Differentiation in Nitrogen Transformations and Crop Yield as Affected by Tillage Modes in a Fluvo-Aquic Soil

Nitrogen is a vital element for soil fertility and crop productivity. The transformation of nitrogen is directly affected by tillage practices for the disturbing soil. The characteristics of different nitrogen forms under different tillage modes are still unclear. A 3-year cycle tillage experiment was carried out to assess the combination of rotary tillage (RT), deep tillage (DT), and shallow rotary tillage (SRT) on nitrogen transformation and distribution, wheat yield and nitrogen balance in fluvo-aquic soil from Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in China. The results showed the rotation tillage cycle with deep tillage in the first year increased the total nitrogen (TN), and the main nitrogen form content in 0–30 cm compared with continued rotary tillage (RT-RT-RT). Moreover, the nitrate (NO(3)(−)-N) and ammonium nitrogen (NH(4)(+)-N) content were improved in 20–40 cm by deep tillage practice with the highest value as 39.88 mg kg(−1) under DT-SRT-RT. The time, tillage, and depth significantly affected the different nitrogen forms, but there was no effect on dissolved organic carbon (DON) and soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN) by the interaction of time and tillage. Moreover, compared with RT-RT-RT, the rotation tillage promoted the spike number and kernels per spike of wheat, further increasing the wheat yield and nitrogen partial productivity, and with a better effect under DT-SRT-RT. The NO(3)(−)-N and NH(4)(+)-N trended closer and positively correlated with wheat yield in 0–40 cm in 2019. The rotation tillage with deep tillage improved the different forms of nitrogen in 0–30 cm, wheat yield, and nitrogen partial productivity, and decreased the apparent nitrogen loss. It was suggested as the efficiency tillage practice to improve nitrogen use efficiency and crop yield in this area.