Soil tillage conservation and its effect on soil organic matter, water management and carbon sequestration

Organic matter is an extremely important constituent of soils and it is vital to many of the hydrological, biological and chemical reactions required for sustaining plant life. We present the influence of conventional plough tillage system on soil, water and organic matter conservation in comparison with an alternative minimum tillage system (paraplow, chisel plow and rotary harrow). The application of minimum tillage systems increased the organic matter content from 0.8 to 22.1% and water stabile aggregate content from 1.3 to 13.6% 0-30 cm in depth, as compared to the classical system. For the organic matter content and the wet aggregate stability, the statistical analysis of the data showed, increasing positive significance of minimum systems. While the soil fertility and the wet aggregate stability were initially low, the effect of conservation practices on the soil features resulted in a positive impact on the water permeability of the soil. Availability of soil moisture during the crop growth resulted in better plant water status. Subsequent release of conserved soil water regulated proper plant water status, soil structure, and lowered soil penetrometer resistance.