Soil aggregation and aggregate-associated carbon affected by long-term crop residues incorporation in rice-wheat cropping system Kumar Anand1,*, Singh Santosh Kumar2, Singh Arvind Kumar1, Kumar Manish1, Singh Rajneesh3, Singh Shivam Pratap1 1Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Piprakothi-845 429, East Champaran, RPCAU, Pusa- 848 125, Bihar, India 2Department of Soil Science, RPCAU, Pusa-848 125, Bihar, India 3Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Saraiya, Muzaffarpur-843 126, RPCAU, Pusa- 848 125, Bihar, India *e-mail: anandkumar1995muraul@gmail.com
Online Published on 11 January, 2024. Abstract Crop residue management is one of the options for enhancing soil organic carbon stabilization by improving soil aggregation in semi-tropical soil. We studied the influence of different levels of crop residue incorporation on aggregation and carbon stabilization in different soil aggregates after 23 years of continuous rice-wheat cropping system on sandy loam calcareous soil. Residue incorporation (100%) caused a significant increment of 49.09% in total water-stable aggregates (>0.25 mm) in surface soil. Carbon content in both macro- and micro aggregates was increased, but the increment was greater in macroaggregates (33.47%) than in microaggregates (16.23%). These results show that the long-term application of organics in combination with inorganic fertilizers helped in carbon accumulation in macroaggregates, thereby improving soil carbon status. Top Keywords Soil aggregation, Aggregate associated carbon, Long-term, Crop residues. Top |