Labile carbon and methane uptake as affected by tillage intensity in a Mollisol

Methane (CH4) oxidation potential of soils decreases with cultivation, but limited information is available regarding the restoration of that capacity with implementation of reduced tillage practices. A study was conducted to assess the impact of tillage intensity on CH4 oxidation and several C-cycling indices including total and active microbial biomass C (t-MBC, a-MBC), mineralizable C (Cmin) and N (Nmin), and aggregate-protected C. Intact cores and disturbed soil samples (0–5 and 5–15 cm) were collected from a corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) rotation under moldboard-plow (MP), chisel-plow (CP) and no-till (NT) for 8 years. An adjacent pasture (<25 years) and secondary growth forest (>60 years) soils were also sampled as references. At all sites, soil was a Kokomo silty clay loam (mesic Typic Argiaquolls). Significant tillage effects on t-MBC and protected C were found in the 0–5 cm depth. Protected C, a measure of C retained within macro-aggregates and defined as the difference in Cmin (CO2 evolved in a 56 days incubation) between intact and sieved (<2 mm) soil samples, amounted to 516, 162 and 121 mg C kg−1 soil in the 0–5 cm layer of the forest, pasture and NT soils, respectively. Protected C was negligible in the CP and MP soils. Methane uptake rate (μg CH4-C kg−1 soil per day, under ambient CH4) was higher in forest (2.70) than in pasture (1.22) and cropland (0.61) soils. No significant tillage effect on CH4 oxidation rate was detected (MP: 0.82; CP: 0.41; NT: 0.61). These results underscore the slow recovery of the CH4 uptake capacity of soils and suggest that, to have an impact, tillage reduction may need to be implemented for several decades.