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Living Mulch Management Spatially Localizes Nutrient Cycling in Organic Corn Production

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Listed:
  • Peyton Ginakes

    (School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04473, USA)

  • Julie M. Grossman

    (Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA)

  • John M. Baker

    (Soil and Water Management Research Unit, USDA-ARS, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
    Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA)

  • Thanwalee Sooksa-nguan

    (Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA)

Abstract

Kura clover ( Trifolium ambiguum ) is a perennial living mulch species that can be used in conjunction with zone tillage to reduce nitrogen pollution, maintain ground cover, and provide nitrogen to crops. In such systems, kura clover is maintained between crop rows by limiting tillage only to within-row areas. However, the effect of zone-tilled living mulches on soil quality and nutrient cycling in these distinct regions is relatively unexplored. We examined three pools of labile soil organic matter (SOM): microbial biomass, particulate organic matter (POM), and permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC). Soil samples were collected from both within-row and between-row locations of a zone-tilled kura clover living mulch at three time points per year: before spring zone tillage, approximately ten days after spring zone tillage and corn ( Zea mays ) planting, and at corn harvest in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, POM and POXC decreased within rows relative to between-row regions after tillage, suggesting that zone till management stimulated decomposition of readily available SOM to effectively localize nutrient cycling in this region and slow mineralization between rows where living kura clover remained. This work shows that zone-tilled living mulches may be a promising avenue for enhancing the synchrony of nutrient mineralization specifically within crop rows, while maintaining year-round ground cover between rows.

Suggested Citation

  • Peyton Ginakes & Julie M. Grossman & John M. Baker & Thanwalee Sooksa-nguan, 2020. "Living Mulch Management Spatially Localizes Nutrient Cycling in Organic Corn Production," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:10:y:2020:i:6:p:243-:d:375162
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qi, Zhiming & Helmers, Matthew J. & Kaleita, Amy L., 2011. "Soil water dynamics under various agricultural land covers on a subsurface drained field in north-central Iowa, USA," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(4), pages 665-674, February.
    2. Michael W. I. Schmidt & Margaret S. Torn & Samuel Abiven & Thorsten Dittmar & Georg Guggenberger & Ivan A. Janssens & Markus Kleber & Ingrid Kögel-Knabner & Johannes Lehmann & David A. C. Manning & Pa, 2011. "Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property," Nature, Nature, vol. 478(7367), pages 49-56, October.
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