Long‐term effects of vehicular passages on soil carbon sequestration and carbon dioxide emission in a no‐till corn‐soybean rotation on a Crosby silt loam in Central Ohio, USA

Abstract

AbstractResearch information from a systematic planned study on the effects of vehicular passages and axle load on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and soil carbon (C) sequestration under long‐term NT farming is scanty. Therefore, the present study was conducted on an on‐going 20‐year experiment to assess the impacts of variable vehicular passages of a low axle load on soil CO2 emission and soil C sequestration from a no‐till (NT) managed corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max Linneo) rotation in comparison with that a soil under woodlots (soils under natural wooded plantation). The experimental treatment consisted of an empty wagon [0 Mg load for compaction (C‐0; control)] compared with 2 (C‐2) and 4 (C‐4) passages of 2.5 Mg water wagon axle load, applied to the entire plot every year during April/May for 20 consecutive years. Soil samples were obtained in November 2016 to determine the effects of various vehicular passages on C and nitrogen (N) contents and CO2 emissions. Soil CO2 fluxes were measured from November 16, 2016, to May 30, 2017, on the bi‐weekly (November to December and April to May) and monthly (January to March) basis by using high‐density polyvinyl chloride static gas chambers. The soil CO2 fluxes ranged from –1.05 to 9.03 g CO2 m−2 d−1. The lowest soil CO2 fluxes were observed in December coinciding with the minimum soil temperature. In general, daily soil CO2 fluxes were higher under C‐0 than those under other treatments. Vehicular traffic and axle load reduced the cumulative emission of CO2 by 22.6 and 29.8% under C‐2 and C‐4, respectively, compared with that under C‐0 (6.09 Mg ha−1). Soil and air temperatures had a significant positive correlation with the diurnal fluxes of soil CO2 in all the treatments except that under C‐4. Electrical conductivity, soil C and N contents and pools did not differ significantly among the treatments. Further, 2 to 4 passages of vehicles with 2.5 Mg of axle load decreased the soil CO2 emission on Crosby silt loam under NT as compared to that under the control. Therefore, continuous cultivation of row crops with moderate trafficking under NT and residue retention is recommended, and it also reduces the potential of soil CO2 emission while improving the soil organic C pools of well‐drained soils of Central Ohio.