ORGANIC MATTER AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES IN HAPLIC LUVISOL AS AFFECTED BY TILLAGE AND FERTILIZERS INTENSITY

Abstract

In the Slovak Republic, from a point of view of sustainable management, the conservation and maintenance of favourable chemical
properties of soils is very important. Lately, annual average soil loss of agricultural land of around 1,000 hectares was recorded, which
represents an approximate daily loss of 3 hectares. Permanent loss of soil must be dealt with and compensated by the improvement of
its chemical properties. The aim of this work was to compare the effects of different tillage systems and fertilization on soil organic matter
and chemical properties of Haplic Luvisol. Our results showed that in minimal tillage system, there was higher carbon sequestration,
however, in conventional tillage, the quality of humus was better. In the long term, application of only NPK fertilizers had negative effect
on soil organic matter content because its decrease was determined, which negatively influenced all chemical properties in Haplic Luvisol.
In conventional tillage, a higher amount of total organic carbon negatively affected soil reaction, hydrolytic acidity and base saturation.
At the same time, positive effects between humus quality and soil pH, hydrolytic acidity and base saturation in conventional tillage were
determined.