Abstract
Global agricultural production is accountable for the emission of ~30% of greenhouse gases. Therefore, the wide-scale adoptions of low-input, soil-friendly, and resource-conserving agronomic practices are imperative for the ‘planet healthy food production’ and also for reducing the carbon emissions from agricultural soil. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze the impacts of integrated agronomic interventions i.e., the application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) + reduced tillage (RT), biochar + RT, and AMF + biochar + RT, on spatiotemporal variations in soil-quality and soil-sustainability indicators, including microbial and soil respiration, in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of North India. For this, field experiments on the above-mentioned agronomic interventions were employed using three different staple crops (Zea mays, Vigna mungo, and Brassica juncea) growing in three different agro-climatic zones of IGP (Varanasi, Sultanpur, and Gorakhpur) in a randomized block design. Periodic data collection was done to analyze the changes in physiochemical, biological, and biochemical properties of the soil, and statistical analyses were done accordingly. Irrespective of the sites, the experimental results proved that the integrated application of AMF + biochar + RT in V. mungo resulted in the highest soil organic carbon (i.e., 135% increment over the control) and microbial biomass carbon (24%), whereas the same application (i.e., AMF + biochar + RT) in Z. mays had the maximum reduction in microbial (32%) and soil (44%) respiration. On the other hand, enhanced occurrence of glomalin activity (98%) was noted in Z. mays cropping for all the sites. Significant negative correlation between soil respiration and glomalin activity under AMF + biochar + RT (−0.85), AMF + RT (−0.82), and biochar + RT (−0.62) was an indication of glomalin’s role in the reduced rate of soil respiration. The research results proved that the combined application of AMF + biochar + RT was the best practice for enhancing soil quality while reducing respiration. Therefore, the development of suitable packages of integrated agronomic practices is essential for agricultural sustainability.
Highlights
Improving soil fertility while reducing carbon emissions is a key component of sustainable crop production [1,2,3]
analysis of variance (ANOVA) results indicated a significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher mean monsoon temperature (MMT) and mean winter temperature (MWT) of soil on the North-Eastern Plain of agro-climatic zone IV (ES3 site; MMT and MWT, 28.2 and 20.6, respectively) in comparison to the sites located on the Eastern Gangetic Plain (ES1) and Central Plain of agro-climatic zone V (ES2)
The lowest bulk density was recorded at ES3, followed by ES1 and ES2 (Table 3); under the lower bulk density and higher temperature regime at ES3, there was a higher rate of soil and microbial respiration
Summary
Improving soil fertility while reducing carbon emissions is a key component of sustainable crop production [1,2,3]. Enhancing soil carbon and reducing its emission into the atmosphere is a concurrent subject to ensure soil quality and agricultural sustainability [8,9,10,11]. In the clay over sandy loam soil profile, biochar addition increased the relative moisture retention, aggregation, and nitrogen-use efficiency; and reduced qCO2 (CO2 efflux per unit MBC) [22]. These results suggest a need to further investigate the soil sustainability (quality and CO2 efflux) aspects of biochar-based practices using varied soil types. In a maize–cowpea–rice system, RT improved soil organic carbon (water-soluble, readily mineralizable, and microbial biomass), dehydrogenase (13%), β-glucosidase (15%), and fluorescein diacetate (27%) enzymatic activity [14]
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