Chemical and Spectroscopic Parameters Are Equally Sensitive in Describing Soil Organic Matter Changes After Decades of Different Fertilization

The composition and dynamics of soil organic matter (SOM) are decisive factors in soil quality. In this work, total organic C (C tot ), hot water extractable C (C hwl ), and aliphatic and aromatic SOM components detected by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were determined to evaluate SOM quantity and quality in soil samples taken between 2004 and 2017 from 13 field experiments established in different soil and climatic conditions of the Czech Republic. In addition, the C pool index (CPI), lability index (LI), C management index (CMI), and SOM decomposition index (DI) were assessed. Treatments were selected as follows: Unfertilized control (Nil), mineral fertilized treatment (NPK), farmyard manured treatment (FYM), and organic and mineral fertilized treatment (FYM+NPK). Both organic and combined fertilization significantly increased soil C tot , C hwl , CPI, LI, CMI, and labile aliphatic SOM components (FTIR aliph ) in most of the experiments compared to unfertilized treatments ( p ≤ 0.05). In contrast, the highest content of recalcitrant aromatic SOM components (FTIR arom ) and increased DI were determined in majority of unfertilized soils. Our results show that: (1) fertilization regimes increased both labile and total C pools; the highest increase was nearly uniformly observed for NPK+FYM treatment; (2) SOM chemical and FTIR spectral detection had equal sensitivity to the changes; and (3) none of the parameters or indices tested can be used as a stand-alone SOM quality descriptor.