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DOI 10.1007/s11368-016-1544-9
Abstract
Purpose The objective of this study was to determine the
changes in the main soil chemical properties including pH,
electrical conductivity (EC), available phosphorus (P), soil
organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks after
long-term (31 years) additions of two types of organic mattersrice straw and rice straw compost, combined with NPK
fertilizers in single rice paddy in a cold temperate region of
Japan.
Materials and methods A long-term experiment on combined
inorganic fertilizers and organic matters in paddy rice cultivation began in May 1982 in Yamagata, northeastern Japan.
After the 31st harvest, soil samples were collected from five
treatments [(1) PK, (2) NPK, (3) NPK + 6 Mg ha1 rice straw
(RS), (4) NPK + 10 Mg ha1 rice straw compost (CM1), and
(5) NPK + 30 Mg ha1 rice straw compost (CM3)] at five soil
depths (05, 510, 1015, 1520, and 2025 cm). Soil chemical properties of pH, EC, available P, SOC, and TN were
analyzed.
Results and discussion The pH decreased significantly only at
the higher compost rate of 30 Mg ha1, while EC increased in
all the organic matter treatments. Available P significantly
1 Introduction
* Weiguo Cheng
cheng@tds1.tr.yamagata-u.ac.jp
J Soils Sediments
(38 15 N, 140 15 E), belonging to a typical humid temperate climate zone. The mean annual temperature at the site was
11.7 C and annual precipitation was 1163 mm in the past
30 years (19812010) according to data recorded at
Yamagata Meteorological Station (http://www.data.jma.go.
jp/). Rice is grown in the area from May to September, and
the rice field is left on fallow for the remaining 7 months per
year. The long-term experiment began in May 1982 for first
rice growth season. The soil is classified as Inceptisol by US
Soil Taxonomy (Cheng et al. 2007). The initial soil had a pH
(H2O) of 5.56, SOC of 8.9 g kg1, and TN of 1.1 g kg1 in the
depth of 012 cm (Yamagata Agricultural Research Station
1983).
Soil samples were collected from the following treatment
plots: (1) PK, (2) NPK, (3) NPK + 6 Mg ha1 rice straw (RS),
(4) NPK + 10 Mg ha1 rice straw compost (CM1), and (5)
NPK + 30 Mg ha1 rice straw compost (CM3). The area of
each square plot was 100 m2. NPK fertilizers were applied as
ammonium sulfate at 80 kg N ha1, monocalcium phosphate
at 68 kg P2O5 ha1, and potassium chloride at 68 kg K2O ha1.
Monocalcium phosphate was applied as basic fertilization,
while ammonium sulfate and potassium chloride were applied
twice as basic and additional fertilizations. The 6 Mg ha1 rate
of rice straw incorporation was estimated from the average
straw yield that was returned to the soil in the rice straw treatment. The 10 Mg ha1 rate of rice straw compost was the local
convention recommended by the local government. The rice
straw compost was produced outdoors without any material
addition for about 23 years until the volume did not change.
Descriptions of the organic matters used are shown in Table 1.
Rice straw was left on the soil surface after harvest and during
the winter season. It was incorporated into the soil during the
land preparation for the next rice-cropping season. The rice
straw was removed after harvest leaving only the stubbles in
the PK, NPK, CM1, and CM3 treatments. The rice straw
compost was incorporated during land preparation in the
CM1 and CM3 treatments, while the NPK fertilizers were
broadcasted.
J Soils Sediments
Table 1 Water, organic C, and
total N contents, as well as the
application rates of the organic
matters used in the long-term
experiment at every rice growth
season
Organic matters
Rice straw in
RS treatment
(6 Mg ha1)
Straw compost in
CM1 treatment
(10 Mg ha1)
10.0
387
6.0
64.5
2090
32.4
76.3 2.9a
216 12a
16.7 2.0a
12.9
512
39.6
Straw compost in
CM3 treatment
(30 Mg ha1)
76.3 2.9a
216 12a
16.7 2.0a
12.9
1536
118.7
Water, organic C, and total N contents are average values from rice straw compost samples analyzed in 1996,
2002, and 2013; the values showed mean SD. Rice straw sample was only analyzed in 2013
while the bulk density was assumed to be the same for all
soil layers.
3 Results
3.1 Changes in soil pH and EC
Soils that had been applied with organic matter had a lower pH
and higher EC as compared to soils that had received no N
fertilizer (PK) or only inorganic fertilizer (NPK). Only the
higher dose of composted manure at 30 Mg ha1 significantly
reduced soil pH, while both doses of CM (10 and 30 Mg ha1)
significantly increased EC relative to the PK and NPK treatments at 025 cm soils (Figs. 1A and 2A). Soil pH showed
significant differences across fertilizer treatments (F) but not
across soil depths (D). There was no significant F D interactions on soil pH (Table 2). Both fertilizer treatment and soil
depth had a significant effect on the variability in EC without
interactions (Table 2).
3.2 Changes in soil available P
Both fertilizer treatment and soil depth had a significant effect
on the variability in available P without interactions (Table 2).
Long-term application of CM at 10 and 30 Mg ha1 year1
brought about a significant increase in available P concentration of 55.1 and 86.4 % over the NPK treatment. However, no
significant difference in available P was observed in the RS
treatment as compared to the NPK treatment (Fig. 3A).
Available P concentration was highest in the 510 or 10
15 cm soil layers in all five treatments (Fig. 3B).
3.3 Changes in SOC and TN stocks
Both fertilizer treatment and soil depth had a significant effect
on the variability in SOC and TN stocks without interactions
(Table 2). All the organic matter treatments resulted in significantly higher SOC and TN stocks in the 025 cm depth as
J Soils Sediments
4 Discussion
4.1 Effect of long-term application of organic matters
on soil pH, EC, and available P
Many previous researches have shown that soil pH was affected by long-term application of inorganic fertilizers and
J Soils Sediments
Table 2 Test of interacted effects, using the SAS mixed procedure, on
the chemical properties of soils from the 31 years long-term experiment
treated with inorganic fertilizers and organic matters
Effect
pH
EC
Av P
SOC
TN
Pr > F
Treatments (T)
Soil depth (D)
0.002
0.888
<0.001
0.015
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
TD
0.999
0.266
0.309
0.496
0.468
J Soils Sediments
Table 3 Total amounts of SOC stock at 025 cm soil depth and the effects of continuously applying C from organic matters on the SOC stocks after
31 years
Treatment
Amounts of C
applied each year
Total amounts
of C applied (A)
(Mg C ha1)
Total amounts
of SOC stock
Percentage of increase
SOC stocks relative
to NPK plot
Rate of increase of
SOC to the amounts
of total applied C (B/A)
(%)
PK
49.91
2.74
5.2
NPK
RS
2090
64.78
52.65
63.92
0
11.27
0
21.4
17.4
CM1
512
15.87
57.21
4.55
8.7
28.7
CM3
1536
47.61
88.02
35.37
67.2
74.3
Table 4 Total amounts of N applied from inorganic fertilizers and organic matters, N absorption by rice aboveground biomass, N balance between
applied and absorption, and the amounts of TN stock at 025 cm soil depth during 31 years among five treatments
Treatment
Amounts of N
applied from
inorganic
fertilizers
Amounts of N
applied from
organic matters
(A)
Absorption
N in rice
aboveground
biomassa
N balance
between
applied and
absorption
0
80
80
80
CM3
80
Total amounts
of TN stock
Increase in the
amounts of TN
stocks relative
to NPK plot (B)
(kg N ha1)
Percentage of
increase TN
stocks relative
to NPK plot
Rate of increase
of TN to the
amounts of total
applied N from
organic matters
(B / (A 31))
(%)
32.4
39.6
54.6
103.6
119.2
114.3
54.6
23.6
6.8
5.3
3718
3942
4739
4276
224
0
797
334
5.7
0
20.2
8.5
79.4
27.2
118.7
135.7
63.0
6467
2525
64.1
68.6
J Soils Sediments
(A)
PK
NPK
RS
CM1
CM3
5
R = 0.942
P<0.05
(n = 4)
3
80
50
100
120
140
160
(B)
PK
NPK
RS
CM1
CM3
R = 0.886
P<0.05
(n = 5)
3
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
N balance (kg N ha-1 yr-1 )
Fig. 4 The relationship between the soil TN stock and the rice absorbed
N (A), as well as the soil TN stock and annual N balance (B). The N
balance is N absorbed by rice aboveground biomass minus N applied
from inorganic fertilizers and organic matters among the five treatments
organic matters were 79.4, 27.2, and 68.6 % in RS, CM1, and
CM3 treatments, respectively (Table 4). Compared to the rates
of increasing SOC stock in three organic matter treatments
relative to the total applied C from organic matter (17.4,
28.7, and 74.3 % in RS, CM1, and CM3 treatments, respectively, shown in Table 3), long-term rice straw application
enhanced soil TN stock from organic matter (79.4 %) larger
than that of SOC stock (17.4 %). It implied that the rates of
increase of SOC and TN stocks relative to the total applied C
and N from organic matters were different between rice straw
and rice straw compost due to the different C/N.
The annual N balance between fertilizer application and
absorption by crop aboveground biomass was negative not
only in the PK treatment (54.6 kg N ha1) but also in the
NPK (23.6 kg N ha1) and RS (6.8 kg N ha1) treatments.
On the other hand, the annual N balance was positive in both
CM1 (5.3 kg N ha1) and CM3 (63.0 kg N ha1) treatments
(Table 4). These results suggest that the rice paddy has a high
capacity to get N from N sources other than N fertilizer
(Koyama and App 1979). The absorbed N in rice aboveground biomass of PK treatment was 54.6 kg N ha1 year1,
equivalent to 53 % of that from the NPK treatment
(103.6 kg N ha1 year1) (Table 4). The absorbed N in rice
increased by 15.1, 10.3, and 31.0 % with RS, CM1, and CM3
treatments relative to that of the NPK treatment. Excluding the
PK treatment, there was a linear relationship (P < 0.05) between the amounts of TN stock and the average of annual rice
absorbed N (Fig. 4A), as well as the amounts of TN stock and
annual N balance (P < 0.05) (Fig. 4B).
5 Conclusions
Significant changes in soil properties were observed after
31 years of organic matter applications with reference to PK
and NPK fertilized rice paddy soils. A significant decrease in
pH was observed with the application of a high rate
(30 Mg ha1) of rice straw compost but not with the conventional rate of 10 Mg ha1. However, EC increased significantly
relative to that of the PK and NPK fertilized plots in all the
organic matter treatments. Available P significantly increased
in the CM1 and CM3 treatments by 55.1 and 86.4 %, respectively. The amounts of SOC stock expressed as a percentage of
total C applied to the soil was higher from 10 Mg ha1 compost
(28.7 %), than that from 6 Mg ha1 rice straw (17.4 %), indicating a more effective soil organic C accumulation from rice
straw compost than that from original rice straw.
Acknowledgments This research was funded in part by Grants-in-Aid
for Scientific Research and International Collaborations, Japan Society
for the Promotion of Science, and in part by The United Graduate School
of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University and by Faculty of Agriculture,
Yamagata University.
J Soils Sediments
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