[en] Farmland soil water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), serving as a labile carbon substrate for microbial utilization, demonstrates pronounced sensitivity to land-use modifications and agricultural management practices. This study systematically investigated the impacts of long-term straw incorporation frequencies—including annual (S-1), biennial (S-2), and triennial (S-3) return patterns—on WSOC distribution across 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm soil profiles. Through the integration of three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), we elucidated structural characteristics and humification dynamics associated with different incorporation regimes. The results showed a depth-dependent WSOC distribution pattern with higher concentrations in surface soils (0–20 cm: 261.2–368.9 mg/kg) compared to subsurface layers (20-40 cm: 261.8–294 mg/kg). Straw incorporation significantly increased WSOC content in the 0–20 cm of 16.9%~21.7% and 20–40 cm soil layers of 6.2%~12.3%. Biennial return had the lowest WSOC/SOC ratio, indicating enhanced stability of the soil organic carbon pool. Spectral indices—including the fluorescence index (FI, 1.59~1.69), biological index (BIX, 0.90~0.95), and humification index (HIX, 0.64~0.74)—collectively indicated that WSOC predominantly consisted of microbially processed organic matter with a low degree of humification. PARAFAC modeling resolved two fluorescent components: C1 (humic acid-like substances, 47.4–50.4%), C2 (soluble microbial metabolites, 49.6–52.6%). This systematic investigation provides mechanistic insights into how straw management temporality regulates both quantity and quality of labile carbon pools in agricultural ecosystems.
Disciplines :
Agriculture & agronomy
Author, co-author :
Kuang, Enjun ; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Plant Nutrition of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Academy of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150086, China
Zhang, Jiuming; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Plant Nutrition of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Academy of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150086, China
Colinet, Gilles ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Echanges Eau - Sol - Plantes
Zhu, Ping; Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130119, China
Zhu, Baoguo ; Jiamusi Branch, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jiamusi 154007, China
Sun, Lei; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Plant Nutrition of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Academy of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150086, China
Hao, Xiaoyu; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Plant Nutrition of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Academy of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150086, China
Zhu, Yingxue; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Plant Nutrition of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Academy of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150086, China
Yuan, Jiahui; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Plant Nutrition of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Academy of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150086, China
Liu, Lin; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Plant Nutrition of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Academy of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150086, China ; College of Agriculture, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing 163319, China
Ji, Jinghong; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Plant Nutrition of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Academy of Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150086, China
Language :
English
Title :
Effects of Maize Straw Incorporation on Soil Water-Soluble Organic Carbon Fluorescence Characteristics
This work was supported by the Agricultural science and technology innovation leap project (CX23GG08, CX25JC03), Provincial research business expenses (CZKYF2025-1-B008, CZKYF2025-1-B009), Project of soybean industry system (CARS-04-PS17), National Key Research and
Development projects (2021YFD1500202).
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