Effect of Three Amendments on Soil Organic Carbon and Aggregate Formation in Loam Soil: Southeast Tunisia
摘要
In arid regions, the majority of soils are poor in organic matter. The soil organic carbon content is frequently lower than 5%, improving soil degradation. Improving and maintaining of soil organic carbon in agro-ecosystems is imperative for soil quality. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the organic materials (compost) at soil properties with aggregate formation in Matmata-Gabes, Southeast Tunisia. The work was carried out according to the plotted experimental form with OM sources (C1: poultry droppings and citric acid, C2: Date Palm Waste, C3: bovine manure and Date Palm waste) as main plot factors applied to the soil. The dose 20 t/ha of each organic compost was used. The results indicated that loam soils in the study area were non-sodic with an alkaline pH (8.53) and very low organic carbon content (1.3 g/kg). One year after the beginning of the experiment, we observed that all rates of three composts increased the soil organic carbon and aggregate formation compared to the control treatment. C1 yielded the highest increases in the soil organic carbon (3.82 g/kg) and macro-aggregates contents, in the 0–10 cm soil depth. Thus, our results indicated that poultry droppings and citric acid compost were the most effective amendments for reclaiming loam soil, improving the amount of macro-aggregates and the soil organic carbon content. These parameters can increase the sequestration of organic carbon (SOC) and contribute to climate change (CC) mitigation.