Summary
This long-term field experiment at Rothamsted and Woburn examined how soil liming alters exchangeable cation concentrations and spring barley yield across a wide range of soil conditions. Using log-logistic relationships, the authors identified exchangeable aluminium (>7.5 mg kg⁻¹) as the primary driver of yield reduction under acidified conditions, whilst demonstrating that barley tolerated exchangeable manganese concentrations (up to 417 mg kg⁻¹) substantially higher than previously published critical toxicity thresholds, suggesting a need to revise micronutrient toxicity criteria for this element.
UK applicability
These findings are directly applicable to UK arable practice, being derived from two long-established UK field sites with contrasting soil properties. The revised critical manganese concentrations and aluminium thresholds provide evidence-based guidance for UK farm liming decisions and soil management on acidified agricultural soils.
Key measures
Relative yield (RY) of spring barley; exchangeable cation concentrations (Al, Mn, Ca, Cd, Cr, Fe, Cu, Co, Zn, Ni, K); soil pH; log-logistic model parameters describing yield-cation relationships
Outcomes reported
The study quantified relationships between exchangeable soil cation concentrations (particularly Al, Mn, and Ca) and relative barley yield across two UK sites over nine growing seasons under four liming rates. Critical toxicity thresholds for exchangeable aluminium and manganese were evaluated using log-logistic models.
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