Summary
Litter decomposition is a fundamental process in soil carbon dynamics and nutrient turnover. However, litter decomposition in arable systems remains poorly explored, and it is unclear whether different management practices, such as organic farming, conservation agriculture can mitigate drought effects on litter decomposition. Thus, we examined the effects of a severe experimental drought on litter decomposition in four cropping systems, i.e., organic vs. conventional farming, each with two levels of tillage (intensive vs. conservation tillage) in Switzerland. We incubated two types of standard litter (tea bags), i.e., high-quality green tea with a low C:N ratio and low-quality rooibos tea with a high C:N ratio. We assessed litter decomposition during the simulated drought and in the post-d
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.