van Tol J
South Africa
Research Article
Stability of Soil Organic Matter and Soil Loss Dynamics under Short-term Soil Moisture Change Regimes
Author(s): Parwada C and van Tol JParwada C and van Tol J
Soil properties are known to be influenced Soil Organic Matter (SOM) resident time. However, there is limited information on the interactive effects of SOM quality and soil moisture on SOC and Microbial Biomass Carbon (MBC) hence on soil losses. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of different organic matter and soil moisture in soils with low (<2%) initial SOC content on the SOC, MBC and soil loss with time of organic matter incorporation. Six soils were incubated for 34 weeks at 25°C after adding high quality (C/N=23) Vachellia karroo leaf litter and low quality (C/N=41) Zea mays stover. The effect of SOM quality and soil moisture on the SOC content, MBC and soil loss was significantly (P<0.05) the same within but varied across soils. Soils that were continuously wet lost more SOC than under alternating wet-dry moisture conditions. Microbial biomass carbon was c.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2168-9881.1000159