Impact of Winter Cover Crops on Total and Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen in Black Soil
Winter cover crops have been shown to promote the accumulation of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, enhance nutrient cycling, reduce erosion, improve ecosystem stability, etc. In the black soil area of Northeast China, <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L., <i>Medicago sativa</i>...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/3/603 |
| _version_ | 1797242395596685312 |
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| author | Yubo Li Qin Zhu Yang Zhang Shuang Liu Xiaoting Wang Enheng Wang |
| author_facet | Yubo Li Qin Zhu Yang Zhang Shuang Liu Xiaoting Wang Enheng Wang |
| author_sort | Yubo Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Winter cover crops have been shown to promote the accumulation of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, enhance nutrient cycling, reduce erosion, improve ecosystem stability, etc. In the black soil area of Northeast China, <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L., <i>Medicago sativa</i> L., <i>Vicia villosa</i> Roth., <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L. and <i>Medicago sativa</i> L. mixed planting, <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L. and <i>Vicia villosa</i> Roth. mixed planting, and winter fallow fields (CK) were selected to investigate the effects of winter cover crops on soil total carbon and nitrogen and microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen. The results showed that (1) after seasonal freeze-thaw, the rate of change in SOC (−2.49~6.50%), TN (−1.54~5.44%), and C/N (−1.18~1.16%) was less than that in SMBC (−80.91~−58.33%), SMBN (−65.03~332.22%), and SMBC/SMBN (−45.52~−90.03%); (2) winter cover crops not only alleviated the negative effects of seasonal freeze-thaw, which reduces SMBC and qMBC, but also increased SMBN and qMBN; (3) there was an extremely significant (<i>p</i> < 0.01) positive correlation between SOC and TN, a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) negative correlation between SMBC and SMBN, and there was no significant correlation between SOC and SMBC or between TN and SMBN; (4) alkali-hydrolysable nitrogen had the greatest impact on SOC and TN, while the soil’s saturation degree had the greatest impact on SMBC and SMBN; and (5) the <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L. monoculture was the most effective in conserving soil microbial carbon and nitrogen. In conclusion, winter cover crops can mitigate the reduction in soil microbial biomass carbon caused by seasonal freeze-thaw and also increase the soil microbial nitrogen content in the black soil region of Northeast China, of which <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L. monoculture showed the best performance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:38:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2a12dd150d9240df966736f56d146645 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:38:33Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-2a12dd150d9240df966736f56d1466452024-03-27T13:17:02ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952024-03-0114360310.3390/agronomy14030603Impact of Winter Cover Crops on Total and Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen in Black SoilYubo Li0Qin Zhu1Yang Zhang2Shuang Liu3Xiaoting Wang4Enheng Wang5College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150000, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150000, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150000, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150000, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150000, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150000, ChinaWinter cover crops have been shown to promote the accumulation of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, enhance nutrient cycling, reduce erosion, improve ecosystem stability, etc. In the black soil area of Northeast China, <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L., <i>Medicago sativa</i> L., <i>Vicia villosa</i> Roth., <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L. and <i>Medicago sativa</i> L. mixed planting, <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L. and <i>Vicia villosa</i> Roth. mixed planting, and winter fallow fields (CK) were selected to investigate the effects of winter cover crops on soil total carbon and nitrogen and microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen. The results showed that (1) after seasonal freeze-thaw, the rate of change in SOC (−2.49~6.50%), TN (−1.54~5.44%), and C/N (−1.18~1.16%) was less than that in SMBC (−80.91~−58.33%), SMBN (−65.03~332.22%), and SMBC/SMBN (−45.52~−90.03%); (2) winter cover crops not only alleviated the negative effects of seasonal freeze-thaw, which reduces SMBC and qMBC, but also increased SMBN and qMBN; (3) there was an extremely significant (<i>p</i> < 0.01) positive correlation between SOC and TN, a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) negative correlation between SMBC and SMBN, and there was no significant correlation between SOC and SMBC or between TN and SMBN; (4) alkali-hydrolysable nitrogen had the greatest impact on SOC and TN, while the soil’s saturation degree had the greatest impact on SMBC and SMBN; and (5) the <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L. monoculture was the most effective in conserving soil microbial carbon and nitrogen. In conclusion, winter cover crops can mitigate the reduction in soil microbial biomass carbon caused by seasonal freeze-thaw and also increase the soil microbial nitrogen content in the black soil region of Northeast China, of which <i>Triticum aestivum</i> L. monoculture showed the best performance.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/3/603carbon-to-nitrogen ratiocover cropsseasonal freeze-thawquotient of microbial biomass carbonquotient of microbial biomass nitrogen |
| spellingShingle | Yubo Li Qin Zhu Yang Zhang Shuang Liu Xiaoting Wang Enheng Wang Impact of Winter Cover Crops on Total and Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen in Black Soil Agronomy carbon-to-nitrogen ratio cover crops seasonal freeze-thaw quotient of microbial biomass carbon quotient of microbial biomass nitrogen |
| title | Impact of Winter Cover Crops on Total and Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen in Black Soil |
| title_full | Impact of Winter Cover Crops on Total and Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen in Black Soil |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Winter Cover Crops on Total and Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen in Black Soil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Winter Cover Crops on Total and Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen in Black Soil |
| title_short | Impact of Winter Cover Crops on Total and Microbial Carbon and Nitrogen in Black Soil |
| title_sort | impact of winter cover crops on total and microbial carbon and nitrogen in black soil |
| topic | carbon-to-nitrogen ratio cover crops seasonal freeze-thaw quotient of microbial biomass carbon quotient of microbial biomass nitrogen |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/3/603 |
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