Organic amendment is considered as an effective way to increase soil organic carbon （SOC） stock in croplands. To better understand its potential for SOC sequestration, whether SOC saturation could be observed in an intensive agricultural ecosystem receiving long-term composted manure were examined. Different SOC pools were isolated by physical fractionation techniques ofa Cambisol soil under a long-term manure experiment with wheat-maize cropping in North China Plain. A field experiment was initiated in 1993, with 6 treatments including control （i.e., without fertilization）, chemical fertilizer only, low rate of traditional composted manure （7.5 t ha-h）, high rate of traditional composted manure （15 t ha-~）, low rate ofbio-composted manure （7.5 t ha-h） and high rate of bio-composted manure （15 t ha-h）. The results showed that consecutive （for up to 20 years） composted manure amendments significantly improved soil macro-aggregation, aggregate associated SOC concentration, and soil structure stability. In detail, SOC concentration in the sand-sized fraction （〉53 ~tm） continued to increase with manure application rate, while the silt （2-53 I.tm） and clay （〈2 ~tm） particles showed no further increase with greater C inputs, exhibiting the C saturation. Further physical separation of small macro-aggregates （250-2 000 tam） into subpools showed that the non-protected coarse particulate organic matter （cPOM, 〉250 pro） was the fraction in which SOC continued to increase with increasing manure application rate. In contrast, the chemical and physical protected C pools （i.e., micro-aggregates and silt-clay occluded in the small macro- aggregates） exhibited no additional C sequestration when the manure application rate was increased. It can be concluded that repeated manure amendments can increase soil macro-aggregation and lead to the increase in relatively stable C pools, showing hierarchical saturation behavior in the intensive cropping system of North China Plain.
DU Zhang-liuWU Wen-liangZHANG Qing-zhongGUO Yan-binMENG Fan-qiao
Addressing concerns about mitigating greenhouse gas （GHG） emissions while maintaining high grain yield requires improved management practices that achieve sustainable intensification of cereal production systems. In the North China Plain, a field experiment was conducted to measure nitrous oxide （N2O） and methane （CH4） fluxes during the maize （Zea mays L.） season under various agricultural management regimes including conventional treatment （CONT） with high N fertilizer application at a rate of 300 kg N ha-1 and overuse of groundwater by flood irrigation, optimal fertilization 1 treatment （OPTIT）, optimal fertilization 2 treatment （OPT2T）, and controlled-release urea treatment （CRUT） with reduced N fertilizer application and irrigation, and a control （CK） with no N fertilizer. In contrast to CONT, balanced N fertilization treatments （OPT1T, OPT2T, and CRUT） and CK demonstrated a significant drop in cumulative N20 emission （1.70 v.s. 0.43-1.07 kg N ha-l）, indicating that balanced N fertilization substantially reduced N20 emission. The vMues of the N20 emission factor were 0.42%, 0.29%, 0.32%, and 0.27% for CONT, OPTIT, OPT2T, and CRUT, respectively. Global warming potentials, which were predominantly determined by N20 emission, were estimated to be 188 kg CO2-eq ha-1 for CK and 419-765 kg CO2-eq ha-1 for the N fertilization treatments. Global warming potential intensity calculated by considering maize yield was significantly lower for OPT1T, OPT2T, CRUT, and CK than for CONT. Therefore, OPTIT, OPT2T, and CRUT were recommended as promising management practices for sustaining maize yield and reducing GHG emissions in the North China Plain.
SHI Yue-FengWU Wen-LiangMENG Fan-QiaoZHENG LiangWANG Da-PengYE HuiDING Guang-Wei
