[Effects of straw application and earthworm inoculation on soil labile organic carbon]

A six-year field plot experiment of rice-wheat rotation was conducted to study the effects of straw application and earthworm inoculation on cropland soil organic carbon and labile organic carbon. Five treatments were installed, i.e., CK, straw mulch (M), straw mulch plus earthworm inoculation (ME), incorporated straw with soil (I), and incorporated straw with soil plus earthworm inoculation (IE). The results showed that soil organic carbon content increased significantly after six years straw application, and treatment I was more efficient than treatment M. Earthworm inoculation under straw application had no significant effects on soil organic carbon content. Straw application, whether straw mulch or incorporated straw with soil, increased the content of soil labile organic carbon, and incorporated straw with soil was more beneficial to the increase of the contents of hot water-extractable carbon, potentially mineralizable carbon, acid-extractable carbon, readily oxidizable carbon, particulate organic carbon, and light fraction organic carbon. There was a little relationship between the quantitative variations of soil dissoluble organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon and the patterns of straw application. Among the treatments, the activity of soil organic carbon was decreased in the order of IF > I > M > ME > CK. Straw application pattern was the main factor affecting soil organic carbon and labile organic carbon, while earthworm inoculation was not universally significanfly effective to all kinds of soil labile organic carbon.