Nitrogen fertilization and cropping systems effects on soil organic carbon and total nitrogen pools under chisel-plow tillage in Illinois

Agricultural soils can be a major sink for atmospheric carbon (C) with adoption of recommended management practices (RMPs). Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization and cropping systems on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N (TN) concentrations and pools. Replicated soil samples were collected in May 2004 to 90 cm depth from a 23-year-old experiment at the Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center, Monmouth, IL. The SOC and TN concentrations and pools, soil bulk density (ρb) and soil C:N ratio were measured for five N rates [0 (N0), 70 (N1), 140 (N2), 210 (N3) and 280 (N4) kg N ha−1] and two cropping systems [continuous corn (Zea mays L.) (CC), and corn–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotation (CS)]. Long-term N fertilization and cropping systems significantly influenced SOC concentrations and pools to 30 cm depth. The SOC pool in 0–30 cm depth ranged from 68.4 Mg ha−1 for N0 to 75.8 Mg ha−1 for N4. Across all N treatments, the SOC pool in 0–30 cm depth for CC was 4.7 Mg ha−1 greater than for CS. Similarly, TN concentrations and pools were also significantly affected by N rates. The TN pool for 0–30 cm depth ranged from 5.36 Mg ha−1 for N0 to 6.14 Mg ha−1 for N4. In relation to cropping systems, the TN pool for 0–20 cm depth for CC was 0.4 Mg ha−1 greater than for CS. The increase in SOC and TN pools with higher N rates is attributed to the increased amount of biomass production in CC and CS systems. Increasing N rates significantly decreased ρb for 0–30 cm and decreased the soil C:N ratio for 0–10 cm soil depth. However, none of the measured soil properties were significantly correlated with N rates and cropping systems below 30 cm soil depth. We conclude that in the context of developing productive and environmentally sustainable agricultural systems on a site and soil specific basis, the results from this study is helpful to strengthening the database of management effects on SOC storage in the Mollisols of Midwestern U.S.