Root Parameters Show How Management Alters Resource Distribution and Soil Quality in Conventional and Low-Input Cropping Systems in Central Iowa.

ABSTRACT: Plant-soil relations may explain why low-external input (LEI) diversified cropping systems are more efficient than their conventional counterparts. This work sought to identify links between management practices, soil quality changes, and root responses in a long-term cropping systems experiment in Iowa where grain yields of 3-year and 4-year LEI rotations have matched or exceeded yield achieved by a 2-year maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) rotation. The 2-year system was conventionally managed and chisel-ploughed, whereas the 3-year and 4-year systems received plant residues and animal manures and were periodically moldboard ploughed. We expected changes in soil quality to be driven by organic matter inputs, and root growth to reflect spatial and temporal fluctuations in so

SUBMITTER: Lazicki PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5085082 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature