Long-term fertilization and plastic film mulching modify temporal incorporation of ¹³C/¹⁵N-labelled particulate organic matter

Plastic film mulching (PFM) is critical for agricultural planting and maximizing production in semiarid and arid areas. Particulate organic matter (POM) is assumed to be a sensitive indicator for evaluating the effects of different agricultural practices on soil fertility and the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool. Soil aggregates have the function of 'wrap' and protect the POM stored in them. However, there is limited information regarding how PFM and fertilization jointly influence the dynamic changes of newly added stalk-derived POM in brown earth. Consequently, an in-depth study of the fate of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) derived from maize stalk residues within the particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) fractions in soil aggregates was undertaken. Its outcome would contribute to better predictions on the active organic matter components sequestered in the soil. The dynamics and accumulation of newly added maize stalk C and N as POC and PON in different soil aggregates (using the dry sieving method divided into >2, 1-2, 0.25-1 and <0.25 mm) were analysed by an in situ C-13/N-15-tracing technique under PFM and different fertilization treatments. Over 360 days of cultivation, the POC and PON contents were significantly (p < 0.05) larger in the nitrogen (N) and organic manure (M) treatments than in the MN (manure combined with nitrogen) and Control treatments. The PFM treatment accelerated the decomposition of maize stalk C in the N fertilizer treatment, with an increase of 64% in stalk-derived POC after the 1-day cultivation period. Stalk-derived POM tended to accumulate in <0.25 mm microaggregates in the early cultivation period and then decreased rapidly with the extension of the cultivation period affected by PFM coupled with fertilization. However, stalk-derived POM accumulation in macroaggregates (>0.25 mm) fluctuated over the 360-day cultivation period. Accordingly, PFM application and fertilization practices had important effects on the accumulation of newly added stalk-derived POM in soil aggregates. We conclude that the accumulation of maize residue POM was primarily affected by soil fertilization type, rather than by the presence or absence of PFM. These results provide new insights into agricultural management strategies for improving soil carbon sequestration capacity.