Plastic-film mulch cropping increases mineral-associated organic carbon accumulation in maize cropped soils as revealed by natural 13C/12C ratio signature

Abstract

Plastic-film mulch is used for increasing soil temperature and reducing water evaporation to enhance productivity in semiarid regions worldwide; however, its effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) level and stability are not clear. We tested hypotheses that increasing soil temperature and moisture by plastic-film mulch with an increase of carbon input would increase the accumulation of heavy-fraction SOC (HFOC) and decrease the mineralization potential of HFOC. Soils were sampled at 0–45 cm depth from four treatments: (i) no mulch and no straw incorporation, (ii) mulch only, (iii) straw incorporation only, and (iv) straw incorporation plus mulch. All treatments were cultivated with C4 maize (Zea mays L.) under ridge–furrow management continuously for nine years in a field previously planted with C3 crops in a cold environment. Proportionately to the increased aboveground biomass, root biomass in the 0–20 cm depth increased under mulch compared to no mulch. Nine years later, mulch reduced both maize-derived (new) and C3-crop-derived (old) light-fraction SOC (LFOC) stocks only at 0–15 cm soil depth compared to no mulch, regardless of whether straw was incorporated or not, reflecting the increased decomposition due to increased temperature and moisture in mulched soils. Mulch increased new HFOC stock at 0–30 cm soil depth relative to no mulch. These indicated that the faster decomposition of labile LFOC with increasing plant input under mulch relative to no mulch was paralleled by an enhancement in the accumulation of stable HFOC in mulched soils. Mulch enhanced the benefits of straw incorporation in terms of increasing the accumulation of new HFOC. Over nine years, the average sequestration rate of new HFOC at 0–45 cm soil depth was 204 (±18) and 266 (±10) kg ha−1 yr−1 without and with mulch, respectively, in non-straw-incorporated plots, and 514 (±14) and 752 (±18) kg ha−1 yr−1 without and with mulch, respectively, in straw-incorporated plots. Old HFOC was unaffected by mulch or straw incorporation. Overall, mulch did not change the total SOC storage in the top 45-cm soil. Mulch decreased the mineralization potential of new HFOC under laboratory incubation compared to no mulch, indicating that the new HFOC was more decomposed in mulched soils. We concluded that increasing soil temperature and moisture by using plastic-film mulch with high plant input increases the accumulation of stable HFOC in maize croplands.