Long-Term Organic Cultivation in Greenhouses Enhances Vegetable Yield and Soil Carbon Accumulation through the Promotion of Soil Aggregation

Lihong Tong, Yingjun Liu, Tian Lan (), Xiayan Liu, Lechuan Zhang, Adu Ergu, Yajie Wen and Xiang Liu
Additional contact information
Lihong Tong: State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810005, China
Yingjun Liu: State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Tian Lan: School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Xiayan Liu: Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China
Lechuan Zhang: COFCO Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100020, China
Adu Ergu: School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yajie Wen: College of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Xiang Liu: College of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: The long-term use of fertilizers and pesticides in conventional cultivation has resulted in a decrease in soil productivity and vegetable yields in greenhouses. However, there is little research exploring the changes in soil organic carbon and the microbial community mediated by soil aggregates, or their impacts on soil productivity. This study investigated the properties of soil aggregates, including the levels of organic carbon fractions, microbial community, and enzyme activity with the three aggregate classes: microaggregates (<0.25 mm), small macroaggregates (2–0.25 mm) and large macroaggregates (>2 mm) under conventional cultivation (CC), integrated cultivation (IC), and organic cultivation (OC) in greenhouses. The results showed that (1) OC and IC promoted the formation of small macroaggregates and enhanced aggregate stability compared to CC; (2) SOC in the three size fractions of OC increased by 92.06–98.99% compared to CC; EOC increased by 98.47–117.59%; POC increased by 138.59–208.70%; MBC increased by 104.71–230.61%; and DOC increased by 21.93–40.90%, respectively; (3) organic cultivation significantly increased enzyme activity in all three particle-size aggregates and increased the relative abundance of bacteria in microaggregates as well as the relative abundance of fungi in small macroaggregates. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis revealed that organic farming practices fostered the development of smaller macroaggregates, elevated microbial and enzyme activities within soil aggregates, and facilitated the conversion of soil nutrients and carbon sequestration. Therefore, long-term organic cultivation increases soil carbon content and vegetable yield in greenhouses by increasing the proportion of small aggregates. In conclusion, long-term organic cultivation in greenhouses improves soil structure, increase soil fertility and vegetable yield, and has a positive impact on the environment. Organic cultivation increases soil fertility and contributes to maintaining ecological balance and protecting the environment in greenhouses.

Keywords: organic cultivation; soil aggregates; organic carbon fraction; microbial community; enzyme activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/6/885/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/6/885/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:6:p:885-:d:1407707

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().