ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Agron.
Sec. Climate-Smart Agronomy
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fagro.2025.1576878
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Approaches in Nutrient Management for Sustainable Cropping SystemsView all 10 articles
Carbon dioxide emissions and nitrogen and phosphorus mineralization patterns from soil amended with shoot and root residues of different wheat genotypes
Provisionally accepted
- University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
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Crop residue incorporation into soil is one strategy for improving soil quality. While several studies have investigated the decomposition of different crop species, little is known about mineralization patterns among genotypes of the same crop. This study assessed the mineralization patterns of shoot (ST) and root (RT) residues from five wheat genotypes (LM70, LM75, BW140, BW152, and BW162), which were obtained from a drought-stress field trial. ST/RT residue was mixed with 100 g of soil in airtight PVC containers and incubated for 120 days. Carbon dioxide (CO2) released during decomposition was trapped, while soil from each pot was analysed for NH4+, NO3-, and extractable P throughout the incubation. Initial biochemical composition varied among genotypes and plant parts, with shoots exhibiting lower C:N and lignin content, and higher N and P concentrations, while the opposite was observed for roots. The STs also emitted higher net CO2 and mineralized higher net mineral N and P compared to RTs. LM70RT emitted the lowest CO2 (2.49 mg g-1 C), while BW140ST (11.3 mg g-1 C) and BW162ST (11.0 mg g-1 C) had the highest emissions. Net N mineralization initially increased before stabilizing by end of incubation, with BW152RT releasing the lowest (4.91 mg g-1 N), while BW162ST and BW140ST had the highest amounts (22.3 and 21.8 mg g-1, respectively). BW140RT also mineralized the lowest extractable P (0.98 mg g-1 P), while BW152ST had the highest (4.39 mg g-1 P). These results suggest that residue decomposition and nutrient release were influenced by the initial biochemical composition of wheat residues, which reflected the effects of drought stress during plant growth.
Keywords: Carbon Sequestration, decomposition, nutrient mineralization, soil fertility, Wheat residues
Received: 14 Feb 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mbava, Zengeni and Muchaonyerwa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rebecca Zengeni, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
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