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Research article2010Peer reviewed

Sulfur flow in a soil-plant system-effects of long-term treatment history and soil properties

Boye, Kristin; Eriksen, Jørgen; Nilsson, Ingvar; Mattsson, Lennart

Abstract

The influence of long-term treatment and soil type on sulfur (S) flow patterns within soil and from soil to plant was studied in a pot experiment with Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum cv. SW Fredrik) with (+S) or without (-S) added S. Soil samples were taken from two field treatments (farmyard manure (FYM) application or crop residue (CR) incorporation) at four sites with differing soil types within the Swedish long-term fertility experiment series. To follow gross processes, the initial soil sulfate pool was labeled with carrier-free H (2) (35) SO(4). The -S treatment resulted in visual symptoms of S deficiency, reduced biomass production and lower total S uptake by the rye grass. The isotopic measurements revealed that more than two thirds of the plant S was derived from non-labeled soil organic S, even in the + S treatment, and that all organic S pools (physically unprotected/protected and residual organic S) in the soil were involved in the S transformations. The long-term FYM treatment had resulted in higher S cycling rates and a slightly higher resistance to S deficiency than the CR treatment. The influence of soil type on S flow patterns was important, but probably only partly related to the soil S properties.

Keywords

Sulfur mineralization; Farmyard manure; Pot trial; Sulfur-35; Organic sulfur pools

Published in

Plant and Soil
2010, Volume: 334, number: 1-2, pages: 323-334
Publisher: SPRINGER