Changes in Soil Properties and Crop Yield under Sustainable Conservation Tillage Systems in Spring Wheat Agroecosystems

Jianyu Yuan, Mahran Sadiq, Nasir Rahim, Majid Mahmood Tahir, Yunliang Liang, Macao Zhuo, Lijuan Yan (), Aqila Shaheen, Basharat Mahmood and Guang Li ()
Additional contact information
Jianyu Yuan: College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Mahran Sadiq: College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Nasir Rahim: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot, AJK 12350, Pakistan
Majid Mahmood Tahir: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot, AJK 12350, Pakistan
Yunliang Liang: College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Macao Zhuo: College of Geology and Jewelry, Lanzhou Resources and Environment Vocational and Technical University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Lijuan Yan: College of Agriculture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Aqila Shaheen: Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot, AJK 12350, Pakistan
Basharat Mahmood: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot, AJK 12350, Pakistan
Guang Li: College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-23

Abstract: The cultivated soils in several semi-arid areas have very low organic matter due to climatic constraints that limit primary crop yield. Conservation tillage systems, outlined here as no tillage, no tillage with straw return and straw incorporation into the field, have been accepted as capable systems that preserve soil’s resources and sustain soil productivity. However, in semi-arid climates, there is presently no knowledge about the influence of different conservation tillage techniques on soil’s physical, chemical and biological properties at different soil depths in spring wheat fields and only little information about spring wheat yield in these management systems. Therefore, the present study was carried out with the objective of examining the impact of conservation tillage systems on soil properties (physical, chemical and biological) and spring wheat yield. The three conservation tillage treatments consisted of no tillage system (NT), wheat stubble return with no tillage (NTS) and straw incorporation with conventional tillage (CTS), as well as one conventional tillage (CT) control treatment, which were evaluated under randomized complete block design with three replications. The three conservation tillage treatments were compared with the conventional tillage control. Conservation tillage significantly increased the bulk density, gravimetric water content, water storage, hydraulic conductivity and soil aggregates and decreased the pore space and soil temperature compared to CT; however, no significant difference was found in the case of field capacity. Soil chemical properties in the 0–40 cm soil layer increased with conservation tillage compared to CT. Conservation tillage also notably increased the soil microbial counts, urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, cellulase and catalase activities relative to CT. Microbial biomasses (carbon and nitrogen) and wheat yield significantly elevated under conservation tillage compared to CT. Therefore, conservation tillage could significantly improve soil properties and maintain wheat yield for the research zone.

Keywords: climate-smart agriculture; hydraulic conductivity; soil fertility; urease; alkaline phosphatase; wheat yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/6/1253/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/6/1253/ (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:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:6:p:1253-:d:1174188

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

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