Abstract
Landuse change from native prairie to managed agriculture can have substantial impacts on soil nutrient properties. Nutrient release from soil organic matter decomposition is the soil’s inherent source of long-term fertility; thus it is imperative to understand the effects of continued landuse over time to avoid mistaking actual soil property changes with simple inter-annual variability from one year to the next. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of landuse (i.e. managed agriculture and native prairie) in two contrasting physiographic regions (i.e. the Ozark Highlands region of northwest Arkansas and the Grand Prairie region of east-central Arkansas) on the change in extractable soil nutrients over a 15-yr period from 2001 to 2016. Extractable soil Ca, Mg, and Zn increased at least two times more over time (P Averaged across landuse, extractable soil S increased nine times more over time (P P Averaged across region, extractable soil Mn increased 2.5 times more over time (P < 0.05) under native prairie than under agricultural landuse. Results from this long-term field study clearly demonstrate how landuse and regional soil characteristics can affect near-surface soil nutrient contents, which should be taken into consideration when implementing conservation and/or ecosystem restoration activities.
Highlights
Grasslands are one of the most abundant terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, and the most abundant ecosystem in North America [1]
Extractable soil Ca increased over time (P < 0.05) under cultivated agriculture in the Grand Prairie and under native prairie in the Ozark Highlands, while extractable soil Ca did not change over time under managed agriculture in the Ozark Highlands and under native prairie in the Grand Prairie (Figure 2)
The change in extractable soil Ca was more than four times greater under cultivated agriculture in the Grand Prairie (39.7 kg∙ha−1∙yr−1) than under native prairie in the Ozark Highlands (14.0 kg∙ha−1∙yr−1) and under managed agriculture in the Ozark Highlands and native prairie in the Grand Prairie, which did not differ (Figure 2)
Summary
Grasslands are one of the most abundant terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, and the most abundant ecosystem in North America [1]. The large and dense accumulation of organic matter associated with the fibrous roots of monocot grass species contributes to soil organic matter (SOM) and the overall stability of grassland soils, which in turn aid in the reduction of erosion and the regulation of soil water and gas exchange in an environmentally appropriate manner [2]. In regions of the once-prominent and expansive tallgrass prairie, where the climate is relative warm and humid, such as in east-central Arkansas, rapid SOM decomposition associated with landuse change has been shown to impact soil pH and the long-term storage of soil C and N [5], but can negatively affect the long-term storage of other essential plant nutrients. Brye and Moreno [6] concluded that the resilience of the soil of a native tallgrass prairie is governed by time, where soil biological activity alteration may occur relatively quickly, while soil physical and chemical property changes occur much more slowly
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