Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014:2014:451493.
doi: 10.1155/2014/451493. Epub 2014 Mar 26.

Effects of deep tillage and straw returning on soil microorganism and enzyme activities

Baoyi Ji  1 , Hao Hu  2 , Yali Zhao  3 , Xinyuan Mu  3 , Kui Liu  4 , Chaohai Li  3
Affiliations

Effects of deep tillage and straw returning on soil microorganism and enzyme activities

Baoyi Ji et al. ScientificWorldJournal. 2014.

Abstract

Two field experiments were conducted for two years with the aim of studying the effects of deep tillage and straw returning on soil microorganism and enzyme activity in clay and loam soil. Three treatments, (1) conventional tillage (CT), shallow tillage and straw returning; (2) deep tillage (DT), deep tillage and straw returning; and (3) deep tillage with no straw returning (DNT), were carried out in clay and loam soil. The results showed that deep tillage and straw returning increased the abundance of soil microorganism and most enzyme activities. Deep tillage was more effective for increasing enzyme activities in clay, while straw returning was more effective in loam. Soil microorganism abundance and most enzyme activities decreased with the increase of soil depth. Deep tillage mainly affected soil enzyme activities in loam at the soil depth of 20-30 cm and in clay at the depth of 0-40 cm. Straw returning mainly affected soil microorganism and enzyme activities at the depths of 0-30 cm and 0-40 cm, respectively.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of tillage and straw returning on the number of soil actinomycetes. Different small letters indicated significant difference at P < 0.05 according to Duncan's test. CT represented conventional tillage, moldboard ploughed to a depth of 20 cm, and straw was returned. DT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was returned. DNT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was removed.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of tillage and straw returning on the number of soil bacteria. Different small letters indicated significant difference at P < 0.05 according to Duncan's test. CT represented conventional tillage, moldboard ploughed to a depth of 20 cm, and straw was returned. DT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was returned. DNT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was removed.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of tillage and straw returning on the number of soil fungi. Different small letters indicated significant difference at P < 0.05 according to Duncan's test. CT represented conventional tillage, moldboard ploughed to a depth of 20 cm, and straw was returned. DT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was returned. DNT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was removed.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of tillage and straw returning on soil urease activity. Different small letters indicated significant difference at P < 0.05 according to Duncan's test. CT represented conventional tillage, moldboard ploughed to a depth of 20 cm, and straw was returned. DT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was returned. DNT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was removed.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of tillage and straw returning on soil phosphatase activity. Different small letters indicated significant difference at P < 0.05 according to Duncan's test. CT represented conventional tillage, moldboard ploughed to a depth of 20 cm, and straw was returned. DT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was returned. DNT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was removed.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effects of tillage and straw returning on soil saccharase activity. Different small letters indicated significant difference at P < 0.05 according to Duncan's test. CT represented conventional tillage, moldboard ploughed to a depth of 20 cm, and straw was returned. DT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was returned. DNT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was removed.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effects of tillage and straw returning on soil catalase activity. Different small letters indicated significant difference at P < 0.05 according to Duncan's test. CT represented conventional tillage, moldboard ploughed to a depth of 20 cm, and straw was returned. DT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was returned. DNT represented deep tillage moldboard ploughed to a depth of 30 cm and straw was removed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Motavalli PP, Stevens WE, Hartwig G. Remediation of subsoil compaction and compaction effects on corn N availability by deep tillage and application of poultry manure in a sandy-textured soil. Soil and Tillage Research. 2003;71(2):121–131.
    1. Baumhardt RL, Jones OR. Long term benefits of deep tillage on soil physical properties and crop yield. Proceedings of the 27th Southern Conservation Tillage Systems Conference; 2005; Florence, Ky, USA. pp. 95–101.
    1. Bennie ATP, Botha FJP. Effect of deep tillage and controlled traffic on root growth, water-use efficiency and yield of irrigated maize and wheat. Soil and Tillage Research. 1986;7(1-2):85–95.
    1. Dabney SM, Delgado JA, Reeves DW. Using winter cover crops to improve soil and water quality. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 2001;32(7-8):1221–1250.
    1. Pajares S, Gallardo JF, Masciandaro G, Ceccanti B, Etchevers JD. Enzyme activity as an indicator of soil quality changes in degraded cultivated Acrisols in the Mexican Trans-volcanic Belt. Land Degradation and Development. 2011;22(3):373–381.

LinkOut - more resources