Short-term effects of conversion to no-tillage on respiration and chemical - physical properties of the soil: a case study in a wheat cropping system in semi-dry environment

No-tillage (NT) is considered an agricultural practice to preserve soil organic carbon (C), however large uncertainties still affect land-use management measures for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from agricultural soil. Short-term changes during the transition between conventional tillage (CT) and NT systems have to be further investigated. In this study, measurements of both actual CO2 fluxes in field and microbial mineralization activity were connected to chemical and physical properties of the soil in a winter wheat cropping system subject to semi-arid climate where NT, performed from only 4 years, has been compared to CT. Results showed no significant differences between CT and NT, confirming a similar turnover time of the organic C between the two treatments, probably due to the young changing in the management (4 years) and the period of measurements (far from ploughing).