1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture:
TOWARDS SOIL SUSTAINABILITY
11–13 June 2024 • Lublin–Nałęczów, Poland

https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.1.03
Published online: 4 October 2024

Long-term effects of crop rotation and fertilisation on soil organic matter quality in sandy soils under temperate climatic conditions
Jerzy Jonczak¹*, Vladimír Šimanský², Nora Polláková², Aleksandra Chojnacka³

¹ Department of Soil Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
² Institute of Agronomic Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture, Andreja Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
³ Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
* Corresponding author:

Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of different crop rotation and fertilisation practices on the quality of soil organic matter (SOM) in Planosols under temperate climatic conditions. The study was conducted at the Experimental Station of Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Skierniewice (Central Poland), where experiments were established in 1923. The experiments included in this study are as follows: E1-NF, E2-FYM and E3-NF without mineral fertilization; E1-NPK, E2-FYM+NPK and E3-NPK with NPK fertilization; E1-CaNPK, E2-FYM+CaNPK and E3-CaNPK with CaNPK fertilization. The experiments E1 and E2 involved included free crop rotation from 1923, while the E3 experiment – blueberry cultivation from 1975. The E2 experiment plots were fertilized with farmyard manure every 4 years from 1992. All of the experiments covered 3 replicates (plots). Soils were sampled in August 2017. Three undisturbed (100 cm³) and one disturbed sample were taken from the humus horizons of each plot. Basic soil properties, including particle size distribution, pH, total organic carbon (TOC) and nitrogen (N) content, and ionic composition of the sorption complex, were determined using standard procedures. Detailed analysis of SOM included fractional composition by the Tyurin method, absorbance ratios (E_4/6) of 0.01% alkaline solutions of humic acids (HAs), elemental composition (CHNO) and ¹³C-NMR spectra of these substances, and total contents of glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP) and polyphenols. The results obtained highlighted the importance of crop rotation and fertilisation practices as factors influencing SOM content and quality. Fertilisation with manure and blueberry as a crop contributed to higher SOM contents compared to unfertilised or mineral fertilised soils. Furthermore, SOM was characterised by higher contents of HAs and lower contents of fulvic acids (FAs). Higher E_4/6 ratios of HAs on manure fertilised plots and under blueberries indicate lower condensation of their molecules. Clear differences were also found in the elemental contents and ¹³C-NMR spectra of HAs, as well as in the contents of GRSP and polyphenols. In summary, it can be concluded that crop rotation and fertilisation practices strongly influence SOM sources, transformation pathways and binding to the mineral phase, thus modifying the ability to provide ecological functions and soil quality.

Keywords: soil organic matter, long-term experiments, soil quality, soil functions

How to cite
Jonczak J., Šimanský V., Polláková N., Chojnacka A., 2024. Long-term effects of crop rotation and fertilisation on soil organic matter quality in sandy soils under temperate climatic conditions. 1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture: Towards Soil Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.1.03