Crop Rotation and Tillage Effects on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in Illinois

Zuber, Stacy M.; Behnke, Gevan D.; Nafziger, Emerson D.; Villamil, María B.

doi:10.2134/agronj14.0465

Cited by 147 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Tillage affected both SOM and TCs levels, with higher values under tilled plots as opposed to NT. Several studies have reported opposite results, showing increased SOM and TCs under longterm NT compared to tillage practices (West and Post, 2002;Kumar et al, 2012), even under Illinois conditions Zuber et al, 2015). Yet all these later studies reported results from experimental plots with more than 5 yr since treatment establishment whereas the current study has been in place for 3 yr and one complete production cycle in each field.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 57%

Tillage and Cover Cropping Effects on Soil Properties and Crop Production in Illinois

et al. 2017

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Core Ideas Compared corn–soybean rotations with cover crops vs fallows under no‐till or till. Corn–soybean rotations with cereal rye after corn decreased soil NO3–N by 42%. Soil attributes and crop yields were generally unaffected by cover crops use. Tillage increased soil organic matter and exchangeable K compared to no‐till. Tillage reduced soybean yields by 245 kg/ha compared to no‐till. Cover crops (CCs) have been heralded for their potential to improve soil properties, retain nutrients in the field, and subsequent crop yields, yet support for these claims within Illinois remains limited. Cover crops were used in corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotations. We assessed five sets of CCs vs. fallow controls under no‐till (NT) and chisel till (Till) on soil attributes and crop yields, encompassing one complete rotation cycle. The experimental layout was a split split‐block where whole plot treatments (P, rotation phase; and Y, year) had a Latin square design and subplot treatments of tillage (NT vs. Till) were split into sub‐subplot treatments of CC rotations. We measured soil properties, crop yields, CC stand counts in late fall, and spring biomass samples, each year. Tillage increased the level of soil organic matter (SOM) and exchangeable potassium (K) within our systems yet significantly decreased the yield of soybean by 245 kg/ha. Compared to winter fallow, soil attributes under corn–soybean rotations that included CCs did not show any statistically significant change after one cycle of production except increased N scavenging with cereal rye growing after corn harvest. Inclusion of CCs in the corn–soybean rotation did not affect cash crop yields in either till or NT systems. Our results show that cereal rye is the CC with the best potential as an N scavenger in the corn–soybean rotation, but claims of crop yield increases in the short term are not supported.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 57%

Tillage and Cover Cropping Effects on Soil Properties and Crop Production in Illinois

et al. 2017

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“…Since corn produces more residue than soybean or wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), one could assume that soil organic carbon (SOC) in a continuous corn (CC) scenario will increase more than in corn grown in a rotation. However, in a 15-year study in Illinois, Zuber et al (2015) reported similar SOC concentrations in CC and corn grown in rotation with other crops and concluded it could be attributed to lower residue production due to a yield penalty after long-term CC production and a greater overall productivity of rotations including corn. In the same study, corn-based rotations lowered bulk density (BD) and SOC compared to continuously grown soybean, which leaves low quantities of residues.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is mixed evidence on short-and long-term impact of crop rotations on soil properties. It is often reported that the effects of crop rotation on soil depends on the individual crop grown in a particular rotation since crops within rotation leave different quantity and quality of plant residues on the field (Sanford et al 2012;Zuber et al 2015). Leaving residues on the field has a positive effect on soils.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have investigated an interaction of crop rotations and tillage and their influence on many soil properties (Aziz et al 2015;Havlin et al 1990;Katsvairo et al 2002;West and Marland 2002;Zuber et al 2015). In an analysis of 67 long-term agriculture experiments with 267 paired treatments, West and Post (2002) concluded that the transition from conventional tillage to no-tillage in long-term CS rotation results in high C sequestration rates.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crop rotation effect on selected physical and chemical properties of Wisconsin soils

Kazula¹,

Lauer²,

Arriaga³

2017

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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Abstract:In response to climate change, there is a need to adopt more resilient cropping systems for increased productivity. In this study, three corn (Zea mays L.)-based rotationscontinuous corn (CC), corn-soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.; CS), and corn-soybean-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.; CSW), where all residues were retained on the field after harvest-were selected to study their effects on soil properties at three managed sites in WisconsinArlington, Lancaster, and Marshfield. Soil core samples were collected at four depths (0 to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 40, and 40 to 60 cm) in 2011. In 2013 and 2015, soil core samples were collected at the two top depths. Soil water retention (WR), plant available water (PAW), bulk density (BD), soil carbon (C), soil nitrogen (N), and C/N ratio were evaluated. Water retention was determined from 0 to 10 and 10 to 20 cm depths at five different matric potentials (Ψ = 0, −5, −10, −33, and −1,500 kPa). There was a significant location × depth interaction across soil properties, which could be associated with differences in management among locations. Averaged across location, CC and CSW rotations had greater water content and PAW across WR tensions than CS rotation at 0 to 10 cm depth, while no differences existed at 10 to 20 cm depth. Crop rotations had similar BD across locations and depths (1.37 to 1.41 g cm -3). A significant three-way location × depth × rotation interaction for C and N amount was affected with generally higher C and N amount in CSW rotation at Lancaster and smaller differences among crop rotations at Arlington and Marshfield. Observed low soil C/N ratio values (<11) indicated potential for soil organic matter to provide some N to the crop. Results from this study indicate that long-term CC systems had similar soil properties to those found in the CS and CSW rotations, and differences among locations were attributed to the differences in management and the environments. However, there is a potential for higher WR under CSW rotation, which might be important under variable climatic conditions.

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“…Optimum agricultural activities are considered to have the potential to restrict CO 2 emissions from soil by changing soil properties (Gregorich et al, 2005;Tenesaca and Al-Kaisi, 2015). No-tillage farming has been known to improve soil structure, reduce soil erosion, and conserve soil moisture (Gupta and Sayre, 2007;Zuber et al, 2015). Recently, no-tillage farming has received much attention because many studies have shown that it contributes to the reduction of CO 2 efflux from agricultural fields (AlvaroFuentes et al, 2007;Jabro et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applicability of soil column incubation experiments to measure CO2 efflux

Guo

Nishimura

Imoto

et al. 2015

International Agrophysics

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Accurate measurements of CO2 efflux from soils are essential to understand dynamic changes in soil carbon storage. Column incubation experiments are commonly used to study soil water and solute transport; however, the use of column incubation experiments to study soil CO2 efflux has seldom been reported. In this study, a 150-day greenhouse experiment with two treatments (no-tillage and tillage soils) was conducted to evaluate the applicability of soil column incubation experiments to study CO2 efflux. Both the chamber measurement and the gradient method were used, and results from the two methods were consistent: tillage increased soil cumulative CO2 efflux during the incubation period. Compared with fieldwork, incubation experiments can create or precisely control experimental conditions and thus have advantages for investigating the influence of climate factors or human activities on CO2 efflux. They are superior to bottle incubation because soil column experiments maintain a soil structure that is almost the same as that in the field, and thus can facilitate analyses on CO2 behaviour in the soil profile and more accurate evaluations of CO2 efflux. Although some improvements are still required for column incubation experiments, wider application of this method to study soil CO2 behaviour is expected.

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Crop Rotation and Tillage Effects on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in Illinois

Cited by 147 publications

References 45 publications

Tillage and Cover Cropping Effects on Soil Properties and Crop Production in Illinois

Tillage and Cover Cropping Effects on Soil Properties and Crop Production in Illinois

Crop rotation effect on selected physical and chemical properties of Wisconsin soils

Applicability of soil column incubation experiments to measure CO2 efflux

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