Summary
This 17-year field trial compared conservation tillage with conventional ploughing on Hungarian Luvisols, measuring 21 soil parameters to identify robust indicators of tillage-induced soil health changes. Conservation tillage significantly increased topsoil organic carbon stocks and biological activity, with water-extractable organic carbon, amino-nitrogen, water-stable aggregates, and available phosphorus and potassium identified as the most responsive indicators of soil improvement, whilst slowly-changing parameters like cation exchange capacity were poor indicators of tillage practice impact.
Regional applicability
Findings are directly relevant to United Kingdom soil management, as the study used Luvisol soils comparable to those common in temperate European agricultural regions including southern England. However, transferability should account for differences in climate, crop rotations and baseline soil conditions between Hungarian and UK farming systems.
Key measures
Total organic carbon (TOC) stock; water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) composition; biological activity indicators; soil structure (water-stable aggregates); available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; cation exchange capacity; base saturation; amino-nitrogen; photometric analysis of WEOM; principal component analysis
Outcomes reported
The study measured 21 soil physical, chemical and biological parameters across conservation tillage and conventional ploughing plots after 17 years. Conservation tillage plots showed significantly increased total organic carbon in the top 15 cm layer (5.22 t ha⁻¹ additional stock), improved biological activity, enhanced soil structure, and more complex humic substances in water-extractable organic matter.
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