Pedosphere (4): 987--1002, 2026
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2026 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Effects of long-term modified conservation tillage on soil organic carbon sequestration, microbial communities and crop productivity in northeastern Chinese Mollisols |
Yuexuan MA, Guixin ZHAO, Yiyan LIU, Zhengze DU, Ke DU, Yi WU, Shouyi MA , Zhao JIANG |
| School of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150038 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Intensive agricultural practices have stimulated progressive degradation of soil quality in the Mollisols of Northeast China, resulting in curtailed crop productivity. Although conservation tillage patterns have been modified to better suit Mollisols in recent years, whether conservation tillage can effectively enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) and crop yield remains controversial. In our study, the effects of two modified conservation tillage (MCT) patterns, the strip tillage with straw cover (STSC) and straw mixture amendment tillage (SMAT), on soil aggregate stability, SOC stock, enzyme activities, microbial communities, and crop yields were evaluated after five years of implementation. The results revealed that compared with conventional tillage (CT), both STSC and SMAT increased soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC), easily oxidized organic carbon (EOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and mineral-bound organic carbon (MOC), thereby raising SOC content and reinforcing the stability of soil aggregates. The microbial taxa, Bacillus, Gemmatimonadaceae, Sphingomonas, Nocardioides, Blastococcus, Streptomyces, Trichoderma, Holtermanniella, Talaromyces, Didymella, and Fusicolla, were identified as potential contributors to carbon (C) sequestration. Soil microbial diversity and key taxa were positively correlated with SOC. Additionally, both STSC and SMAT raised the effective panicle number, kernels per ear, and 100-grain weight, as well as nitrogen and phosphorus absorption by maize grains and rhizomes, further increasing maize yield, with a more pronounced effect of SMAT than STSC. To sum up, the implementation of MCT can considerably strengthen C sequestration and crop productivity in the Mollisol region of Northeast China, contributing to farmland ecological protection and improved agroecological efficiency. |
| Key Words: agronomic trait,crop yield,microbial diversity,microbial taxa,straw mixture amendment tillage,strip tillage with straw cover |
| Citation: Ma Y X, Zhao G X, Liu Y Y, Du Z Z, Du K, Wu Y, Ma S Y, Jiang Z. 2026. Effects of long-term modified conservation tillage on soil organic carbon sequestration, microbial communities and crop productivity in northeastern Chinese Mollisols. Pedosphere. 36(4): 987-1002. |
|
View Full Text
|
|
|
|
