Effect of Tillage Practices on Soil Aggregate Stability, Soil Quality and Maize Yield

GU Jiacheng; WANG Jiaping; ZHANG Zengcheng; JIANG Guiju; LI Luhua; CHENG Zhibo

doi:10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2025-0211

PDF(2997 KB)

Chin Agric Sci Bull ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (17) : 78-87. DOI: 10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2025-0211

Effect of Tillage Practices on Soil Aggregate Stability, Soil Quality and Maize Yield

GU Jiacheng ¹^,² ,
WANG Jiaping ¹ ,
ZHANG Zengcheng ¹^,² ,
JIANG Guiju ²^,³ ,
LI Luhua ¹ ,
CHENG Zhibo ¹^,²

Author information +

History +

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of tillage practices on soil properties, aggregate stability and soil quality, providing references for improving soil fertility and yield in drip-irrigated maize fields in Xinjiang. A field positioning experiment was conducted in Areoletuohai Ranch, Bole City, Xinjiang from 2022-2023 with the maize variety ‘Jinli1702’ as the test material. Four tillage treatments were set up, including conventional tillage with plastic film (CT), conventional tillage without plastic film (BT), no-tillage (NT) and shallow tillage (ST). The changes in soil properties, aggregate fractions and maize yield were analyzed to evaluate the effects of tillage practices on soil quality and maize yield. The results showed that compared with CT, both NT and ST significantly increased >2 mm aggregate contents, mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD), and R_0.25 (P<0.05), indicating improved soil aggregate stability. Under the CT, soil temperature and moisture content were significantly higher than that in the NT and ST. Soil bulk density ranged from 1.35 to 1.70 g/cm³, with NT and ST showing significantly higher levels of available phosphorus, total nitrogen and organic carbon compared to CT. The soil quality index (SQI) in NT and ST increased by 19.82% and 15.29%, respectively, compared to CT. Maize yield under NT and ST was significantly higher than under CT and BT, reaching 20.67 t/hm² and 19.84 t/hm², respectively. But, there were no differences in ear grain number across four treatments, while the thousand-grain weight of NT was significantly higher than that of the others (P<0.05). Mantel analysis revealed significant positive correlations between yield and aggregate stability indices (MWD, GMD, D and R_0.25), soil properties, and SQI. Structural equation modeling showed that tillage practices affected soil quality by altering soil aggregate stability and soil properties, thereby indirectly influencing maize yield. The results showed that the yield of NT and ST increased by 9.13 % and 4.75 % compared with conventional tillage in drip irrigation maize farmland in Xinjiang, which had a significant effect on soil structure stability, soil quality and maize yield.

Key words

tillage practices / aggregates / soil quality / maize yield / soil physical and chemical properties / no-tillage / shallow tillage / conservation tillage

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

GU Jiacheng , WANG Jiaping , ZHANG Zengcheng , et al . Effect of Tillage Practices on Soil Aggregate Stability, Soil Quality and Maize Yield[J]. Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin. 2025, 41(17): 78-87 https://doi.org/10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2025-0211

References

List( Publishing order | Descend order by publishing year | Descend order by cited within ) Chart analysis

[1]	仇焕广, 雷馨圆, 冷淦潇, 等. 新时期中国粮食安全的理论辨析[J]. 中国农村经济, 2022(7):2-17. Cited in this article [1]

[2]	王术坤, 韩磊. 中国种业发展形势与国际比较[J]. 农业现代化研究, 2022, 43(5):814-822. Cited in this article [1]

[3]	宋建新. 玉米在新疆的种植和推广[J]. 农业开发与装备, 2021(6):185-186. Cited in this article [1]

[4]	BUSARI M A, KUKAL S S, KAUR A, et al. Conservation tillage impacts on soil, crop and the environment[J]. International soil and water conservation research, 2015, 3(2):119-129. Cited in this article [1]

[5]	LV L, GAO Z, LIAO K, et al. Impact of conservation tillage on the distribution of soil nutrients with depth[J]. Soil and tillage research, 2023, 225:105527. Cited in this article [1]

[6]	LI Y, LI Z, CUI S, et al. Microbial-derived carbon components are critical for enhancing soil organic carbon in no-tillage croplands: A global perspective[J]. Soil and tillage research, 2021, 205:104758. Cited in this article [1]

[7]	汪洋, 杨殿林, 王丽丽, 等. 农田管理措施对土壤有机碳周转及微生物的影响[J]. 农业资源与环境学报, 2020, 37(3):340-352. Cited in this article [1]

[8]	李千雪, 李春越, 张文婷, 等. 秸秆覆盖还田保护性耕作对黄土旱塬土壤磷素组分的影响[J]. 农业环境科学学报, 2024, 43(2):368-377. Cited in this article [1]

[9]	WANG Y, TU C, CHENG L, et al. Long-term impact of farming practices on soil organic carbon and nitrogen pools and microbial biomass and activity[J]. Soil and tillage research, 2011, 117:8-16. Cited in this article [1]

[10]	GUO L J, ZHANG Z S, WANG D D, et al. Effects of short-term conservation management practices on soil organic carbon fractions and microbial community composition under a rice-wheat rotation system[J]. Biology and fertility of soils, 2015, 51:65-75. Cited in this article [1]

[11]	MORENO F, MURIllO J M, Pelegrín F, et al. Long-term impact of conservation tillage on stratification ratio of soil organic carbon and loss of total and active CaCO₃[J]. Soil and tillage research, 2006, 85(1-2):86-93. Cited in this article [1]

[12]	张星杰, 刘景辉, 李立军, 等. 保护性耕作方式下土壤养分,微生物及酶活性研究[J]. 土壤通报, 2009(3):542-546. Cited in this article [1]

[13]	王兴, 祁剑英, 井震寰, 等. 长期保护性耕作对稻田土壤团聚体稳定性和碳氮含量的影响[J]. 农业工程学报, 2019, 35(24):121-128. Cited in this article [1]

[14]	江春玉, 刘萍, 刘明, 等. 不同肥力红壤水稻土根际团聚体组成和碳氮分布动态[J]. 土壤学报, 2017, 54(1):138-149. Cited in this article [1]

[15]	PYGET P, CHENU C, BALESDENT J. Dynamics of soil organic matter associated with particle‐size fractions of water‐stable aggregates[J]. European journal of soil science, 2000, 51(4):595-605. Cited in this article [1]

[16]	LlU W X, WEI Y X, LI R C, et al. Improving soil aggregates stability and soil organic carbon sequestration by no-till and legume-based crop rotations in the North China Plain[J]. Science of the total environment, 2022, 847:157518. Cited in this article [1]

[17]

李景, 吴会军, 武雪萍, 等. 长期不同耕作措施对土壤团聚体特征及微生物多样性的影响[J]. 应用生态学报, 2014, 25(8):2341.

Cited in this article [2] Abstract

以豫西丘陵地区15年的保护性耕作试验为平台,研究了不同耕作措施对土壤水稳性团聚体分布及稳定性和土壤细菌、古菌及真菌多样性的影响.结果表明: 与传统耕作相比,免耕、深松覆盖和小麦-花生两茬耕作处理增加了>2000 μm粒级团聚体的相对含量,减少了<53 μm粒级团聚体的相对含量;显著提高了土壤团聚体平均质量直径(MWD),提高幅度分别为18.0%、12.2%和50.4%.免耕、深松覆盖和两茬耕作处理均可提高细菌、古菌和真菌的Shannon指数(H),细菌分别提高0.3%、0.3%和0.6%,古菌分别提高20.2%、40.5%和49.1%,真菌分别提高23.7%、19.5%和25.8%.土壤细菌和古菌的H指数与大团聚体含量(R<sub>0.25</sub>)和MWD显著相关,而真菌的H指数与R<sub>0.25</sub>和MWD相关性不显著.综上,采用免耕、深松结合小麦秸秆覆盖以及小麦-花生轮作等措施均可改善土壤团聚体状况,提高土壤微生物多样性指数. 

[18]	HUANG M, LIANG T, WANG L, et al. Effects of no-tillage systems on soil physical properties and carbon sequestration under long-term wheat-maize double cropping system[J]. Catena, 2015, 128:195-202. Cited in this article [1]

[19]	姚丽, 刘倩, 王金华, 等. 紫花苜蓿种植模式对干热河谷咖啡园土壤质量的影响[J]. 农业环境科学学报, 2024, 43(6):1360-1368. Cited in this article [1]

[20]	杨淇钧, 吴克宁, 冯喆, 等. 大空间尺度土壤质量评价研究进展与启示[J]. 土壤学报, 2020, 57(3):565-578. Cited in this article [1]

[21]	KARACA S, DENGIZ O, TURAN İ D, et al. An assessment of pasture soils quality based on multi-indicator weighting approaches in semi-arid ecosystem[J]. Ecological indicators, 2021, 121:107001. Cited in this article [1]

[22]	BISWAS S, HAZRA G C, PURAKAYASTHA T J, et al. Establishment of critical limits of indicators and indices of soil quality in rice-rice cropping systems under different soil orders[J]. Geoderma, 2017, 292:34-48. Cited in this article [1]

[23]

SADIQ

F K

, MANIYANIYUNDA

L M

, ADEGOKE

K A

, et al. Evaluating quality of soils formed on basement complex rocks in Kaduna State, northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria[J]. Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2021, 193(7):383.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09157-0

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34089400

Cited in this article [1] Abstract

A few investigations have been done regarding the soil quality index (SQI) for various locations, soil types, and states. Still, little has been reported regarding SQI for both surface and control sections, especially for the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria. Due to the subsurface property pedogenic influence on soil function, it is crucial to assess SQI using surface and subsurface properties as both properties influence soil productivity. We investigated the potentials of choosing a minimum data set for soil quality indicators and assess soil quality (SQ), using both surface and entire soil pedon data for the soils on the basement complexes. Both additive and weighted soil quality indices and different scoring methods (linear and non-linear) were used in evaluating SQ. Out of the twenty-three soil properties subjected to PCA, eight indicators (TEB, clay, silt, K, EA, EC, BD, and Fe) were selected as the minimum data set (MDS). There was not much difference in the calculated soil quality using the non-linear additive (SQI-NLA), linear additive (SQI-LA), linear weighted (SQI-LW), and non-linear weighted (SQI-NLW) for the soils as they were all rated low (SQI < 0.55). The estimated SQI for the control section had relatively higher values than the surface soil, thus suggesting the need to incorporate both surface and entire soil profile properties in assessing SQ as both are important in integrating the relationship between soil properties and management goals which eventually provides complete information that affects the production of crops.

[24]	孙鸿烈, 刘光崧. 土壤理化分析与剖面描述[M]. 北京: 中国标准出版社, 1996. Cited in this article [1]

[25]	HILLEL D. The mission of soil science in a changing world[J]. Journal of plant nutrition and soil science, 2009, 172(1):5-9. Cited in this article [1]

[26]	鲍士旦. 土壤农化分析(第3版)[M]. 北京: 中国农业出版社, 2008:30-281. Cited in this article [1]

[27]	DORAN J W, PARKIN T B. Quantitative indicators of soil quality: a minimum data set[J]. Methods for assessing soil quality, 1997, 49:25-37. Cited in this article [1]

[28]	SHUKLA M K, LAL R, EBINGER M. Determining soil quality indicators by factor analysis[J]. Soil and tillage research, 2006, 87(2):194-204. Cited in this article [1]

[29]	RAIESI F, KABIRI V. Identification of soil quality indicators for assessing the effect of different tillage practices through a soil quality index in a semi-arid environment[J]. Ecological indicators, 2016, 71:198-207. Cited in this article [1]

[30]	ANDREWS S S, KARLEN D L, MITCHELL J P. A comparison of soil quality indexing methods for vegetable production systems in Northern California[J]. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 2002, 90(1):25-45. Cited in this article [1]

[31]	GOLCHIN A, OADES J M, SKJEMSTAD J O, et al. Soil structure and carbon cycling[J]. Soil research, 1994, 32(5):1043-1068. Cited in this article [2]

[32]

隋鹏祥, 罗洋, 郑洪兵, 等. 长期耕作对农田黑土团聚体和有机碳稳定性的影响[J]. 应用生态学报, 2023, 34(7):1853-1861.

https://doi.org/10.13287/j.1001-9332.202307.027

Cited in this article [2] Abstract

为探明长期耕作对黑土农田土壤结构和有机碳稳定性的影响,利用黑土长期定位试验平台,应用湿筛法和红外光谱法研究不同耕作方式(灭茬起垄,CT;免耕,NT;间隔深松,ST;翻耕,MP)下0～40 cm土层土壤团聚体分布和有机碳稳定性。结果表明: 与CT相比,NT和ST处理显著提高了耕层(0～20 cm)土壤超大团聚体(>2 mm)含量,NT、ST和MP处理显著提高了亚耕层(20～40 cm)土壤大团聚体(0.25～2 mm)含量,并提高了两土层团聚体平均重量直径和几何平均直径。NT处理显著提高了耕层土壤和大团聚体有机碳含量,而ST和MP处理显著增加了亚耕层土壤和大团聚体有机碳含量,其中,大团聚体对土壤有机碳的贡献率达68.9%～83.4%。NT还显著提高了耕层和亚耕层土壤及各粒级团聚体有机碳的化学稳定性。相关性分析显示,团聚体平均重量直径与土壤和大团聚体有机碳含量及其化学稳定性呈显著正相关。本研究结果可为明确黑土区不同耕作方式对农田土壤团聚体和有机碳稳定性的影响提供理论基础。

[33]	LAL R. The role of residues management in sustainable agricultural systems[J]. Journal of sustainable agriculture, 1995, 5(4):51-78. Cited in this article [1]

[34]	WAN Y, WU C, XUE Q, et al. Effects of plastic contamination on water evaporation and desiccation cracking in soil[J]. Science of the total environment, 2019, 654:576-582. Cited in this article [1]

[35]	CHOUDHARY R L, BEHERA U K, Effect of sequential tillage practices and N levels on soil health and root parameters in maize (Zea mays)-wheat (Tritium aestivum) cropping system[J]. Journal of soil and water conservation, 2014, 13(1):73-82. Cited in this article [1]

[36]	GAO L, BECKER, LIANG G, et al. Effect of different tillage systems on aggregate structure and inner distribution of organic carbon[J]. Geoderma, 2017, 288:97-104. Cited in this article [1]

[37]	KABIRI V, RAIESI F, GHAZAVI M A. Six years of different tillage systems affected aggregate-associated SOM in a semi-arid loam soil from Central Iran[J]. Soil and tillage research, 2015, 154:114-125. Cited in this article [2]

[38]

WANG

, ZHAI

, ZHU

, et al. Feedwater pH affects phosphorus transformation during hydrothermal carbonization of sewage sludge[J]. Bioresource technology, 2017, 245:182-187.

https://doi.org/S0960-8524(17)31428-1

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28892689

Cited in this article [1] Abstract

In this study, the effect of feedwater pH (3-11) on phosphorus (P) transformation during the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of sewage sludge (SS) was investigated at a temperature range of 200-260°C. The HTC significantly accumulated P in the hydrochar. Different feedwater pH stimulated the transformation of various forms of P. An acidic feedwater pH promoted the transformation of apatite phosphorus (AP) to non-apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP), and of organic P (OP) to inorganic P (IP). The NAIP tended to transformation to AP and a small part of the IP was transformed to OP when the SS was treated in a basic environment. The combination of three P analysis methods (chemical extractive fractionation, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS)) showed that metal cations (e.g. Al and Ca) and the pH played important roles in the transformation of different forms of P during the HTC of the SS.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[39]	王静娅, 王明亮, 张凤华. 干旱区典型盐生植物群落下土壤微生物群落特征[J]. 生态学报, 2016, 36(8):2363-2372. Cited in this article [1]

[40]	DE PAUL OBADE V, LAL R. A standardized soil quality index for diverse field conditions[J]. Science of the total environment, 2016, 541:424-434. Cited in this article [1]

[41]	闫雷, 董天浩, 喇乐鹏, 等. 免耕和秸秆还田对东北黑土区土壤团聚体组成及有机碳含量的影响[J]. 农业工程学报, 2020, 36(22):181-188. Cited in this article [1]