Bojarszczuk J., Księżak J., Gałązka A., Niedźwiecki J. (2019): Influence of soil microbial activity and physical properties on soil respiration under maize (Zea mays L.). Applied Ecology and Environmental Research; 17 (4), 8011-8022.
Abstract
Soil respiration is an important indicator of soil fertility and biological activity, which has impact on plant yield. The aim of the present study was the evaluation of soil respiration intensity depending on different soil treatment practices in cultivation of maize and to determine the effect of biology activity on soil respiration. The study was based on the long-term field experiment located at the Agricultural Experimental Station at the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute in Grabów (Poland). Three objects were included in this research: maize cropped continuously (monoculture) with direct sowing, maize monoculture cropped continuously with full tillage and crop rotation (spring barley, winter wheat, maize) with full tillage. Research indicates that soil respiration depends on cultivation method used before the maize is sown. The analysis showed that soil respiration was correlated with its biological activity and biochemical parameters. The statistically strongest negative correlation was found between soil respiration and evapotranspiration, changes in carbon dioxide concentration and acid phosphatase activity, while strongest positive correlation was found between soil respiration and ammonifying bacteria. The simple regression analysis showed linear relationship between soil respiration and such parameters as: acid phosphatase activity and ammonifying bacteria.
