Long-term changes (1986–2016) in soil organic carbon and nitrogen in agricultural soils of Bavaria

作者：Martin Wiesmeier, Johannes Burmeister, Noelia García-Franco, Manuel Sümmerer · 发表于：Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.agee.2025.109874 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology、Agriculture, Soil, Plant Science

Soil monitoring programs are indispensable to assess long-term changes of chemical, physical and biological soil properties and to identify the underlying driving factors in order to secure soil functionality. In this study, the long-term development (1986–2016) of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N) contents of 121 agriculturally used sites (cropland, permanent grassland and alternating cropland/grassland use) was assessed using data from an agricultural soil monitoring network in Bavaria, Germany (BDF). The results showed no significant changes in SOC and N contents for most cropland soils (64 % and 74 %, respectively) and grassland soils (66 % and 56 %, respectively) during the observation period. At 17–20 % of cropland and grassland sites there was a considerable decrease in the SOC content, whereas at 16–17 % of the sites an increase in the SOC content was observed. Remarkably, increasing N contents were found for 20–33 % of cropland and grassland sites, while a decrease was observed for only 6–11 % of the sites. Due to the different development of SOC and N contents, a significant decrease in the SOC/N ratios of both cropland and grassland sites was detected. An exploratory data analysis indicated that shifts in agricultural management (particularly organic farming and straw return) and initial SOC and N contents may explain the observed changes in SOC and N contents and the SOC/N ratio. In view of a potential decline of soil organic matter (SOM) in agricul...