Long-term effects of no-tillage management practice on soil organic carbon and its fractions in the northern China

- No-tillage (NT) has a great role on carbon sequestration in northern China.
- NT increased SOC, POM-C, MBC and DOC in the upper layers than CT.
- The labile C fractions were highly correlated with the SOC.
- The yield from the winter wheat showed 29% higher in NT practice.

The influence of different tillage practices on soil organic carbon levels is more significant under long-term tillage compared to short-term tillage. Despite the great interest in the effect of no-tillage (NT) management practice on carbon sequestration, the long-term effect of NT practice on soil organic carbon and its fractions in northern China remain unclear. We evaluated the long-term effects (after 17 years) of NT and conventional tillage (CT) practices on soil organic carbon and its fractions at different depths ranging from 0 to 60 cm using a cinnamon soil in Shanxi, China. A randomised block design with three replications was used to evaluate both the tillage and its effects on the yield performance of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). After 17 years, the soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration in the NT soil was greater than that of the CT soil, but only in the layer that was located between 0 and 10 cm. There was a significant accumulation of SOC (0-60 cm) in the NT soil (50.2 Mg C ha− 1) compared to that observed in the CT soil (46.3 Mg C ha− 1). The particulate organic matter C (POM-C), dissolved organic C (DOC), and microbial biomass C (MBC) levels in the 0-5 cm layer under NT treatment were 155%, 232%, and 63% greater, respectively, compared to the CT treatment. The POM-C, DOC, and MBC in the 5-10 cm layer under NT treatment were 67%, 123%, and 63% greater, respectively, compared to the CT treatment. Below 10 cm, the labile carbon observed in the NT treatment did not differ from that of the CT treatment. Significantly positive correlations were observed between the SOC and the labile organic C fractions. Moreover, the winter wheat (T. aestivum L.) yield increased 28.9% in the NT treatment compared to the CT treatment. The data show that NT is an effective and sustainable management practice that improves carbon sequestration and increases soil fertility, resulting in higher winter wheat yields in the rainfed dryland farming areas of northern China.