Soil organic carbon dynamics under long-term fertilization in a black soil of China: Evidence from stable C isotopes

Effects of different fertilizers on organic carbon (C) storage and turnover of soil fractions remains unclear. We combined soil fractionation with isotope analyses to examine soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics after 25 years of fertilization. Five types of soil samples including the initial level (CK) and four fertilization treatments (inorganic nitrogen fertilizer, N; balanced inorganic fertilizer, NPK; inorganic fertilizer plus farmyard manure, MNPK; inorganic fertilizer plus corn straw residue, SNPK) were separated into four aggregate sizes (>2000 μm, 2000–250 μm, 250–53 μm, and <53 μm), and three density fractions: free light fraction (LF), intra-aggregate particulate organic matter (iPOM), and mineral-associated organic matter (mSOM). Physical fractionation showed the iPOM fraction of aggregates dominated C storage, averaging 76.87% of SOC storage. Overall, application of N and NPK fertilizers cannot significantly increase the SOC storage but enhanced C in mSOM of aggregates, whereas MNPK fertilizer resulted in the greatest amount of SOC storage (about 5221.5 g C m(2)) because of the enhanced SOC in LF, iPOM and mSOM of each aggregate. The SNPK fertilizer increased SOC storage in >250 μm aggregates but reduced SOC storage in <250 μm aggregates due to SOC changes in LF and iPOM.