assessment, A simplified method for laboratory and field use,” Am. J. Altern. Agric. 18, 1–16 (2003).
R.B. Mapa, S. Somasiri, and A. R. Dassanayake, Soils of the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka, Special Publication no. 9 (Soil Science Society of Sri Lanka, Peradeniya, 2010).
S. B. Karunaratne, T. F. A. Bishop, J. S. Lessels, J. A. Baldock, and I. O. A. Odeh, “A space time observation system for soil organic carbon,” Soil Res. 53, 647–661 (2015).
S. Lenore, L. E. Clesceri, A. E. Greenberg and R. R. Trussell, Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water (American Public Health Association, Washington, 1989).
S. Nagarajah, B. N. Emerson, V. Abeykoon, and S. Yogalingam, “Water quality of wells in Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts,” Trop. Agric. 144, 15–20 (1988).
S. P. Sohi, E. Krull, E. Lopez-Capel, and R. Bol, “A review of biochar and its use and function in soil,” in Advances in Agronomy, Ed. by D. L. Sparks (Elsevier, San Diego, 2010), Vol. 105, Chap. 2, pp. 47–82.
Procedures in the SAS/STAT Guide for Personal Computers, Version 6 (SAS Institute Cary, NC, 1999).
Soil Taxonomy, Agriculture Handbook no. 436 (Soil Conservation Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, 1978).
W. D. Kemper and R. C. Rosenau, “Aggregate stability and Size distribution,” in Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1: Physical and Mineralogical Methods, SSSA Book Series 5.1, Ed. by A. Klute (American Society of Agronomy, Madison, 1986), pp. 434–435.
W. M. Post and K. C. Kwon, “Soil carbon sequestration and land-use change: processes and potential,” Global Change Biol. 6, 317–327 (2000).
W. R. Hogg, “The photoproduction of charged pions from deuterium,” Proc. Phys. Soc. 80, 729 (1992).
W. Burghardt, D. Heintz, and N. Hocke, “Soil fertility characteristics and organic carbon stock in soils of vegetable gardens compared with surrounding arable land at the Center of the Urban and Industrial Area of Ruhr, Germany,” Eurasian Soil Sci. 51, 1067–1079 (2018).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank Mr. Anura Pathirana and Ms. Kumuduni Karunaratne, National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy for assistance in sampling and chemical analysis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ratnayake, R.R., Roshanthan, T., Gnanavelrajah, N. et al. Organic Carbon Fractions, Aggregate Stability, and Available Nutrients in Soil and Their Interrelationships in Tropical Cropping Systems: A Case Study. Eurasian Soil Sc. 52, 1542–1554 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229319120123
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229319120123