CO2 emission in an intensively cultivated loam as affected by long-term application of organic manure and nitrogen fertilizer

A long-term field experiment was conducted to examine the influence of mineral fertilizer and organic manure on the equilibrium dynamics of soil organic C in an intensively cultivated fluvo-aquic soil in the Fengqiu State Key Agro-Ecological Experimental Station (Fengqiu county, Henan province, China) since September 1989. Soil CO2 flux was measured during the maize and wheat growing seasons in 2002-2003 and 2004 to evaluate the response of soil respiration to additions and/or alterations in mineral fertilizer, organic manure and various environmental factors. The study included seven treatments: organic manure (OM), half-organic manure plus half-fertilizer N (NOM), fertilizer NPK (NPK), fertilizer NP (NP), fertilizer NK (NK), fertilizer PK (PK) and control (CK). Organic C in soil and the soil heavy fraction (organo-mineral complex) was increased from 4.47 to 8.61 mg C g-1 and from 3.32 to 5.68 mg C g-1, respectively, after the 13 yr application of organic manure. In contrast, organic C and the soil heavy fraction increased in NPK soil to only 5.41 and 4.38 mg C g-1, respectively. In the CK treatment, these parameters actually decreased from the initial C concentrations (4.47 and 3.32 mg C g-1) to 3.77 and 3.11 mg C g-1, respectively. Therefore, organic manure efficiently elevated soil organic C. However, only 66% of the increased soil organic C was combined with clay minerals in the OM treatment. Cumulative soil CO2 emissions from inter-row soil in the OM and NPK treatments were 228 and 188 g C m-2 during the 2002 maize growing season, 132 and 123 g C m-2 during the 2002/2003 wheat growing season, and 401 and 346 g C m-2 yr-1 in 2002-2003, respectively. However, during the 2004 maize growing season, cumulative soil CO2 emissions were as high as 617 and 556 g C m-2, respectively, due to the contribution of rhizosphere respiration. The addition of organic manure contributed to a 16% increase in soil CO2 emission in 2002-2003 (compared to NPK), where only 27%, 36% and 24% of applied organic C was released as CO2 during the 2002 and 2004 maize growing seasons and in 2002-2003, respectively. During the 2002/2003 wheat growing season, soil CO2 flux was significantly affected by soil temperature below 20 °C, but by soil moisture (WFPS) during the 2004 maize growing season at soil temperatures above 18 °C. Optimum soil WFPS for soil CO2 flux was approximately 70%. When WFPS was below 50%, it no longer had a significant impact on soil CO2 flux during the 2002 maize growing season. This study indicates the application of organic manure composted with wheat straw may be a preferred strategy for increasing soil organic C and sequestering C in soil.