Abstract
In order to discuss the effect of soil fertility on components transformation and energy change of corn stalk during decomposition, carborundum tube was used to study the decomposition of corn stalk buried in different soils with high, medium and low fertility for 480 days. The decomposition rate and change of energy state of corn stalk were revealed. The results showed that the fractions of alcohol-benzene soluble and water soluble decreased in the decomposition process. The concentration of semi cellulose and cellulose increased firstly and then decreased. However, the concentration of lignin increased. The change of energetic state of corn stalk throughout the whole process could be divided into three stages such as fluctuating stage, decreasing stage and stable stage. Totally, the humification was a process of energy release and the relationship of combustion heat and components of corn stalk could be expressed by linear regression. For 480 days of decomposition, the decomposition rate was highest in soil with medium fertility and lowest in soil with low fertility among three type of fertility. The decomposition of water soluble factions and lignin were promoted in medium fertile soil. However, alcohol-benzene soluble fractions, and semi cellulose and cellulose fractions were decayed accelerated in soil with high fertility. Furthermore, more humic substance was formed and energy state of decayed corn stalk was high in soil with high fertility. Key words: Corn stalk, energetic state, decomposition rate, soil fertility.
Highlights
Agro-ecosystems comprise 38% of the Earth’s terrestrial land area
Decayed corn stalk was collected from the Carborundum for the analysis of the dry mass, organic carbon, ash content and the constituent of cellulose, semi-cellulose and lignin
Corn stalk consisted of sugar, starch, amino acid, protein, cellulose, tannin, lignin and other components
Summary
Agro-ecosystems comprise 38% of the Earth’s terrestrial land area. Large losses of soil carbon occurred with the conversion of natural land areas to agricultural systems due to plowing and soil disturbance (Matson et al, 1997).A proposed mitigation strategy for atmospheric CO2 concentration is sequestering carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, either in plant biomass or soil organic matter.In the temperate northern hemisphere, some practice such as conservational tillage has been identified to promote agricultural ecosystems to be potential carbon sinks (Allmaras et al, 2000; Lal et al, 1999; Sauerbeck, 2001).Carbon pools in agro-ecosystems include two majorcomponents: a soil organic matter pool, with a residence time of months to thousands of years, and a litter pool with a turnover of months to several years. Agro-ecosystems comprise 38% of the Earth’s terrestrial land area. Large losses of soil carbon occurred with the conversion of natural land areas to agricultural systems due to plowing and soil disturbance (Matson et al, 1997). A proposed mitigation strategy for atmospheric CO2 concentration is sequestering carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, either in plant biomass or soil organic matter. In the temperate northern hemisphere, some practice such as conservational tillage has been identified to promote agricultural ecosystems to be potential carbon sinks (Allmaras et al, 2000; Lal et al, 1999; Sauerbeck, 2001). Carbon pools in agro-ecosystems include two majorcomponents: a soil organic matter pool, with a residence time of months to thousands of years, and a litter pool with a turnover of months to several years. The litter-C pool represents a short-retention time C pool that will either be respired back to the atmosphere via decomposer organisms or incorporated into stable soil organic matter-C (Hutchinson et al, 2007)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
