Long-term effects of crop rotation and fertilization on soil organic matter composition

Long-term effects of crop rotation and fertilization are mostly observed with respect to the amount of soil organic matter (SOM) and measured in terms of soil organic carbon (SOC). In this paper, we analyze the SOM composition of samples from long-term agricultural field experiments at sandy and clayey sites that include complex crop rotations and farm-yard manure applications. The organic matter (OM) composition of the soil samples, OM(Soil), and that of sequentially extracted water, OM(W), and sodium pyrophosphate, OM(PY), soluble fractions was analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The fraction OM(PY) represented between 13 and 34% of SOC, about 10 times that of OM(W). Site specific differences in OM(Soil) composition were larger than those between crop rotations and fertilizer applications. The smaller C=O group content in FTIR spectra of OM(W) compared with OM(PY) suggests that analysis of the more stable OM(PY) fraction is preferable over OM(W) or OM(Soil) for identifying long-term effects, the OM(Soil) and OM(W) fractions and the content of CH groups being less indicative. Farm-yard manure application leads to a more similar content of C=O groups in OM(PY) between crop rotations and fertilizer plots at both sites. Short-term effects from soil tillage or potato harvesting on composition of OM require further studies.