Short-Term Impact of Multi-Cropping on Some Soil Physical Properties and Respiration
Kęstutis Romaneckas,
Jovita Balandaitė,
Aušra Sinkevičienė,
Rasa Kimbirauskienė,
Algirdas Jasinskas,
Ugnius Ginelevičius,
Andrius Romaneckas,
Rita Petlickaitė
Affiliations
Kęstutis Romaneckas
Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 11, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Jovita Balandaitė
Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 11, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Aušra Sinkevičienė
Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 11, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Rasa Kimbirauskienė
Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 11, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Algirdas Jasinskas
Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, Akademija, LT-53362 Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Ugnius Ginelevičius
Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 11, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Andrius Romaneckas
Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 11, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Rita Petlickaitė
Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, Akademija, LT-53362 Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Growing as much crop biomass as possible in the shortest possible time is the target for most bio-energy producers. However, according to the requirements of the Green Deal, the consumption of fertilizers and crop protection products will have to be significantly reduced between 2023 and 2027. In order to meet all the necessary conditions for the production of biomass, a stationary field experiment was carried out at the Experimental Station of Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania, in 2020–2021. Multi-cultivations of maize, hemp and faba bean were investigated. The aim of this study was to ascertain the impact of multi-cropping intensity on soil structural composition, stability, penetration resistance and gas concentration–respiration. As expected, multi-cropping stabilized the gas concentration and emission from the soil and decreased the proportion of micro-structures in the top soil layers. However, the stability of the soil decreased in all the experimental plots. Gas concentration and respiration mainly depended on soil structural composition, temperature and moisture content. The results of the experiment suggest performing investigations at a long-term scale because the intensive variation of meteorological conditions had a higher impact on the soil properties than the multi-cropping systems.
