Journal
SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL
Volume 79, Issue 4, Pages 1169-1178Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2015.02.0053
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Funding
- USDA-ARS, Greenhouse Gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement Network (GRACEnet)
- Resilient Economic Agricultural Practices partnership (REAP)
- North Central Regional Sun Grant Center at South Dakota State University by the USDOE Office of Biomass Programs [DE-FC36-05GO85041]
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Corn (Zea mays L.) stover (non-grain aboveground biomass) in the US Corn Belt is used increasingly for livestock grazing and co-feed and for cellulosic bioenergy production. Continuous stover removal, however, could alter long-term agricultural productivity by affecting soil organic C (SOC) and soil physical properties, indicators of soil fertility and erosion potential. In this study, we showed that 12 consecutive yr of 55% stover removal did not affect mean grain yields at any N fertilizer rate (4.5, 6.3, and 6.0 Mg ha(-1) for 60, 120, and 180 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively) in a marginally productive, rainfed continuous corn system under no-till (NT). Although SOC increased in the top 30 cm of all soils since 1998 (0.54-0.79 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1)), stover removal tended to limit SOC gains compared with no removal. Near-surface soils (0-5-cm depth) were more sensitive to stover removal and showed a 41% decrease in particulate organic matter stocks, smaller mean weight diameter of dry soil aggregates, and lower abundance of water-stable soil aggregates compared with soils with no stover removal. Increasing N fertilizer rate mitigated losses in total water-stable aggregates in near-surface soils related to stover removal. Collectively, however, our results indicated soil structure losses in surface soils due to lower C inputs. Despite no effect on crop yields and overall SOC gains with time using NT management, annually removing stover for 12 yr resulted in a higher risk of wind and water erosion at this NT continuous corn site in the western Corn Belt.
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