effects of adding a crop residue with a carbon to nitrogen ration greater than 30 to a leafy vegetable
Answers
Explanation:
Soil organic C is known to be protected by three main processes in soils - chemically, physically, and biochemically. Among the biochemical characteristics of an organic material, C/N is among the ones that show a great influence on its decomposition rate. A material with lower C/N ratio, like soybean residue, compared to a corn residue for example (higher C/N), would be much easier to be decomposed by the microorganisms, being known as a more labile material. But an interesting fact showed recently by a group of researchers is that the stoichiometry of the organic material being decomposed is determinant on how much CO2 would be released during decomposition. The microorganisms have a fixed nutrient ratio (C/N/P) and, during the decomposition process they impose its own stoichiometry to the transformed material. It means that, a diet rich in C causes microorganisms to release more C as CO2 into the atmosphere as the microbes try to maintain their healthy C/nutrients ratio.
Answer:
Carbon to Nitrogen ratio (C:N) is a ratio of the mass of
carbon to the mass of nitrogen in a substance. For example,
a C:N of 10:1 means there is ten units of carbon for each
unit of nitrogen in the substance. Since the C:N ratio of
everything in and on the soil can have a significant effect on
crop residue decomposition, particularly residue cover on
the soil and crop nutrient cycling (predominantly nitrogen),
it is important to understand these ratios when planning
crop rotations and the use of cover crops in agricultural
systems.Understanding carbon to nitrogen ratios of crop residues
and other material applied to the soil is important to
manage soil cover and crop nutrient cycling. Providing
quality habitat for soil microorganisms should be the
goal of producers interested in improving soil health. Soil
is a biological system that functions only as well as the
organisms that inhabit it.
Explanation: