S. S. Miller, E. A. Demin, E. I. Miller
Northern Trans-Urals State Agrarian University, Tyumen, Russia
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Volume 26 No. 4
Date of paper submission: 02.07.2025, date of review: 30.09.2025, date of acceptance: 17.02.2026.
Published: 04/30/2026
Abstract. The purpose of the study is to establish the effect of soil cultivation methods on the organic carbon balance in a grain agrocenosis on leached chernozem in the forest-steppe zone of the Trans-Urals. Materials and methods. The studies were conducted in 2023–2024. The experimental design included variants with different soil cultivation methods: moldboard, non-moldboard and zero. Carbon dioxide emissions were measured by a chamber method every 10–15 days using infrared gas analyzers. Before harvesting, sheaves were selected to determine the mass of straw and after harvesting, root and stubble residues were sampled, in which the organic carbon content was subsequently determined. Results. It was found that in a moderately humid and warm year, carbon emissions during the growing season in variants with moldboard and non-moldboard soil cultivation methods amounted to about 2.8 t/ha, while with no soil cultivation, the emission was 0.5 t/ha lower. The input of organic carbon into the soil with plant residues in the range from 2.4 to 2.9 t/ha ensured a positive carbon balance in the moldboard (111 kg/ha) and zero (58 kg/ha) variants, and a negative one – 120 kg/ha – in the no-moldboard variant. In the excessively wet 2024, carbon emission increased in all variants from June to September by 17–214 % (127– 704 kg/ha). The mass of straw and CFO in all variants increased by 33–51 % (1.13–1.56 t/ha) and by 46–55 % (1.32–1.80 t/ha). Despite this, a negative carbon balance was noted in all study variants. In the moldboard variant, it was –253 kg/ha, in the no-moldboard and zero-moldboard variants –178 and –95 kg/ha, respectively. Scientific novelty. For the first time in the conditions of the northern forest-steppe of the Tyumen region, the influence of various methods of primary soil cultivation on the emission and balance of carbon in spring wheat crops was studied. Recommendations. To obtain a positive balance of organic carbon in the soil under spring wheat crops in moderately humid years, it is necessary to carry out moldboard cultivation of the soil, in excessively humid years it is necessary to provide for a zero method of primary soil cultivation.
Keywords: spring wheat, moldboard cultivation, no-till cultivation, zero tillage, carbon dioxide emission, straw, root and crop residues
Acknowledgements. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 23-76-10005.
For citation: Miller S. S., Demin E. A., Miller E. I. Soil cultivation as a factor in regulating the balance of organic carbon in the grain agrocenosis of Western Siberia. Agrarian Bulletin of the Urals. 2026; 26 (04): 607‒618. 1 https://doi.org/10.32417/1997-4868-2026-26-04-607-618 (In Russ.)
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