Soil organic carbon fractions in different land use systems of Chernozem soil

Abstract

The relationship between soil carbon fractions in Chernozem soils was assessed in soil samples of three different environments: arable soil, grassland and oak for­est. Grassland and oak forest had higher soil organic carbon (SOC), carbon soluble in hot water (HWC), particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated carbon (MOC) than the arable soil. The POC/MOC ratio was lowest in arable soil, indicating a smaller carbon pool for microbial turnover. POC increases with higher total SOC, indicating that the pres­ervation of organic matter depends on the renewal of labile fractions. Our results showed that fertilization had active role in soil carbon stabilization, while crop rotation had less effect on a soil carbon turnover. Our result could contribute to the better understanding of SOC fractions composition and relevance in Chernozem soil, thus could help in selection of cropping management systems for SOC preservation. [Projects of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR031072 and Grant no. TR031073]