Long-term Management Effects and Temperature Sensitivity of Soil Organic Carbon in Grassland and Agricultural Soils

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is integral to soil health and agroecosystem resilience. Despite much research, understanding of temperature sensitivity of SOC under long-term agricultural management is very limited. The main objective of this study was to evaluate SOC and nitrogen (N) dynamics under grasslands and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L)-based crop rotations in the inland Pacific Northwest (IPNW), USA, and measure SOC mineralization under ambient and elevated incubation temperatures. Soil samples were collected from 0–10 and 10–20 cm depths from an undisturbed grassland (GP), winter wheat-pea (Pisum sativum L) rotations under conventional tillage (WP-CT) and no-tillage (WP-NT), and winter wheat-fallow rotation under conventional tillage (WF-CT) and analyzed for SOC and N pools. Soil samples were incubated at 20 °C and 30 °C for 10 weeks, and SOC mineralization rates were estimated using the first order kinetic model. The GP had the greatest amounts of SOC, total N (TN), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and WP rotations had higher inorganic N content than other treatments. The SOC mineralization at elevated incubation temperature was 72–177% more than at the ambient temperature, and the greatest effect was observed in GP. The SOC storage under a given management did not have consistent effects on soil carbon (C) and N mineralization under elevated temperature. However, soil disturbance under WP-CT and WF-CT accelerated SOC mineralization leading to soil C loss. Reducing tillage, integrating legumes into crop rotations, and growing perennial grasses could minimize SOC loss and have the potential to improve soil health and agroecosystem resilience under projected climate warming.