Effect of soil management practices on the mineralization of organic matter and quality of sandy soils

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of soil management systems of Brunic Arenosols on the total content of organic carbon and its fraction susceptible to oxidation in comparison with the soils under forests. The samples for study were taken from the humus horizon at the sites located in the forests and soils from little mid-forest cultivated fields (hunting plots). The agrotechnical treatments increased the content of the plant-available forms of P, K and Mg in the soils of most hunting plots in comparison to the forest soils. In the arable horizon of the hunting plots, t a varied total content of organic carbon and its fraction susceptible to oxidation was found. The cultivation of soil in the hunting plots caused a decrease in the content of total organic carbon as well as its labile and non-labile fraction. In order to evaluate the carbon transformation in the soil of the cultivated plots against the forest (reference soil), the Carbon Management Index (CMI) was used. The decay rate of soil organic matter in a natural forest was lower than in the agricultural fields. A long-term tillage of Brunic Arenosols contributed to the degradation of the pool of organic carbon in sandy-textured soil.