Abstract
This study was aimed at comparing physical soil quality parameters and soil enzymatic activity in a three-year spring wheat monoculture affected by the incorporation of biomass of selected catch crops into the soil using two systems of tillage (conventional plough tillage and conservation tillage). We tested the suitability of the following catch crop plants: white mustard, lacy phacelia, and mixed legumes (faba bean + spring vetch) and compared these to the control treatment. This research was carried out in the period 2014–2016 in Czesławice (central Lublin region, Poland). Catch crops promoted improved soil structure, soil particle-size distribution, soil bulk density, and soil moisture content. Tillage systems had a smaller impact on the soil physical parameters. Plough tillage contributed to improved soil moisture content in a deeper layer (15–20 cm). On the other hand, the above-mentioned tillage system influenced adversely soil compaction and bulk density. Catch crops caused an improvement in the soil particle size distribution, resulting in a higher percentage of the finer soil fractions. Moreover, the catch crops positively affected soil bulk density and soil compaction. The study has proven that enzymatic tests are good indicators to discriminate between soil sites under study in dependence on the catch crop and tillage system. Conservation tillage significantly stimulated the activities of the studied enzymes, especially in the topsoil layers. A particularly wide range of dehydrogenase and urease activity was obtained in the soil sown with the white mustard catch crop. The other catch crops (lacy phacelia and faba bean + spring vetch) also stimulated enzymatic activity. The obtained results show the positive role of catch crops and conservation tillage in bringing about positive changes occurring in the soil environment.
Highlights
Cereal monocultures cause many adverse soil environment changes
Tillage practices used after harvest of the spring wheat and before sowing of the catch crops, and subsequently, tillage practices after harvest of the catch crops and before sowing the cereal crop: 1. Conventional plough tillage—after harvest of the spring wheat crop, wheat straw was removed from the field, subsoil ploughing and harrowing were carried out, and subsequently, the catch crops were sown; after the harvest of the catch crops (October), their aboveground biomass was shredded and incorporated into the soil during autumn ploughing; and in the spring, a tillage unit was used, mineral NPK fertilization was applied, and spring wheat was sown by seed drill, (Table 1)
Some studies showed an increase in soil moisture in cereal monoculture when white mustard catch crop and tansy phacelia were included in the crop [9,28,29]
Summary
Cereal monocultures cause many adverse soil environment changes. We can observe this effect independently of the adopted cultivation system [1,2]. Plough tillage is replaced more and more frequently by conservation tillage, and this process takes place in many countries [3,4,5]. Succession planting (including cover cropping) generally modifies to a small extent soil physical properties. Soil physical properties are of great importance for agricultural production and sustainable use of agricultural land [6] because they are fundamental for some essential chemical and enzymatic processes occurring in soil or can even be a determining factor in this respect. Water infiltration, soil aeration, and root penetration are all determined by soil structure [6,7].
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