Soil pore-water environment and CO2 emission in a Luvisol as influenced by contrasting tillage

Abstract

Little is known how contrasting tillage (deep ploughing, top- and sub-soil loosening with straight or bent leg cultivator [BLC], direct drilling [DD]) affect important soil physical properties (total porosity [TP], pore size distribution [PSD], water release characteristics [WRC]) and CO2 emissions from a Luvisol. The study was aimed to alleviate compaction on land that had been under reduced tillage for 4 successive years. Undisturbed core samples were collected from 5–10, 15–20 and 25–30 cm depths for soil WRCs, TP and pore-size distribution determination. A closed chamber method was used to quantify the CO2 emissions from the soil. Soil loosening with straight or BLC produced the highest total soil porosity (on average 0.48 m3 m−3) within 5–30 cm soil layer, while conventional tillage (CT) gave 6%, DD up to 25% reduction. Sub-surface loosening with a BLC was the most effective tool to increase the amount of macro- and mesopores in the top- and sub-soil layers. It produced 21% more macro- and mesopores within 25–30 cm soil layer as compared to the soil loosened with a straight leg cultivator. Plant available water content under CT and DD was lower as compared to that under deep loosening with straight or BLC (23% and 18%, respectively). DD produced 12% lower soil surface net carbon dioxide exchange rate than CT and by 25–28% lower than deep soil loosening with straight or BLC. The increase in micropores within 25–30 cm soil layer caused net carbon dioxide exchange rate reduction. The amount of mesopores within the whole 5–30 cm soil layer acted as a direct dominant factor influencing net CO2 exchange rate (NCER) (Pxy = −3.063; r = 0.86).