Influence of long-term livestock manure substitution on water erosion and labile organic carbon lateral loss on subtropical sloping croplands

doi:10.1016/j.jia.2025.07.023

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Keke Hua^{1, 2}, Bo Zhu^2*, Zhibin Guo¹, Daozhong Wang¹, Linchuan Zhan¹, Lin Jin¹, Hirohiko Nagano³, Kazuyuki Inubushi⁴

¹Key Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Arable Land Conservation of Anhui Province/National Agricultural Experimental Station for Soil Quality, Soil and Fertilizer Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 230001 Hefei, China

²Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China

³Institute of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Niigata 950-2181, Japan

⁴Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8502, Japan

Highlights

l Long-term livestock manure substitution enhances soil aggregate stability and reduces water erosion intensity

l Annual labile organic carbon lateral loss increases significantly with long-term livestock manure substitution

l While water erosion intensity decreases, the risk of labile organic carbon loss increases following long-term livestock manure substitution

Abstract
References

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摘要

活性有机碳侧向迁移是土壤有机碳损失的重要途径，其可降低土壤固碳能力和加剧水体污染风险。有机肥替代化肥是农田生态系统保障作物产量、增强土壤固碳能力和降低水蚀强度的有效手段。然而，长期有机替代对农田土壤活性有机碳水文迁移的定量影响尚不清楚。因此，本文以亚热带坡耕地长期定位试验为平台，通过三年的田间连续观测，分析不施肥（CK）、常规施肥（SF）、猪粪替代40%化肥氮（PMF）和猪粪替代100%化肥氮（PM）对可溶性有机碳（DOC）和颗粒态有机碳（POC）随地表径流、壤中流和泥沙迁移的影响。与SF相比，PMF和PM处理年累积地表径流可分别降低13.5和 21.6%，年累积泥沙通量降低12.9和19.1%，表层土壤（0-20cm）水稳性团聚体平均重量直径增加37.7和73.6%，年累积POC随泥沙流失通量分别增加61.1和47.9%，活性有机碳（DOC和POC之和）流失通量分别增加11.9和31.4%（P<0.05）。这说明在亚热带坡耕地区，长期有机替代可提高土壤团聚体稳定性降低水蚀强度，但仍有增加活性有机碳流失加剧水体污染的风险。今后还应加强对不同土壤类型和不同坡度条件下有机替代对活性有机碳流失的影响研究，以期全面理解极端降雨事件下亚热带坡耕地有机替代对活性有机碳流失的影响过程与机制。

Abstract

The lateral transport of labile organic carbon represents a critical pathway for soil organic carbon (SOC) loss, reducing organic carbon sequestration and increasing the risk of waterbody pollution. Livestock manure application on croplands serves as a common fertilizer reduction practice to sustain crop yields, enhance SOC sequestration, and reduce water erosion. However, limited quantitative assessments have examined the effects of livestock manure substitution on labile organic carbon lateral loss and fluxes in long-term experiments. This study conducted a three-year field investigation on subtropical sloping croplands to assess the impact of livestock manure substitution on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) loss via surface runoff, interflow and eroded sediments. There are four treatments: no fertilization (CK); chemical nitrogen fertilizer (SF), 40% nitrogen substitution with pig manure (PMF), and 100% nitrogen substitution from pig manure (PM). Compared to SF treatment, long-term livestock manure substitution in PMF and PM treatments significantly (P<0.05) reduced annual cumulative surface runoff fluxes by 13.5 and 21.6%, respectively. Manure applications decreased annual sediment fluxes by 12.9 and 19.1%, respectively. Soil water stable aggregates for mean weight diameter (MWD) increased significantly by 37.7 and 73.6%. Annual cumulative POC loss flux via eroded sediment under PMF and PM treatments increased significantly (P<0.05) by 61.1 and 47.9%, respectively. The labile organic carbon loss fluxes, including DOC and POC losses, under PMF and PM treatments increased significantly (P<0.05) by 11.9 and 31.4%, respectively. These results demonstrate that while water erosion intensity decreases due to enhanced soil aggregate stability, the risk of labile organic carbon loss increases after long-term livestock manure substitution in subtropical sloping croplands. Future research should examine labile organic carbon lateral migration under various soil types and slope gradients for livestock manure application in subtropical agricultural ecosystem croplands to better understand extreme rainfall effects.

Keywords: hydrological carbon loss runoff and sediment organic manure sloping croplands

Online: 21 July 2025

Fund:

This research was funded by the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A20107 and U22A20562), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFD1900201-3) and the International Cooperation Project, Ministry of Science and Technology of China (G2023019005L).

About author: Keke Hua, huakeke1220@126.com; #Correspondence Bo Zhu, Tel: +86-28-85232090, E-mail: bzhu@imde.ac.cn

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Keke Hua, Bo Zhu, Zhibin Guo, Daozhong Wang, Linchuan Zhan, Lin Jin, Hirohiko Nagano, Kazuyuki Inubushi. 2025. Influence of long-term livestock manure substitution on water erosion and labile organic carbon lateral loss on subtropical sloping croplands. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2025.07.023

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