Abstract
Repeated applications of organic amendments increase soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and nitrogen (N) availability for crops. Soil-crop models can facilitate the study of these effects and optimize the management of amendments. In soil-crop models, C and N mineralization of amendments is simulated by several pools of soil organic matter which have their specific turnover rate. We used the STICS model to quantify the effects of amendments on C and N dynamics in the long-term QualiAgro experiment, in which four amendments were spread every 2 years since 1998. We studied the model’s ability to simulate laboratory incubation and field experiments, depending on the calibration method and the partitioning of the amendment into one or two pools. The one-pool model simulated C and N dynamics in the field experiment as accurately as the two-pools model with a calibration based on field data. However, C and N dynamics measured under laboratory conditions could only be simulated with the two-pools model, which was then used to simulate C and N in the field. The root mean square errors were 1.6 t DM ha−1 for grain yield, 2.6 t C ha−1 for SOC and 41 kg N ha−1 for soil mineral N. Model parameters could be determined using the C:N ratio of amendments and the indicator of remaining organic carbon (IROC), measured at the laboratory. The STICS model can thus be used to simulate SOC and N dynamics with long-term amendments with a simple calibration.
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Acknowledgments
The QualiAgro field experiment is part of the SOERE-PRO (network of long-term experiments dedicated to the study of impacts of organic residue recycling), certified by ALLENVI (Alliance Nationale de Recherche pour l’Environnement) and integrated as a service of the “Investment in the Future” infrastructure AnaEE-France, which is overseen by the French National Research Agency (ANR-11-INBS-0001). The QualiAgro experiment was founded and is still supported by INRAE and Veolia R&I.
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STICS is a free software package available online at http://www6.paca.inra.fr/stics_eng. The model is provided with its documentation and a set of default parameters for general and plant parameterization. Only the standard version with the simplest representation of organic matter is available online.
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Levavasseur, F., Mary, B. & Houot, S. C and N dynamics with repeated organic amendments can be simulated with the STICS model. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 119, 103–121 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-020-10106-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-020-10106-5