Long-term manure and cropping systems effect on soil water vapour sorption characteristics is controlled by soil texture

Abstract

Increasing studies indicate that long-term experiments (LTEs) involving manure application and optimal cropping systems can significantly improve soil physicochemical properties, which may also affect the soil water retention curve (WRC) in the wet region (pF < 4.2). However, few studies have explored the effect of long-term manure application and cropping systems on soil WRC in the dry region (water vapour sorption isotherms, WSIs) (pF > 4.2) as well as the associated soil physicochemical properties. To overcome this knowledge gap, we investigated the effect of long-term manure application (24 to 177 years) and different cropping systems (71 to 82 years) on soil organic carbon (SOC) content, WSIs, hysteresis, and specific surface area (SSA). Soil samples were collected from five long-term manure experiments in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and Denmark, and two long-term cropping systems experiments in the United Kingdom. The five manure LTEs comprised three soil textures (silty clay, silt loam, and sandy loam) with one to four crops grown in the fields, including wheat, barley, maize, and grass/clover. The cropping system LTEs comprised silt loam and sandy loam including bare fallow (BF), arable rotation, ley–arable rotation, and permanent grass. Results showed that long-term manure application increased SOC content in each site, but it had little effect on the soil WSIs, hysteresis, and SSA in silty clay soils. The changes of soil WSIs, hysteresis, and SSA in silt loam and sandy loam arising from manure application largely depend on the crops grown in the field. For the long-term cropping systems experiments, permanent grass had the most significant effect in increasing SOC content, soil WSIs in silt loam and sandy loam, and hysteresis and SSA in silt loam compared to other treatments. Compared to BF, arable rotation and ley-arable rotation had no effect on SOC and soil WSIs in silt loam, and on hysteresis and SSA in silt loam and sandy loam. Multiple linear regression models including SOC, clay, and silt contents sufficiently explained the variabilities observed in the soil WSIs, hysteresis, and SSA for both manure and cropping systems LTEs.