Long-Term Effects of Crop Rotation and Fertilization on Chemical and Biochemical Soil Properties

Horia Domnariu¹, Elena Partal², Anca-Rovena Lăcătușu¹

¹National Research and Development Institute for Soil Science,
Agrochemistry and Environment - ICPA Bucharest
²National Agricultural Research and Development Institute Fundulea

Keywords: crop rotation, fertilization, chernozem, soil carbon, nitrogen, CLPP, microorganisms.

Abstract: Long-term effects of crop rotation and fertilization were investigated in a bivariate experiment extablished in 1967 on a Cambic Chernozem soil. Samples were collected in May 2025 from experimental plots in the maize phase. In addition to basic soil chemical properties, community-level physiological profiles (CLPP) of soil microbial communities were assesed using inoculation and incubation of EcoPlates (Biolog™). While mineral and organic moderate fertilization had no significant effects, more diverse crop rotations (three- and four- crop systems) led to increases in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen compared to two-crop and monocrop rotations. Effects on physiological profiles were less pronounced with no significant changes in metabolic richness, Shannon or Evenness indices. However, some differences were observed in the utilization of specific substrate or substrate category. Thus, fertilization with farmyard manure increased the capacity of putrescine degradation, while the usage of carbohydrates group tended to be higher in the case of simple rotations.