Effect of fertilization on respiration from different sources in a sandy soil of an agricultural long-term experiment
Annual changes in stocks of soil organic carbon may be detected by measurement of heterotrophic respiration, but field studies of heterotrophic respiration in long-term fertilization experiments on sandy soils are scarce. Our objectives were to: (1)investigate the influence of fertilizer
type on mineralization of soil organic carbon and crop residue, and (2) show how fertilization treatments affect the annual C balance (net ecosystem carbon balance, NECB; negative values indicate a CO2-source) in the sandy soil of the Darmstadt experiment. Treatments were long-term
mineral fertilization with cereal straw incorporation (MSI) and application of rotted farmyard manure (FYM), both treatments receiving 14 g N m−2 year−1. This study used δ13C natural abundance after introduction of a C4 crop to
distinguish between different sources of respiration. Mineralization derived from C3 sources was similar for MSI and FYM treatments (∼270 g C m−2 year−1). The rate of residue mineralization in MSI treatments was higher, resulting in a mineralization
of 49 and 37% of initial residue C in the soil of MSI and FYM treatments, respectively. The NECB (g C m−2 year−1) indicated the MSI treatment (approximately −190) as a stronger source compared with the FYM treatment (∼−30).
Keywords: carbon balance; farmyard manure; mineral fertilization; mineralization; stable isotopes
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Environmental Chemistry,University of Kassel, Witzenhausen, Germany 2: Soil Science of Temperate and Boreal Ecosystems,Büsgen-Institute, University of Göttingen, Germany 3: Institute for Biodynamic Research, Darmstadt, Germany
Publication date: 01 September 2012
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