Study

Short-term effects of conservation management practices on soil labile organic carbon fractions under a rape–rice rotation in central China

  • Published source details Li C., Yue L., Kou Z., Zhang Z., Wang J. & Cao C. (2012) Short-term effects of conservation management practices on soil labile organic carbon fractions under a rape–rice rotation in central China. Soil and Tillage Research, 119, 31-37.

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

Action Category

Change tillage practices

Action Link
Soil Fertility
  1. Change tillage practices

    A replicated, randomized, controlled trial between 2006 and 2009 in a clay loam soil in Hubei Province, China (Li et al. 2012) found that soil organic carbon in the top 5 cm of the soil was increased under: no tillage for rape Brassica napus but tillage for rice Oryza sativa (by 6 %), continuous no tillage (by 9%), and continuous no tillage with a mulch of crop residues (by 17%), relative to full tillage. The trial used four crop rotation and tillage treatments: , rape and rice with full tillage, rape and rice with continuous no tillage, rape without but rice with tillage, and rape and rice without tillage but with mulches. Tillage plots were tilled by hand to 10 cm depth then mouldboard ploughed to 30 cm depth. Rape and rice were harvested in May and October each year, and residues were air dried before being left on the soil surface in the mulching treatment.

     

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