Soil CO2 Emissions in a Long-Term Tillage Treatment Experiment

Abstract The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of plowing (P) and no-tillage (NT) management on soil CO 2 emissions from an arable field (i.e., winter wheat) in a 13-year-old experiment. In 2015, CO 2 measurements were taken weekly in P and NT during the growing season and biweekly during the dormant season using the static chamber technique. Measurements were more frequent in a 7-day campaign scheduled right before and immediately after a soil disturbance caused by plowing to detect the short-term effects of soil management on CO 2 emissions. We investigated the relationship among soil CO 2 emissions, soil temperature, and soil water content. Soil CO 2 emissions increased during the vegetation period and were higher in NT than P, although they were only significant from jointing to maturity stages. In contrast, CO 2 emissions were higher in P compared to NT at a relatively short but well-monitored measurement interval just after plowing. Long-term systematic plowing resulted in lower CO 2 emissions than that in NT during vegetation season, but a sudden pulse in CO 2 emissions were detected in P directly after soil disturbance caused by plowing. These observations indicate that plowing can temporarily have a major effect on soil CO 2 emissions.