Lamboy Vélez, Geonela Enid

Profile Picture

Filters

20231
Reset filters

Settings

Citations

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Effect of low-impact tillages and selected organic amendments on the soil health of an Oxisol
    (2023-05-12) Lamboy Vélez, Geonela Enid; Dumas Rodríguez, José; College of Agricultural Sciences; Chong Nuñez, Joaquín; Rivera Goyco, Christian; Department of Crops and Agro-Environmental Sciences; Huerta López, Carlos I.
    Conventional agricultural practices are adversely affecting the physico-chemical and biological properties of soils, which decreases soil resiliency to climate change and threats crop productivity. Sustainable agricultural practices are an option to restore soil health by improving the organic matter amount and quality, soil structure, and biological activity while at the same time achieving good crop productivity. The first study aimed to develop a simple and economical method to improve biochar's agronomic traits through ozonolysis. We evaluated ozonolysis reaction time to oxidize washed and unwashed coffee shrub biochar (WCSB and CSB, respectively). We observed an intensity increment for hydroxyl (O-H) and carbonyl (C=O) functional group bands after 36 hours of ozonolysis reaction. We observed a decrease in pH, and an increase in specific conductance and soluble organic carbon content in biochar with the elapsing time of ozonolysis, demonstrating the effectiveness of ozonolysis in the oxidation of the biochar surface. Also, we observed an increase of the E4/E6 optical ratio of the biochar hot water extraction leachates which suggests that the ozonolysis process promotes the formation of aliphatic over aromatic organic compounds due to the breakdown of the labile organic carbon (LOC). The second study aimed to determine the effect of three tillage practices and the growth and termination of three cycles of cover crops mixture in the physico-chemical and biological properties of an Oxisol (Coto series) on a short period of time. The tillage treatments were Keyline (KP), Spader (SP), and Inversion Plow (IP), while the cover crops mixture consisted of Crotalaria juncea, Brassica juncea, and Raphanus sativus. The Keyline and Spader treatments showed a greater capacity to conserve total organic carbon, active organic carbon, fulvic acids, and humic acids. Also, we related the increase in these organic matter fractions and the activity of urease and phosphatase enzymes to the continued growth and termination cycles of cover crops.