Carbon and Nitrogen Mineralization in Dark Grey Calcareous Floodplain Soil Is Influenced by Tillage Practices and Residue Retention.

Very little is known about the changes that occur in soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) under an intensive rice-based cropping system following the change to minimal tillage and increased crop residue retention in the Gangetic Plains of South Asia. The field experiment was conducted for 3 years at Rajbari, Bangladesh to examine the impact of tillage practices and crop residue retention on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. The experiment comprised four tillage practices-conventional tillage (CT), zero tillage (ZT), strip-tillage (ST), and bed planting (BP) in combination with two residue retention levels-increased residue (R) and low residue (R-the current practice).