Winter wheat cover crop increased subsoil organic carbon in a long-term cotton cropping system in Tennessee

Abstract

Long-term cover-cropping and no-tillage practices can facilitate soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation in agroecosystems for soil health and climate mitigation benefits. However, the contribution of these conservation management practices to SOC gain from the subsoil layers is not extensively studied. To understand this knowledge gap, it is essential to determine the distribution of total SOC and SOC fractions in response to management practices across the soil profile. Therefore, this study was conducted by leveraging a 40-year replicated field experiment in a continuous cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) system. The management treatments examined included three cover crop treatments: 1) hairy vetch, HV (Vicia villosa); 2) winter wheat, WW (Triticum aestivum L.), and 3) no cover crop, NC; and two tillage treatments: 1) chisel-tillage, CT (10 cm deep) and 2) no-tillage, NT. Soil samples were collected from four depths (0–5, 5–10, 10–30, and 30–60 cm) and analyzed for total SOC and C fractions such as microbial biomass (MBC), particulate organic matter (POM-C), and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM-C). Results showed that the profile-scale (0–60 cm) SOC stock was greater for WW (33.7 Mg ha −1) compared to HV (29.1 Mg ha −1) and NC (24.4 Mg ha −1), while the tillage effect was non-significant (28 Mg ha −1 for NT and 29.3 Mg ha −1 for CT). The NT increased SOC in the top 5-cm layer, which was reflected in the concentrations of POM-C and MBC. Below the tillage depth (10–30 cm), SOC accrual was greater under CT (10.4 Mg ha −1) than NT (8.9 Mg ha −1), despite similar profile-scale SOC stocks. Further analysis revealed that total SOC in topsoil and subsoil were driven by POM and MAOM-related parameters, respectively. We also observed a limited accumulation of C in POM fraction (0.2–6.1 g C kg−1 soil in tilled topsoil and 0.01–0.71 g C kg−1 soil in subsoil) with a weak relationship with total SOC concentration (topsoil slope = 0.29, subsoil slope = 0.13). Contrastingly, accumulation of C in MAOM fraction was greater (2.7–12.7 g C kg−1 soil in topsoil and 0.6–5.4 g C kg−1 soil in subsoil), and it was strongly related to total SOC concentration than POM-C, especially in the subsoil (topsoil slope = 0.43, subsoil slope = 0.71). Growing deep-rooted winter wheat cover crop increased SOC in the subsoil, indicating the need for climate, soil, and ecosystem-specific management practices for profile-scale net SOC accumulation and redistribution in agroecosystems.