Abstract:
Objective The aims were to explore the effects of crop straw and liquid residues from anaerobic fermentation of livestock manure on improving soil structure and enhancing soil carbon sequestration capacity, single season straw incorporation combined with biogas slurry on soil aggregates and organic carbon fractions was conducted in wheat-maize rotation farmland of North China Plain.
Method Based on the equal carbon content principle, six treatments were designed, including single biogas slurry, wheat or maize straw incorporation, wheat or maize straw incorporation combined with biogas slurry, as well as blank control without organic materials input. Soil samples from topsoil within 20 cm was collected following 3-year duration to determine the mass proportion of water stable aggregate and the contents of total organic carbon (TOC) and labile organic carbon (LOC), and to compare the changes of soil aggregate stability and carbon pool management indices (CPMI).
Result These results revealed that the mass proportion of water stable aggregates (≥0.25 mm, WR0.25), TOC and LOC contents were significantly increased. Among wheat straw incorporation combined with biogas slurry had the highest WR0.25 at 81.36%, mean weight diameter (MWD) at 2.01 mm and geometric mean diameter (GMD) at 1.21 mm, increased by 5.14%, 27.1% and 30.1% compared with single biogas slurry, and by 0.07% ~ 18.46%, 26.42% ~ 50.00% and 22.22% ~ 77.94% compared with the single season of straw returning. While the fractal dimension (D) was the lowest (2.35), decrease by 3.29% and 4.25% compared to the single biogas slurry or the single season of straw returning. The highest levels of TOC and LOC was obtained in the same treatment (26.12 g kg−1 and 3.38 g kg−1). Soil carbon pool activity (A) and carbon pool activity index (AL) in the wheat straw incorporation treatment were 0.15 and 1.48, which were 15.38% and 18.85% increased than single biogas slurry compared with single-season straw returning, the increases were 20.80% ~ 38.1% and 16.66% ~ 77.45%. Wheat straw incorporation coupled with biogas slurry also had the highest soil CPMI (207.39).
Conclusion Therefore, applied wheat straw combined with biogas slurry could not only improve soil structure, increase soil organic carbon content, but also enhance active organic carbon ratio and carbon pool management index, resulting in a dual effect of agricultural waste recycling and agricultural sustainable development.