Soil carbon dynamics as influenced by tillage and crop residue management in loamy sand and sandy loam soils under smallholder farmers' conditions in Malawi

Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems

Volumn 92, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 315-328

  Ngwira, Amos ^a,b   Sleutel, Steven ^b   de Neve, Stefaan ^b  

^a CHITEDZE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH STATION   (Malawi)

^b GHENT UNIVERSITY   (Belgium)

Author keywords

Carbon mineralization; Microbial biomass; Smallholders; Soil organic carbon; Zero tillage

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURAL LAND; AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT; AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; BIOMASS; BIOMINERALIZATION; CROP RESIDUE; CROP ROTATION; DISTURBANCE; FRACTIONATION; LINEARITY; LOAMY SAND; MAIZE; MANAGEMENT PRACTICE; PARTICLE SIZE; SANDY LOAM; SMALLHOLDER; SOIL CARBON; SOIL ORGANIC MATTER; SOIL SURFACE; SOIL TYPE; TILLAGE;

MALAWI;

ZEA MAYS;

EID: 84859591726     PISSN: 13851314     EISSN: 15730867     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10705-012-9492-2     Document Type: Article

References (68)

1. Agele SO, Emulo BS, Oyewusi IK (2005) Effects of soil management systems on soil physical properties, microbial biomass and nutrient distribution under rain fed maize production in a humid rainforest Alfisol. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 72: 121-134.
2. 2-C production from three tillage systems. Soil Tillage Res 33: 17-28.
3. Amelung W, Flach KW, Zech W (1997) Climatic effects on soil organic matter composition in the Great Plains. Soil Sci Soc Am J 61: 115-123.
4. Anderson TH, Domsch KH (1989) Ratios of microbial biomass carbon to total organic carbon in arable soils. Soil Biol Biochem 21: 471-479.
5. Baudron F, Tittonell P, Corbeels M, Letourmy P, Giller KE (2011) Comparative performance of conservation agriculture and current smallholder farming practices in semi-arid Zimbabwe. Field Crops Res. doi: 10. 1016/j. fcr. 2011. 09. 008.
6. Beare MH, Hendrix PF, Coleman DC (1994) Water-stable aggregates and organic matter fractions in conventional and no tillage soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58: 777-786.
7. Bolliger A (2007) Is zero-till an appropriate agricultural alternative for disadvantaged smallholders of South Africa? A study of surrogate systems and strategies, smallholder sensitivities and soil glycoproteins. Ph. D. Thesis. University of Copenhagen.
8. Bolliger A, Magid J, Amado T, Neto F, Dos Santos Ribeiro M, Calegari A, Ralisch R, De Neergaard A (2006) Taking stock of the Brazilian "zero-till revolution": a review of landmark research and farmers' practice. Adv Agron 91: 47-110.
9. Cambardella CA, Elliott ET (1992) Particulate soil organic-matter changes across a grassland cultivated sequence. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56: 777-783.
10. Carter MR (1992) Influence of reduced tillage systems on organic matter, microbial biomass, macro-aggregate distribution and structural stability of the surface soil in a humid climate. Soil Tillage Res 23: 361-372.
11. Chivenge PP, Murwira HK, Giller KE, Mapfumo P, Six J (2006) Long-term impact of reduced tillage and residue management on soil carbon stabilization: implications for conservation agriculture on contrasting soils. Soil Tillage Res 94: 328-338.
12. Chuma E (1993) Effects of tillage on soil erosion related soil properties of a sandy soil in semi-arid Zimbawe. In: Kronen M (ed) Proceedings of the fourth annual scientific conferences, SADC land and water management research programme. SACCAR, Gaborone.
13. Chuma E, Hagmann J (1995) Summary results from on-station and on-farm testing and development of conservation tillage systems in semi-arid Masvingo. In: Twomlow SJ, Ellis-Jones J, Hagmann J, Loos H (eds) Soil & water conservation for smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe: transfers between research and extension. Belmont Press, Masvingo, pp 41-60.
14. Coe R (2007) Analyzing data from participatory on-farm trials. Afr Stat J 4: 89-112.
15. De Neve S, Hofman G (2002) Quantifying soil water effects on nitrogen mineralization from soil organic matter and from fresh crop residues. Biol Fert Soils 35: 379-386.
16. De Neve S, Pannier J, Hofman G (1996) Temperature effects on C- and N-mineralization from vegetable crop residues. Plant Soil 181: 25-30.
17. De Neve S, Sleutel S, Hofman G (2003) Carbon mineralization from composts and food industry wastes added to soil. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 67: 13-20.
18. Derpsch R (2007) Making conservation tillage conventional, building a future on 25 years of research: research and extension perspective. In: 11 Proceedings of 25th southern conservation tillage conference, pp 25-29.
19. D'Haene K, Sleutel S, De Neve S, Gabriels D, Hofman G (2009) The effect of reduced tillage agriculture on carbon dynamics in silt loam soils. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 84: 249-265.
20. Elcio LB, Colozzi-Filho A, Andrade DS, Dick RP (2003) Microbial biomass in soils under different tillage and crop rotation systems. Biol Fertil Soils 38: 15-20.
21. Ellis F, Kutengule M, Nyasulu A (2003) Livelihoods and rural poverty reduction in Malawi. World Dev 31: 1495-1510.
22. Feller C, Beare MH (1997) Physical control of soil organic matter dynamics in the tropics. Geoderma 79: 69-116.
23. Follet RF, Schimel DS (1989) Effect of tillage practices on microbial biomass dynamics. Soil Sci Soc Am J 53: 1091-1096.
24. 2 evolution under intensive cropping. Soil Tillage Res 34: 41-60.
25. Garcia-Salinas JR, Velazquez-Garcia JD, Galalrdo-Valdez A, Diaz-Mederos P, Caballero-Hernandez F, Tapia-Vargas LM, Rosales-Robles E (2002) Tillage effects on microbial biomass and nutrient distribution in soils under rain-fed corn production in central-western Mexico. Soil Tillage Res 66: 143-152.
26. Genestat (2010) GenStat release 13. 3 (GeneStat thirteenth edition). VSN International Ltd., Oxford.
27. Giller KE, Witter E, Corbeels M, Tittonell P (2009) Conservation agriculture and smallholder farming in Africa: the heretics' view. Field Crop Res 114: 23-34.
28. Govaerts B, Sayre KD, Ceballos-Ramirez JM, Luna-Guido ML, Limon-Ortega A, Deckers J, Dendooven L (2005) Conventionally tilled and permanent raised beds with different crop residue management: effects on soil C and N dynamics. Plant Soil 280: 143-155.
29. Gowing JW, Palmer M (2008) Sustainable agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa: the case for a paradigm shift in land husbandry. Soil Use Manag 24: 92-99.
30. Haggblade S, Tembo G (2003) Development, diffusion and impact of conservation farming in Zambia. Working Paper No. 8. Food Security Research Project, Lusaka, Zambia, p 76.
31. Hassink J, Bowman LA, Zwart KB, Bloem J, Brussard L (1993) Relationships between soil textures, physical protection of organic matter, soil biota, and C and N mineralization in grassland soils. Geoderma 57: 105-128.
32. Henriksen TM, Breland TA (2002) Carbon mineralization, fungal and bacterial growth, and enzyme activities as affected by contact between crop residues and soil. Biol Fert Soils 35: 41-48.
33. Hess TF, Schmidt SK (1995) Improved procedure for obtaining statistically valid parameter estimates from soil respiration data. Soil Biol Biochem 27: 1-7.
34. Ito M, Matsumoto T, Quinones MA (2007) Conservation tillage practice in sub-Saharan Africa: the experience of Sasakawa Global 2000. Crop Prot 26: 417-423.
35. Jenkinson DS, Ladd JN (1981) Microbial biomass in soil: measurement and turnover. In: Paul EA, Ladd JN (eds) Soil biochemistry, vol 5. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 455-471.
36. Kandeler E, Tscherko D, Spiegel H (1999) Long-term monitoring of microbial biomass, N mineralization and enzyme activities of a Chernozem under different tillage management. Biol Fert Soils 28: 343-351.
37. Kumwenda JDT, Waddington SR, Snapp SS, Jones RB, Blackie MJ (1997) Soil fertility management in Southern Africa. In: Byerlee D, Eicher CK (eds) Africa's emerging maize revolution. Lynne Reiner Publishers, Colorado.
38. Lal R (1997) Long-term tillage and maize monoculture effects on a tropical Alfisol in western Nigeria. II. Soil chemical properties. Soil Tillage Res 42: 161-174.
39. Lal R (2007) Constraints to adopting no-till farming in developing countries. Soil Tillage Res 94: 1-3.
40. Materechera SA, Mloza-Banda HR (1997) Soil penetration resistance, root growth and yield of maize as influenced by tillage system on ridges in Malawi. Soil Tillage Res 41: 13-24.
41. Moeskops B, Sukristiyonubowo, Buchan D, Sleutel S, Herawati L, Husen E, Saraswati R, De Neve S (2010) Soil microbial communities and activities under intensive organic and conventional vegetable farming in West Java, Indonesia. Appl Soil Ecol 45: 112-120.
42. Monneveux P, Quillerou E, Sanchez C, Lopez-Cesati J (2005) Effect of zero tillage and residues conservation on continuous maize cropping in a subtropical environment (Mexico). Plant Soil 279: 95-105.
43. Mtambanengwe F, Mapfumo P (2005) Organic matter management as an underlying cause for soil fertility gradients on smallholder farms in Zimbabwe. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 73: 227-243.
44. Ngwira AR, Aune JB, Mkwinda S (2012) On-farm evaluation of yield and economic benefit of short term maize legume intercropping systems under conservation agriculture in Malawi. Field Crops Res. doi: 10. 1016/j. frc. 2011. 12. 014.
45. Nhamo N (2007) The contribution of different fauna communities to improved soil health: a case of Zimbabwean soils under conservation agriculture. Ph. D. Thesis. Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat, Bonn, Germany, p 128.
46. Oorts K, Nicolardot B, Merckx R, Richard G, Boizard H (2006) C and N mineralization of undisrupted and disrupted soil from different structural zones of conventional tillage and no-tillage systems in northern France. Soil Biol Biochem 38: 2576-2586.
47. Rochette P, Angers DA, Flanagan LB (1999) Maize residue decomposition measurement using soil surface carbon dioxide fluxes and natural abundance of carbon 13. Soil Sci Soc Am J 63: 1385-1396.
48. Roldan A, Salinas-Garcia JR, Alguacil MM, Diaz E, Caravaca F (2005) Soil enzyme activities suggest advantages of conservation tillage practices in sorghum cultivation under subtropical conditions. Geoderma 129: 178-185.
49. Saviozzi A, Levi-Minzi R, Riffaldi R, Vanni G (1997) Role of chemical constituents of wheat straw and pig slurry on their decomposition in soil. Biol Fert Soils 25: 401-406.
50. Schomberg HH, Steiner JL, Unger PW (1994) Decomposition and nitrogen dynamics of crop residues: residue quality and water effects. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58: 372-381.
51. Six J, Elliott ET, Paustian K, Doran JW (1998) Aggregation and soil organic matter accumulation in cultivated and native grassland soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 62: 1367-1377.
52. Six J, Elliott ET, Paustian K (2000) Soil macroaggregate turnover and microaggregate formation: a mechanism for C sequestration under no-tillage agriculture. Soil Biol Biochem 32: 2099-2103.
53. Six J, Guggenberger G, Paustian K, Haumaier L, Elliott ET, Zech W (2002) Sources and composition of soil organic matter fractions between and within soil aggregates. Eur J Soil Sci 52: 607-618.
54. Sleutel S, De Neve S, Roibas PMR, Hofman G (2005) The influence of model type and incubation time on the estimation of stable organic carbon in organic materials. Eur J Soil Sci 56: 505-514.
55. Sleutel S, De Neve S, Singier B, Hofman G (2006) Organic C levels in intensively managed arable soils-long-term regional trends and characterization of fractions. Soil Use Manage 22: 188-196.
56. Smale M, Kaunda ZHW, Makina HL, Mkandawire MMMK, Msowoya MNS, Mwale DJEK, Heisey PW (1991) Chimanga Cha Makolo, hybrid and composites: an analysis of farmer's adoption of technology of maize technology in Malawi, 1989-1991. CIMMYT Economic Working Paper 91/04, Mexico, DF.
57. Thiele-Bruhn S, Siebicke T, Schulten HR, Leinweker P (2004) Sorption of sulfonamide pharmaceutical antibiotics on whole soils and particle-size fractions. J Environ Qual 33: 1331-1342.
58. Thierfelder C, Wall PC (2009) Effects of conservation agriculture techniques on infiltration and soil water content in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Soil Tillage Res 105: 217-227.
59. Thierfelder C, Wall PC (2010) Rotation in conservation agriculture systems of Zambia: effects on soil quality and water relations. Exp Agric 46: 309-325.
60. Umar BB, Aune JB, Johnsen FH, Lungu OI (2011) Options for improving smallholder conservation agriculture in Zambia. J Agric Sci 3: 50-62.
61. Valencia JA, Nyirenda NE, Saka AR (2002) Enhancing soil productivity for sustained food production for small-scale farmers in Malawi: a Sasakawa Global 2000 and agricultural extension partnership initiative. Paper presented at the Seventh Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Maize Conference and Symposium on Low-Nitrogen and Drought Tolerance in Maize, Nairobi, Kenya, 11-15 February.
62. van Kessel JS, Reeves JB, Meisinger JJ (2000) Nitrogen and carbon mineralization of potential manure components. J Environ Qual 29: 1669-1677.
63. van Reeuwijk LP (1987) Procedures for soil analysis. International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRC), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
64. Voroney RP, Winter JP, Beyaert RP (1993) Soil microbial biomass C and N. In: Carter MR (ed) Soil sampling and methods of analysis. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, pp 277-283.
65. Wardle DA, Yeates GW, Nicholson KS, Bonner KI, Watson RN (1999) Response of soil microbial biomass dynamics, activity and plant litter decomposition to agricultural intensification over a seven year period. Soil Biol Biochem 31: 1707-1720.
66. West TA, Post WM (2002) Soil organic carbon sequestration rates by tillage and crop rotation: a global data analysis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66: 1903-1946.
67. Wu T, Schoenau JF, Li F, Qian P, Malhi SS, Shi Y (2005) Influence of tillage and rotation systems on distribution of organic carbon associated with particle-size fractions in Chernozemic soils of Saskatchewan, Canada. Biol Fert Soils 42: 338-344.
68. Yang XM, Wander MM (1999) Tillage effects on soil organic carbon contribution and estimation of C storage. Soil Tillage Res 52: 1-9.