Contributions of wheat and maize residues to soil organic carbon under long-term rotation in north China.

ABSTRACT: Soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics in agro-ecosystem is largely influenced by cropping. However, quantifying the contributions of various crops has been lacking. Here we employed a stable isotopic approach to evaluate the contributions of wheat and maize residues to SOC at three long-term experimental sites in north China. Soil samples were collected from 0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80 and 80-100 cm after 13 and 20 years of wheat-maize rotation, and SOC and its stable (13)C composition were determined. Our data showed that the δ(13)C value of SOC varied, on average, from -22.1‰ in the 0-20 cm to -21.5‰ in the 80-100 cm. Carbon input through maize residues ranged from 35% to 68% whereas the contribution of maize residues to SOC (0-40 cm) ranged from 28% to 40%. Our analyses suggested that the re

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4650633 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature