Influence of management practices on soil organic matter composition evaluated by complementary analytical...

The impact of soil management practices on carbon (C) sequestration in soil organic matter (SOM) is insufficiently known. We studied relevant treatments, including manure application, legumes incorporation, their combination, conventional and no-tillage systems, as well as tillage with and without catch crops, at three long-term experimental sites in Poland. Bulk soil and humin fractions were analyzed by X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy and thermochemolysis-gas chromategraphy/mass spectrometry (TC-GC/MS). XANES and TC-GC/MS revealed treatment-specific molecular enrichments. Legume cropping enhanced total organic carbon (TOC) and enriched aromatic and aliphatic C structures, particularly at Skierniewice, contributing significantly to SOM stabilization. At Chylice, no-tillage preserved a higher aromatic C content, indicating a contribution of relatively stable compounds to SOM enrichment. At Swojec, the application of catch crops resulted in a balanced C profile with aliphatic C enrichments. Humin consistently exhibited greater aromatic and carboxylic C intensities compared to bulk soil, emphasizing its role as a relatively stable C reservoir. The findings demonstrate that for comparable climatic and soil conditions, no-till management is more efficient in enriching relatively recalcitrant aromatic SOM than the addition of organic matter through manure and legumes. No-till is therefore recommended as a first, immediately effective measure for SOM enrichment under Central European conditions.