Abstract— The effects of tillage on soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrient content of soil aggregates can vary spatially and temporally, and for different soil types and cropping systems. Surface soil (0–15 cm) was fractionated into aggregate sizes (>4.76 mm, 4.76–2.00 mm, 2.00–1.00 mm, 1.00–0.25 mm, 0.25–0.053 mm, <0.053 mm) under two tillage regimes. The percentage of soil OC mineralized (SOCmin, % SOC) was in general higher in larger aggregates than in smaller aggregates. Tillage significantly reduced the proportion of macro-aggregate fractions (>2.00 mm) and thus aggregate stability was reduced by 35% compared with RNT, indicating that tillage practices led to soil structural change for this subtropical soil. Soil organic C decreased with increasing soil depth but was greater under tree than others and was mainly concentrated in the topsoil layer (0–20 cm). In comparison to topsoil, deep soil aggregates generally exhibited a lower Cmin, and higher SOCmin. The highest SOC was in the 1.00–0.25 mm fraction, while the lowest SOC was in micro-aggregate (<0.025 mm) and silt + clay (<0.053 mm) fractions and CT, respectively. Tillage did not influence the patterns in SOC across aggregates but did change the aggregate-size distribution, indicating that tillage affected soil fertility primarily by changing soil structure. The percentage of soil OC mineralized (SOCmin, % SOC) was in general higher in larger aggregates than in smaller aggregates. Meanwhile, SOCmin was greater in coniferous forests (CF) than in broad-leaved forests (BF) at topsoil and deep soil aggregates. In comparison to topsoil, deep soil aggregates generally exhibited a lower Cmin, and higher SOCmin. The sum of macro-aggregate contributing rates for clay-humus stability of soil organic C (SOC) was significantly superior to that of the micro-aggregates. Water-stable aggregates increased by 34.5% in the CA with residue retention treatment, effectively improving the soil structure. Furthermore, 0.25–1.00 and 1–2mm aggregates had the highest SOC microbial biomass storage and responded rapidly to the various tillage treatments. Greater proportion of micro-aggregates within macro-aggregates in the plots under NT–NT compared with CT–CT was also observed in the surface layer only. Plots under NT–NT had about 10% higher coarse (250–2000 μm) intra-aggregate particulate organic matter-C (iPOM–C) within >2000 μm sand free aggregates in the 0- to 5-cm soil layer compared with CT–CT plots. The fine (53–250 μm) iPOM–C within the 250- to 2000-μm aggregates was also higher in the continuous NT plots compared with CT within both >2000 and 250 to 2000 μm sand free aggregate size classes in that soil layer.
Keywords— Aggregates sizes, aggregate stability, soil depth, macro-aggregates, micro-aggregates, fractionation, particulate organic carbon.
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