Flooded soils are important sinks of atmospheric C, hence the effect of agricultural practices on their organic matter (OM) dynamics should be better understood. This study was carried out in an 11 year experiment at IRGA (Instituto Rio Grandense do Arroz) experimental station in Cachoeirinha, Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of no-tillage (NT) on organic C stocks, on OM lability and on the physical protection of OM in soil aggregates of a Gleysol (200 g kg-1 clay) cultivated with paddy rice (Oryza sativa L) in comparison to conventional tillage (CT). Organic C (0-20 cm) was not affected by soil management systems (38.39 Mg ha-1 in CT soil and 37.36 Mg ha-1 in NT soil) indicating that decomposition rates of OM in this anaerobic environment were not influenced by soil disturbance. The lability of OM in this flooded soil, calculated by the ratio of particulate organic C (POC)/mineral-associated organic C was higher than the values usually verified for well-drained soils of subtropical regions and, in the 0-20 cm soil layer, C was not affected by soil management systems (0.24 in CT and 0.28 in NT). The increase of the occluded light OM fraction (intra-aggregate light fraction) was only a small proportion (9%) in relation to the total organic carbon increase in NT, compared to CT, in the surface layer (0-5 cm). These data suggest that the physical protection of OM in soil aggregates was not an important mechanism of OM stabilization in this environment of restrained drainage. The reason is probably the weak soil aggregation and/or the easy access of microorganisms and their enzymes to the decomposition of the intra-aggregate OM pool due to the soil saturation by water.
no-tillage; organic carbon; physical protection
