Effects of long-term conventional and conservational tillage systems on biochemical soil health indicators in the Mediterranean region

Abstract

ABSTRACT Improved soil health is essential to sustain agricultural production. Therefore, understanding the effects of management on soil health is crucial to implement new agricultural practices. This study aimed to assess the effects of long-term tillage systems on biochemical indicators of a Typic Haploxerert soil under winter wheat-soybean-corn rotation in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The experiment consisted of two conventional (CT), three reduced (RT), no-tillage (NT), and a strategic tillage practice. The biochemical indicators were total nitrogen (TN), total carbon (TC), soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), potential mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), microbial quotient (qM), beta-glucosidase enzyme activity (BGA), and carbon sequestration (Cs) potential. The SOC significantly decreased with the increased tillage intensity, while the tillage had a little effect on PMN, with its highest concentration (78.2 mg kg−1) occurring in the NT. The qM was the only indicator found to be higher under CT than RT and similar to the NT. The BGA peaked in NT which was 460.2 and 536.3% higher than that of the CT. The results showed that SOC, MBC, PMN, BGA and Cs were enhanced with the NT and RT systems which favor sustainability of agricultural production.