Impacts of tillage practices on total, loose- and occluded-particulate, and humified organic carbon fractions in soils within a field in southern Ontario

Abstract

The effects of no-tillage (NT) and moldboard plowing (MP) on the distribution and storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) and different C fractions were determined along a transect on a private farm in southern Ontario, Canada, where a paired NT and MP strip traversing three soil series had been in existence for 19 yr. Soil samples were collected to a depth of 60 cm in seven increments. SOC was determined in each sample and for the top 30 cm, the organic carbon was fractionated into loose-, occluded-particulate organic matter (loose-POM and occluded-POM) and humified fraction (HF). After 19 yr, soils under NT contained significantly (P < 0.05) more SOC than soils under MP on both an equivalent depth basis and an equivalent mass basis. Greater concentrations of loose- and occluded-POM were found in NT than MP surface soils (0-10 cm). MP favored higher loose-POM contents than NT practices at a depth of 10-20 cm. The HF fraction accounted for most of the increase in SOC in the Huron and Brady soils, whereas the occluded POM accounted for more of the increase in the Fox soil. Our results indicate that the extent of SOC sequestration under NT is strongly dependent on soil type and cropping history.