Effects of Conservative Tillage Strategies on Organic Carbon Pools and Aggregate Stability in Silty Clay Loam Soils

Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences | Vol. 12, No. 2, February 2026 | pp. 39–43

DOI: 10.46882/2026.AAAS.120208

Research Article

Title: Effects of Conservative Tillage Strategies on Organic Carbon Pools and Aggregate Stability in Silty Clay Loam Soils

Names of Authors: Petrovic, M.¹, Kovacevic, D.¹, and Novak, J.²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. ²Institute of Soil Science and Cultivating Plants, Pulawy, Poland.

Abstract: Continuous intensive plowing reduces structural organic carbon reservoirs and degrades topsoil integrity. This long-term experiment analyzed the effects of alternative management styles, specifically No-Till (NT), Reduced Tillage (RT), and Conventional Tillage (CT), on Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) distribution and water-stable aggregates in a silty clay loam soil. After seven consecutive crop rotations, NT layouts significantly increased SOC accumulation within the upper 0-10 cm layer, reaching 28.4 g/kg compared to 16.2 g/kg under CT. The Mean Weight Diameter (MWD) of water-stable aggregates expanded by 42.6% in NT plots, demonstrating high resistance to water erosion forces. Permeable macro-aggregate fractions (greater than 0.25 mm) contained a higher proportion of young carbon pools, as validated via permanganate-oxidizable carbon (POXc) measures. Soil bulk density increased slightly under NT configuration but remained within non-limiting root growth ranges (1.32 g/cm³). The outcomes confirm that reducing soil disturbance patterns preserves macro-aggregate formations and protects carbon stocks from microbially mediated oxidation.

Keywords: Carbon sequestration; Conservation tillage; Soil aggregate stability; Sustainable agriculture; Soil erosion; Macro-aggregates.

Manuscript Timeline: Received November 05, 2025; Revised December 29, 2025; Accepted January 26, 2026; Published February 27, 2026.

Citation: Petrovic, M., Kovacevic, D., and Novak, J. (2026). Effects of Conservative Tillage Strategies on Organic Carbon Pools and Aggregate Stability in Silty Clay Loam Soils. Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences, 12(2), pp. 39–43.

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