ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Impact of Tillaging Spring Barley
on Selected Chemical, Microbiological,
and Enzymatic Soil Properties
Dorota Swędrzyńska1, Irena Małecka-Jankowiak2
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1Department of General and Environmental Microbiology, Poznań University of Life Sciences,
Szydłowska 50, 60-656 Poznań, Poland
2Department of Agronomy, Poznań University of Life Sciences,
Dojazd 11, 60-632 Poznań, Poland
Submission date: 2016-06-16
Final revision date: 2016-08-26
Acceptance date: 2016-08-30
Online publication date: 2017-01-31
Publication date: 2017-01-31
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2017;26(1):303-313
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ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to determine the long-term effects of different tillage systems on some chemical
and biological soil properties. The research was carried out in 2011-14 based on a static field experiment set
up in 1999 at Brody Research Station of Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poland, in a temperate climate,
on Albic Luvisols. Soil samples were collected from under spring barley from two layers: 0-10 cm and 10-
20 cm. The results of this experiment showed that reduced tillage (RT) and no-tillage (NT) increased total
carbon, total nitrogen, the number of microorganisms (heterotrophic bacteria, oligotrophic and copiotrophic
bacteria, actinobacteria and fungi) and enzymatic activity (dehydrogenases, acid and alkaline phosphatase,
urease, protease, and catalase) compared with conventional tillage (CT) – especially in a 0-10 cm layer of
soil. This suggests that tillage has a significant impact on soil C cycling through its effects on soil microbial
activity.