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© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Interest in improving the long-term sustainability of agricultural production systems has focused on identifying management practices that promote soil health. No tillage, cover cropping, and amending soils with broiler (Gallus gallus domesticus L.) litter are commonly adopted conservation practices that have been shown to improve soil fertility and crop yield. However, the overall influence of these conservation practices on soil health in the southeastern US are not well understood. Thus, a study was conducted to evaluate the influence of tillage, broiler litter (BL) applications, and cropping systems on soil biochemical properties. Soils were collected from field research plots under long-term management (>than 25 years of tillage, 15 years of broiler litter application, and 15 years of cropping system). Soil microbial biomass, C, N, and P, amidohydrolases, and dissolved organic matter (DOM) were evaluated as indicators of soil health. Adopting tillage and BL into the agricultural management system modified the biochemical parameters of the soils evaluated. Most of these modifications occurred in the 0–5 cm depth. Higher microbial biomass carbon (MBC; 85%) and nitrogen (MBN; 10%) and enzyme activities of asparaginase (65%) and glutaminase (70%) were observed in the 0–5 cm depth under no tillage (NT) compared to conventional tillage (CT), indicating greater biological activities were established in these soil ecosystems. Broiler litter applications increased microbial biomass N and activities of asparaginase and glutaminase in both soil depths. In addition, microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP) was increased following BL application in the 0–5 cm depth. The results suggest that long-term management of NT and BL additions can improve the health of eroded southeastern US soils by altering the soil biochemical parameters.

Details

Title
Long-Term Cropping Management Practices Affect the Biochemical Properties of an Alabama Ultisol
Author
Watts, Dexter B 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; He, Zhongqi 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Yin, Xinhua 3 ; H Allen Torbert 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Senwo, Zachary N 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Tewolde, Haile 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Auburn, AL 36832, USA; [email protected] 
 Southern Regional Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), New Orleans, LA 70124, USA 
 Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Jackson, TN 38301, USA; [email protected] 
 Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762, USA; [email protected] 
 Crop Science Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA; [email protected] 
First page
41
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
25718789
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3072674098
Copyright
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.