Chemical and Physical Aspects of Soil Health Resulting from Long-Term No-Till Management

Edyta Hewelke (), Lilla Mielnik, Jerzy Weber, Aneta Perzanowska, Elżbieta Jamroz, Dariusz Gozdowski and Paweł Szacki
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Edyta Hewelke: Institute of Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Lilla Mielnik: Department of Bioengineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Papieża Pawła VI 3, 71-459 Szczecin, Poland
Jerzy Weber: Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzka 53, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland
Aneta Perzanowska: Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Elżbieta Jamroz: Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzka 53, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland
Dariusz Gozdowski: Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Paweł Szacki: The Prof. Marian Górski Experimental Station in Skierniewice, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-16

Abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the long-term effects of conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) systems on the main soil properties that determine soil health. The research was conducted in a field experiment established in 1975 in Chylice, central Poland, at the WULS-SGGW Experimental Station Skierniewice. Soil samples collected from 0–10 and 10–20 cm of the mollic horizon of the Phaeozem were analysed for total organic carbon (TOC) content, fractional composition of SOM and spectroscopic properties of humin, soil structural stability, soil water retention characteristics and soil water repellency (SWR). The results showed that NT practice almost doubled the TOC in the 0–10 cm layer. However, optical parameters of humin indicated that NT management promoted the formation of humin with a lower molecular weight and lower degree of condensation of aromatic structures. In the NT 0–10 cm layer, a significant increase in the number of water-resistant macroaggregates was found. In the 0–10 cm layer, the water capacity increased by 9%, 18%, 22% and 26% compared to CT at (certain soil suction) pF values of 0.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.2, respectively. SWR occurs regardless of the cultivation method at a soil moisture equivalent to pF 4.2, and the greatest range of SWR was found in the NT 0–10 cm layer.

Keywords: soil organic carbon; humin; soil structure; soil water retention; soil water repellency; spectroscopic properties; fluorescence properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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