A comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of different tillage managements on bacterial community structure is fundamental to better understand their roles in maintaining soil health. The objective ...of this study was to assess the impact of no tillage (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT) management on soil properties, bacterial community structure in a 22-year experiment established on the Loess Plateau of China, under a winter wheat cropping succession. Our results showed that the long-term application of NT caused a significant increase in bacterial alpha-diversity as indicated by the significantly greater number of unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs), richness (Chao), evenness (ACE), and Shannon index and a lower Simpson index compared to CT. Moreover, the NT treatment changed certain soil physicochemical properties, e.g., soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass C (MBC), microbial biomass N (MBN) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) were greater under CT. The bacterial communities differed significantly between the different tillage treatments, and NT harboured relatively higher abundances of the dominant genera Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas and a lower abundance of Acidobacteria than CT. A redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that the bacterial community structure was strongly correlated with variations of SOC, DOC and TN. Thus, based on these findings, it is concluded that NT management is a more sustainable faming practice to improve soil properties and bacterial diversity.
•No-till increased the bacterial diversity compared to conventional-till.•Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were the predominant taxonomic groups in no-till and conventional-till soils.•No-till enhanced the abundances of the Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas genera.•The abundances of Acidobacteria were lower in No-till than conventional-till.•SOC, DOC and TN were the most three significant correlation factors in shaping the bacterial composition.
This paper reports on a 3 × 3 factorial study to consider the effects of controlled traffic (CTF), low tyre inflation pressure (high flexion) tyres (LTP) and standard tyre inflation pressure (STP) ...farming systems for deep, shallow and zero tillage practices on the yield of wheat, barley, oats and field beans grown in a sandy loam soil in the UK. The main effect of tillage showed that the zero tillage option significantly (***P < 0.001) reduced crop yields in four out of the five of the first crop years, with no significant effect in years two, six and eight and exceeded the yield of the other tillage treatments in year seven. The specific costs of the alternative tillage systems were estimated, from which the cost saving for zero tillage compared to deep tillage was c. £ 60 ha−1 (US$ 80 ha−1), which compensated for the overall loss in yield. There were no significant differences between the crop yields from the deep and shallow tillage treatments, with shallow tillage offering savings in operational costs of c. £ 30 ha−1 (US$ 40 ha−1). Overall, the controlled traffic farming system, where 30% of the field was trafficked, produced 4% greater crop yields (*P < 0.05), worth £ 39 ha−1 (US$ 53 ha−1) than standard tyre inflation pressures (STP). The estimated effect of reducing the trafficked area to 15% resulted in a further 3% increase in mean yield with a corresponding total increase in crop value of 7% worth £ 74 ha−1 (US$ 100 ha−1) compared to the STP system. The beneficial effect of low inflation pressure tyres (70 kPa and 80 kPa) on crop yields, for the deep tillage treatment, was significantly greater (*P < 0.05) than those of the standard tyre pressure system (100 kPa to 150 kPa) returning an average 3.9% additional crop yield over the period of the experiment worth £ 39 ha−1 (US$ 53 ha−1).
•Crop yields from zero tillage practices improve with time.•Controlled traffic farming increases crop yields.•Low inflation pressure (high flexion) tyres improve crop yields for deep tilled soil.•CTF and LTP systems can be cost effective for farms less than150 ha.
•Tillage-×-compost interactions on the soil’s aggregation indices were not evident.•The soil was more stable with reduced tillage compared to conventional tillage.•The soil showed greater tendency to ...disintegrate and slake in water with compost.•Erodibility correlated with indices mimicking stability to both water and wind.•Reduced tillage without compost could enhance the soil stability in the short run.
Aggregate stability of soils informs about their relative strengths against erosive forces and mechanical disruption; however, the many methods of assessment are not of equal potential in discriminating management effects. Moreover, the index to mimic the actual behaviour of field soils is not readily discernable from such assessment. In this study involving a silt-loam Luvisol on long-term tillage trial in Central Germany, we assessed topsoil aggregate stability 2.5 years after initiating the experiment using selected laboratory methods from which 12 indices were derived. Our aim was to assess treatment effects on aggregate stability as discriminated by the indices, explore the relationships among them, and relate them to simulated erosion of the soil. Treatments were reduced tillage and conventional tillage each with compost at 0 and 5 t ha–1. The indices included mean-weight diameter after dry (MWDd) and wet (MWDw) sieving, sand-corrected water-stable aggregates (%WSAcfs), aggregate stability index (ASI), percolation stability (PS), sealing index (SI); and tensile strength of 24-16, 16-8 and 8-4 mm air-dry (TSad) and re-moistened (TSrm) aggregates. The SI method used rainfall simulation which enabled measurements of runoff and mass of eroded sediment (MASEDeroded). Tillage-×-compost interactions on aggregate stability were consistently non-significant. Four of the indices discriminated between the tillage systems; three (MWDw, WSAcfs and TSrm(16-8)) showed higher stability under reduced tillage while ASI showed otherwise. Two (ASI and SI) favoured compost non-application. MASEDeroded correlated with PS, %WSAcfs and MWDd (r = –0.53*, –0.51* and 0.49*, respectively), with best fit as logarithmic, exponential and polynomial, respectively. Also, MASEDeroded was explained by PS and two of the aggregate size fractions from dry sieving (p ≤ 0.002; R2 = 0.700). To enhance aggregate stability and reduce water erosion in this soil, reduced tillage is a good candidate while compost may be unnecessary in the short run. The indices PS, %WSAcfs and MWDd can mimic water erodibility of the soil. The inclusion of MWDd usually associated with wind erosion among these indices found relevant for water erosion is remarkable.
•Field and laboratory water retention data were compared under contrasting tillage systems.•Field water retention had more obvious changes due to wet-drying cycles, especially in wet range.•No-till ...soil had a higher water retention capacity and a relatively stable water retention curve.•Soil water retention fluctuation was related to changes in porosity and pore-size.
A Soil water retention curve (SWRC) provides pore structure information and is usually measured in the laboratory on soil cores. In field, the dynamics of SWRC is affected by pore structure changes due to tillage operations and wet-drying cycles (WDs). While the temporal changes of SWRCs during WDs have long been reported, the dynamics of SWRC under different tillage systems are poorly understood. A field experiment was conducted on a Mollisol to determine the SWRC dynamics of conventional tillage (CT), no tillage (NT), and rotational tillage (RT) in the maize growing season of 2018. Volumetric water content and matric potential dynamics at three depths were monitored continuously, and the temporal changes of SWRCs were compared with laboratory data measured on soil cores. Results showed that SWRCs measured under field conditions varied with WDs and tillage treatments, especially in the wet range (0 hPa to -100 hPa). The water retention capacity of the tilled soils (i.e., CT and RT) gradually increased with WDs while that of NT in 0−5 cm was slightly decreased. Compared with the laboratory data, the dynamics of SWRC under field conditions were more prominent. During the observation period, NT showed the highest water retention capacity under both laboratory and field conditions when the matric potential of soil water was more negative than -100 hPa. The high rigidity of soil pore system and straw mulch on soil surface in NT maintained a relatively higher soil water retention capacity and reduced the temporal variation of SWRC in the maize growing season.
Conservation agriculture (CA) is a sustainable management system that optimises yield while reducing input costs. However, reduction in tillage intensity and frequency as practised under CA generally ...alters weed densities and composition. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of tillage, cropping system and fertiliser rate on weed density and diversity under CA systems compared with conventional tillage (CT). An on-station field trial with a split-plot, randomised complete block design, was used and included two tillage systems, three cropping systems and two fertiliser levels. Reduced tillage had significantly (p < 0.05) higher weed density (42 m
−2
) but lower weed biomass (154 g m
−2
) in contrast to CT with lower weed density (36 m
−2
) and higher weed biomass (242 g m
−2
). In a principal component analysis ordination, Datura ferox and Tribulus terrestris were more strongly associated with high fertiliser rate, whereas Zinnia peruviana was associated with CT. The increase in weed density and diversity under reduced tillage is likely to restrain the adoption of CA. Therefore, there is a need for alternative weed management options depending upon the weed spectrum, cropping system and fertiliser management.
Brassica rapa L. is one of the most common plant cultivated in Europe. The farmers from Ungheni area (Mureș, Romania) reported the attack of pest complex in rapeseed culture in the 2021 year. For ...that, two soil tillage systems were estabilished to reduce the pests complex and to increase the rapeseed production. The results indicated that is recommanded to apply two different tillage sistems at 5 parcels. First ot them was the conventional tillage, with plough and the other one was reduced tillage, with cultivator. For monitoring the growth stage and the pests percentage, 20 rapeseed plants were selected from each parcel. The pests idenification taked place at the Entomology Discipline and the plants grown stage and production parameters were analyzed at Agrotehnical Discipline, at University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca. In the conventional tillage the average of plants reported with pests was about 55% and the maximum number of adults/plant was 7 (field 2). In the minimum tillage, the average of plants reported with pests was about 15 % and the maximum number of adults/plant was 2. In the fields with plough, the production was about 3200 kg/ha and in those with cultivator, the production was about 4400 kg/ha.
•Between 73% and 83% of the total energy input was required by indirect energy.•Direct energy input was lowest in no-tillage.•Year effect on yield and energy efficiency was larger than the tillage ...effect.•Shallow conservation tillage showed the highest energy efficiency.
One goal in sustainable agriculture is to use fossil energy more efficiently in crop production. Information on energy consumption and efficiency of different soil tillage systems for developing energy-efficient farming systems with reduced impact on climate change is missing for the Pannonian Basin. This 12-year study on a silt loam chernozem investigated the energy efficiency of four tillage systems (mouldboard plough (MP), deep conservation tillage (CTd), shallow conservation tillage (CTs), no-tillage (NT)) in rotations taking thereby into account diesel fuel consumption, total energy input (made up of both direct and indirect inputs), grain yield, energy output, net-energy output, energy intensity and energy output/input-ratio. Input rates of fertilizer, herbicides and seeds remained constant, while values of diesel fuel consumption were measured for all tillage operations. Total diesel fuel consumption for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production was 59.8 L ha−1, 60.6 L ha−1, 48.5 ha−1 and 36.0 L ha−1 for MP, CTd, CTs and NT, respectively. Between 73% and 83% of total energy input was required by indirect energy (seeds, fertilizer, herbicides, machinery). MP and CTd each required a total energy input of about 9.3 GJ ha−1; the total energy input for CTs and NT was lower by 4.8% for both. Direct energy input (diesel and lubricant oil) was much lower with no-tillage (with 1.5 GJ ha−1) than with mouldboard plough (with 2.4 GJ ha−1), deep conservation tillage (with 2.5 GJ ha−1) and shallow conservation tillage (with 2.0 GJ ha−1). Grain yield and thus energy output were mainly influenced by year. The year effect on yield and energy efficiency parameters was larger than the tillage effect. Especially in dry years, ploughless tillage systems tended to respond with competitive yields. This resulted in an increase of energy efficiency parameters. Over all twelve years, winter wheat produced in the CTs tillage system reached the highest net-energy and output/input-ratio with the lowest energy intensity.
To develop effective conservation practices to respond to future climatic challenges, the effects of various cropping and tillage systems on surface runoff and soil loss need to be evaluated under ...extensive geographical conditions. This study used a total of 100 climate scenarios generated from 25 downscaled General Circulation Model (GCM) projections under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and 8.5) during 2021–2050 and 2051–2080. Those 100 future scenarios were combined with 29 cropping and tillage systems to simulate surface runoff, soil erosion, and crop production response to climate change using the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model. The results showed that average annual precipitation in central Oklahoma was projected to significantly decrease by 4–6% (p < 0.05) during the two time periods for both RCP scenarios. Mean annual temperatures were projected to significantly increase (p < 0.01) by 1.74 ℃ for RCP4.5 and 1.99 ℃ for RCP8.5 during 2021–2050, and 2.65 ℃ for RCP4.5 and 3.90 ℃ for RCP8.5 during 2051–2080. Annual runoff and soil loss averaged over the two RCPs and all crop types was projected to decrease by approximately 1% and 3%, respectively. Except for cotton, crop yields were predicted to decrease by 10.3%–18.3% during 2021–2080. Simulated annual runoff depth and soil loss separately followed the order of reduced tillage (RT) > delayed tillage (DT) > no-till (NT) > conventional tillage (CT) and RT > CT > DT > NT under future climate scenarios, respectively. If economically feasible, no-till and the crop-alfalfa rotation were the most effective soil conservation method on farmlands to combat projected future erosion due to changing precipitation and temperatures.
•29 cropping and tillage systems were used to simulate climatic effects on runoff and soil erosion.•25 GCMs were applied to improve confidence in WEPP simulations with projected climate changes.•No-till was the most effective conservation tillage practice to keep soil loss at a low level.•Crop-alfalfa and wheat-soybean rotations were effective in controlling soil erosion.
•This study is a supplement to data relating to wheat monoculture and reduced tillage.•Soil physical properties under 30-year experiment were analysed.•Reduced tillage and no-tillage increased soil ...bulk density, but to acceptable levels.•Reduced tillage and no-tillage improved soil available water content.•Share of field water capacity in total porosity were usually in the optimal range.
In the presented study we estimated the effect of long-term application of (I) various systems of soil cultivation: (i) conventional tillage, (ii) reduced tillage and (iii) no-tillage, (II) wheat monoculture – spring and winter forms, and (III) crop rotation, on the basic physical properties of Rendzic Phaeozem. In the experiment soil physical properties were studied, such as particle density, bulk density, total porosity, air capacity (at -15.5 kPa), water content at sampling, field water capacity (at -15.5 kPa), available water content and the ratio of field water capacity and total porosity was calculated. The hypothesis that long-term wheat monoculture and/or reduced tillage have a negative effect on the soil physical condition has been verified. It should be emphasised that the long-term application of reduced tillage systems and wheat monoculture did not cause significant differences in the analysed parameters. The lowest compaction and the best conditions for gas exchange were noted in the soil on which conventional tillage was applied under spring wheat monoculture. The results of field water capacity and available water content showed that long-term application of reduced systems of soil tillage had a positive effect on the water properties of soil. Soil under the conventional tillage ensured significantly the smallest amount of water for the plants. It has been shown that long-term application of reduced tillage, as well as the form of wheat (spring or winter wheat), have a stronger impact on changes in the soil-water-air relations than long-term use of monoculture. We found out that both the use of reduced tillage and the abandonment of crop rotation in favour of monoculture can be put into safely use in agricultural practice. We believe that the application of such systems is especially valuable in emergency situations.
•Tillage systems can change the dynamics and quantity of the soil organic matter (SOM).•SALUS model was used to study the evolution of SOC under different tillage systems.•Conservation tillage ...reduced SOC losses over the years up to 63%.•Conservation tillage and precision agriculture’s synergy reduce CO2 up to 56%.
Soil organic matter (SOM) represents the biggest pool of carbon within the biosphere and influences the flux of greenhouse gases between land surface and atmosphere. In this regard, conservation tillage systems have been adopted to reduce negative impacts of conventional tillage practices on greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. However, the role of these techniques to increase carbon sequestration also depends upon soil features and climatic conditions, which is studied and managed by precision agriculture (PA) principles and technologies. Simulation models have shown to be useful tools to understand the interaction between soil, climate, genotypes and management practices to simulate the long-term effects of management approaches of different soils on crop yield, soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, and GHG emissions. The research goals of this study are (1) to examine the mid-term (15 years) trajectory of SOC in the upper 0.4 m of the soil profile under different tillage systems using the SALUS model; (2) determine the impact of PA on the inputs to the crop and CO2 emissions; (3) identify the strategies, derived from the synergy between conservation agriculture and PA, so as to decrease the CO2 emissions of agricultural systems. The validated SALUS simulation showed a significant reduction in SOC losses in minimum tillage (MT) and no-tillage (NT), 17% and 63% respectively, compared to conventional tillage (CT). Furthermore, the adoption of conservation tillage techniques decreased carbon emissions related to farming operations, while PA technologies led to an optimization of the exhaustible sources such as fossil fuels and fertilizers. Finally, the synergy between conservation tillage systems, especially NT, and PA strategies represents a useful tool in terms of carbon emissions mitigation with a reduction of 56% of total CO2 as compared to CT.
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