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SOIL & WATER MANAGEMENT & CONSERVATION

Tillage Effects on Carbon Sequestration and Microbial Biomass in Reclaimed Farmland Soils of Southwestern Indiana

^a Dep. of Earth Sciences, Indiana Univ.–Purdue Univ. at Indianapolis, 723 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46256
^b Carbon Management & Sequestration Center, Ohio State Univ., 2021 Coffey Rd., Columbus, OH 43210

^* Corresponding author (pjacinth{at}iupui.edu).

Carbon sequestration in reclaimed mine soils (RMSs) could partly mitigate C emissions associated with coal mining, but our knowledge of C storage in RMSs is derived almost exclusively from studies conducted in restored grasslands and forests. Limited information exists regarding intensively managed RMSs under agricultural land use. A study was conducted to assess the impact of tillage on recent soil organic C (SOC, total organic C minus geogenic C), total microbial biomass C (t-MBC) and active microbial biomass C (a-MBC) in RMSs under no-till (NT, 13 yr) and moldboard plowing (MP, 9 and 13 yr). An undisturbed second-growth forest and a newly reclaimed (NR, 1 yr) grassland were also included. Significant effects (P < 0.01) of tillage on SOC, t-MBC, a-MBC, and metabolic quotient (q_CO2) were detected in the 0- to 5-cm soil layer. These soil properties were strongly (r² > 0.66) correlated with recent SOC, but moderately (r² = 0.21–0.60) with geogenic C. Rates of C sequestration were estimated from the temporal trend in the recent SOC pool (0–40 cm in NR (23.2 Mg C ha^–1), 9-yr MP (32.9 Mg C ha^–1) and 13-yr MP (33 Mg C ha^–1), and ranged between 0.8 and 0.25 Mg C ha^–1 yr^–1 during the first and second decades of restoration. Despite a similar amount of crop residue returned (2.8 Mg C ha^–1 yr^–1), recent SOC under 13-yr NT (36.8 Mg C ha^–1) exceeded that under 13-yr MP by 3.8 Mg C ha^–1. This finding, in conjunction with the lower q_CO2 in the surface soil layer of NT, suggests a more efficient C utilization by soil microbes under NT than under MP. These results illustrate the benefits of NT to the restoration of SOC stocks and biological properties of severely disturbed soil systems.

Abbreviations: a-MBC, active microbial biomass carbon • HWF, hardwood forest • MBC, microbial biomass carbon • MP, moldboard plowing • NR, newly reclaimed • NT, no-till • RMS, reclaimed mine soil • SOC, soil organic carbon • t-MBC, total microbial biomass carbon • TOC, total organic carbon